Lancaster’s victorious England deliver a World Cup warning

On the day that England’s World Cup winners paraded the Webb Ellis trophy they won a decade ago around Twickenham, this latest vintage earned what has become an all-too rare victory over the Wallabies. Second-half-tries from captain Chris Robshaw and Owen Farrell capped a 10-minute spell in which England turned the game on its head. Much can be improved on by England, who face Argentina next and world champions New Zealand the following week. Saturday’s win at headquarters was achieved with hardly any of the flair that saw England end last year’s autumn campaign with a landmark humbling of the All Blacks. Having lost to Australia and South Africa in the weeks prior to that high, their ability on Saturday to find a way to win a tight match, was just as satisfying for Lancaster. Given that Australia are in England’s World Cup group in 2015 –alongside Wales who are the only team to beat the Red Rose in nine games – it made the victory all the more significant. “To get the win, given the limited preparation time, is very pleasing,” said Lancaster, who has only been working with his full squad for two weeks. “We’ve played against a strong, experienced Australia team who have been together since before the Lions tour in the summer. “Overall, we are growing, but it counts for nothing if we don’t back it up next week.” Lancaster had ramped up the pressure on himself in the build-up to the game by saying this QBE Series marked the start of a “defining year” in England’s preparations for a World Cup on home soil. He wants England to be ranked in the top two in the world going into the next global gathering, and acknowledges the need to make victories over the big three the norm, rather than the exception. He said: “I always feel the pressure to win, even though we’ve now won seven of eight games this year and eight of our last nine. “I felt it here because I knew if we won we’d build some momentum and space to grow. “It means nothing though if we don’t perform next week and win. It’s a good start but we’re not getting carried away.” England will reconvene at their base at Pennyhill Park today with plenty of areas to work on ahead of the visit of the Pumas. Although an England team weakened by Lions call-ups in the summer won twice in South America, the Argentina they were playing were similarly experimental. Lancaster, who expects to have lock Geoff Parling and prop Alex Corbisiero back, said: “We need to manage that area between the 22-metre line and the halfway line better. “We need to build on our set-piece and try and establish some continuity and rhythm to our attack. I thought the intent was there (against Australia) and the pressure ultimately told with Owen’s try. “When you look back at the game we went through several examples of multi-phase attack, probably more so than the Australians, and our commitment to do that paid off in the end.” Lancaster reserved special praise for his dynamic fly-half Farrell, who put three missed first-half penalties behind him to inspire England to victory. “Ian McGeechan talks about match animals, the ability to play under the spotlight of pressure, and Owen seems to be able to do that,” said Lancaster. “He won’t have been pleased to have missed three kicks, on another day he would kick them all, but he doesn’t get phased by it and I always had the confidence he would bounce back in the second half. “My final message at half-time to everyone was be patient and don’t chase the scoreboard. And that’s what happened.” A further feather in Lancaster’s cap is the fact his team won the game in front of the nation’s 2003 World Cup winners. A special anniversary dinner was held on the eve of the game, and while Lancaster appreciates the nostalgia, both he and Sir Clive Woodward respected the boundaries and did not let history interfere with the shaping of the future. “We were very aware of them being in the crowd today and we wanted to do them proud because they inspired a lot of our players with what they achieved,” said Lancaster. “It meant a lot to the players that they won with those guys in the crowd.”