DO NOT TOSS IT AWAY THIS TIME
England warned there can be no repeat of the off-field antics that marred last overseas World Cup
ENGLAND flew off to Japan last night to begin their World Cup adventure with hopes and dreams of victory.
But there is a degree of wariness after what happened the last time they took part in an overseas tournament.
All 31 players travelled as planned with Joe Launchbury passed fit despite the back injury which forced him off in England’s last warm-up game against Italy on Friday.
Eddie Jones’ squad will enjoy a night in Tokyo this evening before heading off to their camp in Miyazaki under orders not to embarrass themselves and the country as happened in 2011 in New Zealand.
The infamous night in the dwarf-tossing bar in Queenstown was the low point of a failed campaign which hit the headlines for all the wrong reasons.
And Dan Cole, one of the survivors of that trip, has told his team-mates they cannot make the same mistakes.
“It obviously ended up having a big effect on how we went in the rest of the tournament,” said Cole.
“As a young player I don’t think you really appreciate how big the World Cup is especially as an England team. Hopefully this time round we will be fully aware.”
If they were not already, the recent fight in a Treviso bar between Ben Te’o and Mike Brown should have served as a reminder. Neither was picked in theWorld Cup squad.
England players complained after the 2015 World Cup that they felt like prisoners at their Surrey base under Stuart Lancaster. Jones has been more lenient and expects them to behave but says he cannot promise they will be perfect ambassadors.
If all goes to plan England will be in Japan for eight weeks and hooker Jamie George says it is unrealistic to expect them to stay in and do jigsaws every evening.
“We are away for a long time so we need to be able to let our hair down,” he said.
“We don’t want to be the team that is in the headlines but we don’t want to be the team that is locked up in the hotel all the time worrying about getting into trouble.
“I think it’s down to trust – trusting that we don’t mess it up.”
George’s club team Saracens are famous for their mid-season ‘bonding’ trips.
England too will be given leave to unwind with the hope that the wilder members of the squad do not end up going too far.
Manu Tuilagi, warned by police and fined after diving off a ferry into Auckland Harbour in 2011, was thrown out of a training camp by Jones after a night out.
Billy Vunipola had to apologise in March after breaching protocol following a night out with Te’o after the Calcutta Cup match.
“I trust those guys that they understand they may need a tighter leash,” said George.
“It happens in all teams. It happens at Saracens. The big thing we do quite well at Saracens is listening to senior players. It’s important for us that we’re sensible. We don’t want to end up on the front page.”