Chris Robshaw has urged England to make up for their “no-show” in Paris by delivering a statement of World Cup intent against Ireland on Saturday. England are now below their Pool A rivals Australia and Wales in the world rankings and have just 80 competitive minutes left in which to regather momentum before they kick off the tournament against Fiji on 18 September.
Wales’s victory in Dublin at the weekend has also intensified the squad’s desire to finish their warm-up programme with a flourish and Robshaw hopes his players will be suitably refreshed by a rare rugby-free weekend when they report back to Bagshot on Monday.
Robshaw was able to attend a friend’s wedding on the Isle of Wight and believes last week’s announcement of England’s 31-man World Cup squad will further ease stress levels within the camp. “We asked the guys to forget about rugby, turn their phones off and chill out,” said the Harlequins flanker. “It’s the last weekend off we’re going to get for a while and we need to ensure we come back in with a fresh spring in our step. We’ve pushed ourselves hard over the last nine weeks.”
The first 60 minutes of their 25-20 defeat at the Stade de France, though, have not been forgotten. “Looking at the way we played was not particularly pretty,” admitted Robshaw.”You have to dig deep in training because last week we didn’t show up. You want to go into the Fiji game knowing you’re all playing well and understanding each other. You also want to give the public reason to back you and really get behind you. We’ve got a big three weeks ahead and hopefully we’ll make big strides forward.”
Stuart Lancaster has indicated that Geoff Parling and Tom Wood will return to the starting line-up for the Ireland game to boost England’s line-out options and Robshaw is optimistic that returning to Twickenham will also give the home side a lift. “We’re back at Twickenham and we’re looking forward to that. The guys will be a little bit more at ease and not trying things as much because there’s no longer the selection question hanging over them.”
Competition for startling places against Fiji will also bring an extra edge and Robshaw insists no-one will be dwelling on the grim possibility of last-minute injury. “We don’t really consider these games friendlies, we treat them as proper Test matches. Every guy is going to go full whack. We want to build momentum and you want to know you can beat the best sides out there. You don’t think about injuries. If it happens it would be extremely tough but it wouldn’t be something the guys are thinking about. Everyone knows that, from now on, whatever we do is for the good of the side.”
Robshaw is also convinced the 31-man squad picked by Lancaster can go all the way at the World Cup. “Yeah, I believe so. There are enough guys who have played in big games in various competitions who have dealt with pressure. There is also a lot of youth in there which brings excitement. The balance is very good. You look around at the guys you’re going to go into battle with and you’re confident in them.”
