Anthony Watson has admitted he will not get over England’s World Cup Final heartbreak unless he reaches another and puts it right.
But ahead of Sunday’s Six Nations opener in France, the Bath ace says England must park that disappointment or kiss goodbye to their title chance.
The team fly to Paris today preparing to do battle without Luke Cowan-Dickie, their joint top try-scorer in Japan, who has returned home for family reasons.
Tom Dunn, Bath’s uncapped hooker, is in line to make his debut off the bench as England bid to erase the haunting memory of their last game.
“I don’t think personally I’ll ever get over the final until I get another crack at it,” said Watson, recalling the 32-12 hammering by South Africa in what was the biggest game of his life.
“To fall at the final hurdle was tough to take. It’s important we create new memories when we pull on the jersey again.
“Obviously there is disappointment but you can’t let that get to you. What’s it going to do apart from make you play worse?
“If we worry too much about what happened and lie around thinking about that, we’re going to get lost.”
Team boss Eddie Jones is threatening France with “brutal physicality” but must decide how best to utilise the power at his disposal.
Billy Vunipola’s absence increases the likelihood of Courtney Lawes shifting to blindside to bulk up the pack with a ‘third lock’. Tom Curry could then shift across to No.8 with Sam Underhill at openside.
Mako Vunipola missed training on the Algarve yesterday as he nursed blow to the eye suffered on Tuesday.
He is expected to be fit to start with fellow prop Kyle Sinckler, though Jones does have the option of going for the heavier unit of Joe Marler and Harry Williams.
“Being brutal doesn't always mean trying to knock the wall down and trying to run over the man straight in front of you,” cautioned fly-half George Ford.
“You can be brutal and smart at the same time. Defensively it is a bit more like ‘right, let's go get ‘em and whack ‘em’. But from an attack point, it’s about finding the space and being brutal with your decision making.
“You have to be smart and take the sting out of the game or maybe throw something at a team that they are not quite expecting.”
