Revealed: How squad will prepare for the big match
Evening before the game
A tradition that Eddie Jones and Dylan Hartley brought in was making sure the squad meet together in the evening before the game. It may just be an hour in the team room, going over a few key messages from the week in a relaxed environment. It just helps focus the mind again. The bigger the game, the harder it is to nod off. Occasionally, you would ask the doctor for a sleeping pill. Some lads just cannot sleep the night before a big game. Then you look at Elliot Daly and he will sleep for 13 hours straight!
Morning of the game
The worst thing is the waiting. Particularly with late kick-offs, you can end up playing the game in your head before you have played it, which can wear you out. You try to use the time as best you can. Before lunch, the backs will have a meeting, talk through a few moves. The forwards will do the same with line-outs. Then we might go out into the car park and run a few moves. After a quick bite to eat, Eddie Jones will speak for five minutes before we get on the bus.
Bus ride
This is the time when guys go into game mode. It is a lot quieter than you would imagine. Most people have their headphones on, getting zoned in by listening to their favourite music. Some boys you just know not to talk to. Then you turn around and Courtney Lawes is watching cartoons. It could be the World Cup semi-final or an academy game when he was 16, he is so chilled out.
Changing room
Dylan made a rule where he did not want music in the changing room because some lads liked certain music, other lads wanted something else. If you want your own music, you put it on your headphones. That helps create a calm atmosphere.
The nerves are still there. Every so often I would be sick with all the butterflies you have flying around your stomach. At Harlequins, my old team-mate Jordan Turner-hall could not play a game of rugby without puking. Kyle Sinckler is very similar.
Warm-up
The leaders will always say: “Let’s set the tone in the warm-up.” Getting the right intensity is crucial. You know when you have had a bad one. A couple of balls will go down and it will be quiet. You will have a feeling that things are not quite right and that normally translates itself into a slow start. Sometimes there is not a lot you can do about it. It just happens, whether people are too excited or nervous. There are times when you go out and have a brilliant warm-up. The boys are bang on it and that gives you confidence to start the game well.
Pre-match
By this point, Eddie and the coaches will have handed over control to the leaders. The main voices you will be hearing are Owen Farrell and George Ford. From the forwards, Maro Itoje and George Kruis, if they are calling the line-outs, and Jamie George as pack leader. Then you will have Ben Youngs going around geeing up the forwards. Not everyone makes a lot of noise. Guys like Henry Slade and Jonny May just go quietly about their business.
During the week, the messages are focused on tactics and technical things. On game day it is more driven by action, intent and emotion. All the homework has been done, everyone knows their plays. It is about going out and delivering. The only way you can do that is to be prepared for a physical battle, so there is a lot of talk about physicality and how to start the game.
Eddie will take this time to walk around and have little conversations with each individual. He can still be a bit jovial, but you get one little snippet of information that he really wants you to focus on. But then he leaves most of it to Owen and the leaders to have the final chat.
With a World Cup semi-final, I am sure Owen will be telling the boys: “This is it. This is our chance to make history.”
Anthems
What it means to sing the national anthem is very hard to put into words. Linking arms with your brothers, who you are going into battle with, is such a special feeling. Whenever you put an England shirt on, it justifies all the sacrifices that your family has made. You are not just representing yourself when you pull that shirt on. Personally, I felt responsible for putting in a performance for my family, especially my parents, my wife and my son.
I know Eddie gets annoyed by people saying the Irish, Welsh or Scots are more passionate than us. I do not think any of them are any more passionate than I was to wear an England shirt. Every one of the boys who run out this weekend will do it with immense pride.