England confident they’ll click for Ireland
HARRY Randall believes England are close to clicking as they gear-up for their must-win showdown against Ireland at Twickenham on Saturday.
Defeat at Murrayfield on the opening weekend means that England cannot afford another slipup as they look to regain the title they won in 2020 and Ireland also know that defeat would all but end their challenge after last month’s reverse to France in Paris.
The two sides will meet the day after unbeaten leaders France take on Wales in Cardiff. A third successive victory over the men in red would leave England between Les Bleus and a first Grand Slam since 2010.
“Ireland are playing well,” said Randall, who was on the bench at Murrayfield but started against Italy and Wales. “They like to operate at a high tempo and their skill level poses a challenge. They have a number of threats and we will need to nullify them.
“It was frustrating against Wales because we made a fast start but left chances out there. We put them under pressure and won a number of penalties, but we let them back into the game in the second half.
“Wales did their best to disrupt our ball and we know it is an area where Ireland will go hard. We have to get it right and it has been driving us in training. There are times when we need to look to go wider and we are at the stage of the Six Nations when we need to get it bang right.
“We have to be more clinical when we get into the opposition 22. We put Wales under a lot of pressure but we did not reap the rewards. On another day, we would have scored two or three tries in the first-half and been 25 points up.
“It is close to clicking for us. We are creating opportunities and what we have to do now is make the most of them. We always look to make a fast start, but we have to build on it.”
Randall has started four matches with Marcus Smith as his half-back partner. The pair have been getting to know each other off the field as they look to build understanding and instinct into their playing relationship.
“The more you play with someone, the better the connection,” said Randall. “I am enjoying partnering him and getting to know him. Half-back is the axis that controls the team and Marcus and I are slowly
getting there. We sit down after training and go through clips together, always talking. I hope we get more chances together.”
Randall, who made his debut for Bristol four years ago, has faced calls throughout his career that he was too small to make it at the top level but he is now immune to external criticism.
“It does not matter what is being said about me as long as I have the trust and backing of the people around me,” said the 24-year-old Randall. “Everyone has an opinion. All I can do is knuckle down and be as strong as I can.
“I have a good relationship with the other two scrum-halves in the squad, Ben Youngs and Raffi Quirke. We are always learning off each other and to have Ben, England men’s most capped player, to learn from is awesome for me.
“I was delighted to be selected against Wales, but it does not matter which of us starts. It is all about what is best for the team and you do everything you can to prepare for a match whether you are starting, on the bench or not in the 23.”