THE PARTY STARTS
Fiji give England a fright on opening night
ENGLAND got their World Cup campaign off to a winning start at Twickenham last night but they did not get things all their own way.
Stuart Lancaster’s team finished up with a bonus point when Billy Vunipola crashed over in the 82nd minute for the fourth try of the night, following a Mike Brown double a nd a penalty try. But it really was a bonus after a nervy, edgy opener against a Fiji team who made them fight for their victory.
The England head coach knows t hat hi s team will have to greatly up their game against next
Pool A opponents Wales. ‘We need to improve, there’s no doubt about that. Fiji made us work very hard for it,’ said Lancaster. ‘Credit to Fiji, they put us under a lot of pressure. We were a bit cautious, which I think was all to do with the emotion of the day. We knew the quality Fiji have and we played into their hands at times. But they made us work. ‘I would have taken that result at the start of the game. Fiji are going to cause problems to other teams, I have no doubt about that. ‘I was confident the players were in control. They didn’t break us down defensively and I thought our fitness and power on the bench would tell, which it did. ‘The replacements have put themselves in the frame for next week. We definitely have some decisions to make, and we have two days to dwell on that. ‘We’ll watch the game again, meet on Sunday and narrow down our selection next week. ‘With the quality of the team coming up, we need to be at our best.’ England captain Chris Robshaw knew that he and his team-mates would be in for a tough night, adding: ‘We knew it would be difficult and would go to the last five or 10 minutes and as you saw it was the last couple of seconds for the bonus point. ‘If we had been offered a 24-point margin before the match, we would have taken it. ‘We have been training for 10 to 12 weeks and for the last couple of years this has been on everyone’s agenda. But it’s finally here and we have got off to a winning start and that is what it’s all about.’