WATCH US GO NOW SELECTION HELL IS OVER, SAYS ROBSHAW

AFTER A week of tension and frustration in the England camp, Chris Robshaw was going to make the most of ‘the last weekend off we’re going to get in a while’. The national captain (below) had a friend’s wedding to attend on the Isle of Wight. If the weather allowed, he was hoping to spend a day on the beach. It was a prime opportunity for the flanker — and the rest of Stuart Lancaster’s World Cup squad — to briefly put aside the stresses of preparing for the showpiece. Last Thursday, Lancaster, England’s head coach, announced his 31 players. There were some close calls, creating a mood of nervous anticipation. Robshaw’s place was not in doubt, but having narrowly missed out four years ago, he understood how the fringe players felt. He said: ‘It was a pretty tense week for players and coaches, on the back of a disappointing game against France and the news that was always going to be tough for some.’ But the skipper is optimistic. ‘There are enough guys who have played in big games in various competitions, who have dealt with pressure. There is also a lot of youth in there which brings excitement. I’m very pleased looking at that squad with the guys you’re going to go into battle with.’ Robshaw and his team-mates will return to work today with pressing issues to address. The defeat in Paris nine days ago was a setback and the performance was alarmingly poor for an hour. As England prepare to face Ireland in their final warm-up match at Twickenham, Robshaw said they need to restore confidence. ‘You want to know going into the Fiji game (their World Cup opener) that you’re all playing well and understanding each other. You also want to give the public reason to really get behind you. ‘We’re back at Twickenham this weekend and the guys will be a little bit more at ease and not trying things as much because there’s no longer the selection question hanging over people. But there’s always competition, because you want to be in the XV, or the match-day 23.’ Robshaw said there had been a harsh post-mortem after the 25-20 defeat against resurgent France. ‘It was not particularly pretty,’ he said. ‘We’ve been tested a little bit, internally and from the outside world’s reaction. I think that has given us an indication of what is to come and if things don’t go so well. It’s been a bit of an eyeopener. I think the guys have dealt with it well.’ Lancaster is set to address recent line-out problems by recalling Geoff Parling and Tom Wood in a first-choice side to face the Irish.