Wounded England can turn it around again
WILL Stuart insists England will use their experience of the 2020 Guinness Six Nations to resurrect their title prospects this year.
A shattering opening-day defeat by Scotland has placed Eddie Jones’ team on to the back foot and they begin the rebuilding process against Italy at the Stadio Olimpico on Sunday.
When the Championship was launched in similar fashion in Paris two years ago, England recovered to lift the crown and Stuart insists they must reproduce the same unity that enabled them to defy the odds.
“We lost our first game – it was my first game for England – against France and ended up winning it so it’s in our control still,” the Bath tighthead prop said.
“That was quite a strange tournament. We played our last game out here in Rome in October.
“You don’t want to lose your first game in an England shirt but we built momentum after that. This tournament is all about building momentum. It was really important to stick together.
“We’ve just got to go out and win every game. We were really disappointed about Scotland but we’re positive about the next opportunity. It’s about going out and delivering a performance and some entertaining rugby.”
England have made six changes in personnel and two positional switches following the Calcutta Cup collapse in round one, among them Stuart’s third start at tighthead prop as Jones takes a closer look at some of his less established players.
One of those is Alex Dombrandt, the marauding number eight whose running lines and feel for space in wider channels contributes to a deadly combination with playmaker Marcus Smith.
It is hoped the pair ignite for England in the way that helped Harlequins win the Gallagher Premiership last season.
“Everyone knows Alex in the Premiership over the past few years, especially when he’s linking up with
Marcus,” Stuart said. “He has been a nightmare for opposition defences. I’ve been on the receiving end of it a couple of times for Bath so it’s exciting to play with him.”
After piecing together a successful autumn that produced a last-gasp victory over world champions South Africa,
losing at Murrayfield was a significant setback.
England have never lost to Italy and if they were to fall today, it would be an upset of seismic proportions to match Japan’s victory over the Springboks at the 2015 World Cup.
Jones wants his team to “light up
Rome” and attack coach Martin Gleeson insists they are ready to display the ruthless streak that was missing in Edinburgh.
“We want to play a high-tempo game. We want to play fast when we are in the right areas and we want to take our opportunities,” Gleeson said.
“We want to get excited about the game. We want to get excited about the opportunities that present themselves against Italy.
“We did a lot of things well against Scotland. We created opportunities but we did not take them as well as we should have done. That’s the area where we have been really focusing on getting ourselves better. Some bits were really good, other bits we need to touch up on. Italy can cause you problems at the breakdown and in the aerial battle. They are a team we are not taking lightly.”