All the big southern hemisphere guests have now arrived but the visitors causing England most pre-World Cup concern are Fiji. Ranked ninth in the world there is an air of quiet optimism at the latter’s training headquarters in Sunbury regardless of their Pool A schedule.
As Stuart Lancaster prepares to name his starting XV for Friday night’s tournament opener, this is no time for English complacency. The line-up selected by Lancaster will, accordingly, be the strongest he can muster for this assignment at Twickenham against a team who, according to England’s scrum-half Ben Youngs, possess “some of the best players in the world”. There will be no mixing or matching or easing individuals into the fray; the hosts know that they must start the party with a bang.
Those responsible for the fast and furious opening half hour against Ireland in the team’s final warm-up victory are, consequently, set to be asked to do the same against Fiji. For Youngs and his team-mates, the first priority is to get a grip on some of the most slippery customers around.
“Everyone is aware we have to give them the ultimate respect because some of the best players in the world are Fijian,” warned Youngs. “It is just ridiculous what they can do with limited space and footwork and they have the strength to go with it. Give them any room to operate and they’ll make you look silly.”
Fiji would dearly love to draw England into a loose, frenetic thriller but Youngs and his team-mates are happy to be killjoys if required. He said: “Defence is a key part of our game and we’ve got to make sure we’re watertight. If we have any cracks or anyone races out of the line they’ll exploit that.
“We don’t want to be giving them any loose balls because that’s where they’re so dangerous. Let’s use our set piece against them, because that’s probably something they won’t want to do. At the end of the day it’s about winning and for us that may mean turning to our scrummaging and mauling game and keeping it tight. They’re not the sort of side you want still in the game at half-time or 60 minutes. You’ve got to put teams to bed early, especially Fiji because of the threats they have. We need to make sure we’re not feeding their belief.”
Youngs is also keenly aware Fiji will have nothing like the same external pressure on them. “We’ve got to appreciate Fiji haven’t got that weight of expectation on their shoulders. They can express themselves and throw the kitchen sink at us. Having said that, we want to put a statement out that says: ‘We’re here to try and win it.’ We’ve got to make sure we do that through our actions in the first game.
“Obviously the expectation is going to grow the further in the competition we go. It’s going to come regardless so you might as well have it after the first game rather than waiting until you’re two games in and suddenly starting to realise everyone’s eyes are on you.”
Having been part of the 2011 England World Cup squad in New Zealand, Youngs knows that feeling but believes the players are now better placed to rise to the big occasion. “I can really appreciate this time round what it’s going to be like, what a privilege it is to be a part of. If we get our foundations right we’ll always be there or thereabouts against any side.”
If the tight selection calls at lock (Geoff Parling v Joe Launchbury) and No8 (Ben Morgan v Billy Vunipola) revolve around a desire to ensure tactical control, particularly at the lineout, the precise make-up of the bench is a highly debatable area.
What if Jonathan Joseph tweaks a calf in the first minute and Mike Brown then suffers a knock? Alex Goode, Jack Nowell and Henry Slade, in their differing ways, can all offer the luxury of more backline versatility than Sam Burgess. Against Wales and Australia it would be perverse not to pick one of the former trio in the matchday 23.
Probable England starting XV v Fiji Brown (Harlequins); Watson (Bath), Joseph (Bath), Barritt (Saracens), May (Gloucester); Ford (Bath), B Youngs (Leicester); Marler (Harlequins), T Youngs (Leicester), Cole (Leicester), Lawes (Northampton), Parling (Exeter Chiefs), Wood (Northampton), Robshaw (Harlequins, capt), Morgan (Gloucester).
