England will hand George Ford his first start as the England fly-half as they seek to recover from their latest frustrating Twickenham defeat by South Africa. Ford is set to replace Owen Farrell, with James Haskell and Ben Morgan in line to start in the back row against Samoa on Saturday.
Stuart Lancaster said there will be “a finite number” of changes for the Samoa game but conceded pressure is increasing on all involved in the wake of England’s fifth successive defeat, their 12th successive game without a win against the Springboks. “Clearly the pressure is on because we’ve not achieved our objective,” the England coach said.
“I don’t think any team stops developing or learning but the clock ultimately stops at the World Cup, doesn’t it? You also know if you don’t win in the short term, whilst also trying to develop the side in the long term, then ultimately pressure can be created.”
Lancaster is adamant the off-key Farrell will still play a part in England’s World Cup campaign next year and that England are not a million miles away. “It is important we maintain our belief going into next week and don’t change the course we are on. We will not panic; we will not lose our nerve. There is a strong belief among the coaches in the way we are developing. There’s no sense of the pressure affecting people.
“We’ve had five games against the top two sides in the world and we’ve not been smashed in any of them. We’ve been reasonably dominant in lots of areas. There were definitely times in the game when we felt we were the better team but in conceding points the way we did, through ill-discipline and giving easy points away, we put ourselves under pressure.”
Lancaster will make a number of changes for the Samoa game, offering his fringe players a chance to push for selection against Australia next week. Ford is desperate for a start – “I think I’m ready … obviously I really want a chance” – but admits the squad are braced for a tough-talking debrief in Bagshot.
“It could get a little bit nasty but I think we’re an honest team which sticks our hands up and says, ‘We’re going to get better,’” the fly-half said. “The two teams we have played against are very good and, if you make mistakes, they punish you. There are areas of the game where we have got to be smarter.”
Tom Wood said it is too early for people to write off England. “It’s disappointing to lose in an England shirt and you never want to accept that, particularly at home. But the fact we have lost by two really close margins in two really competitive games against the two best teams in the world doesn’t mean it’s back to the drawing board and that everyone is on suicide watch.”
The Northampton flanker added: “We have to keep our heads high and keep believing in what we are trying to implement. We understand we will come under a lot of pressure now. The heat is going to come from the rugby media and the rugby public.
“Everyone now relates everything to the World Cup but all we can do is stay tight as a group and keep plugging on. We need to get better at doing the simple things better and doing them repeatedly until the opposition crack.”
Threats of a boycott by Samoa’s players have been averted following talks with the International Rugby Board but the tour party continue to be unhappy at their treatment by the Samoan Rugby Union.
Billy Vunipola, nevertheless, believes it would be foolish to take Samoa lightly. “What will they be thinking? I think they are going to smell blood. They’ll think we will be looking at them as a team where we don’t have to prepare that much. We definitely have to prepare well and not underestimate them.”
