Pain of Cardiff drives England to atone with Twickenham win

Flanker Tom Wood says England go into today’s opening Autumn International with Australia still haunted by their grand slam collapse in Cardiff.
Backs coach Andy Farrell directs England training at West Park Leeds RUFCBacks coach Andy Farrell directs England training at West Park Leeds RUFC
Backs coach Andy Farrell directs England training at West Park Leeds RUFC

Stuart Lancaster’s full complement take to the field for the first time today since that mauling at the hands of Wales eight months ago, when their Six Nations dreams were shattered.

That was England’s only defeat this year, with a team weakened by British and Irish Lions call-ups going on to claim two wins in Argentina over the summer.

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But ahead of their first game on successive Saturdays against three of the best the southern hemisphere has to offer, that 30-3 reverse at the Millennium Stadium remains their stand-out result of 2013.

Lancaster this week described Twickenham appointments with the Wallabies, Argentina and world champions New Zealand as the start of a “defining year” in the build up to the 2015 World Cup on home soil.

Indeed, three wins this month will render that Cardiff failure a blip and send England into next Spring’s Six Nations in top gear.

But, with some pundits claiming that the loss to the Welsh demonstrated Lancaster’s men lack the physicality to challenge at the highest level, Wood has admitted that they are still “reeling” from the gut-wrenching result.

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“It doesn’t sit well still,” said the Northampton Saints back-row forward.

“It was not due to a lack of Test- match intensity,” he said.

“There were physical tackles going in, some resilient defence for much of the game.

“But we got caught by an emotionally-charged Wales on the day. Once the dam broke around the 50- to 60-minute mark, we got left behind.

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“We knew what was at stake that day. They got it right. We didn’t.”

With that in mind, Wood – who missed out on the captaincy race to Chris Robshaw despite leading England in the summer – has called for the men in white to show greater intensity today.

Australia arrive at Twickenham having grown in confidence over the course of the autumn.

They are much changed from the team beaten 2-1 by the British and Irish Lions, and Wood knows England have to be at their ferocious best from minute one.

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“It’s all about intensity and if you’ve got it, you’ve got it. That’s what we need every week as a pre-requisite,” he said.

“We don’t have to ask for it. We don’t have to have a bad performance (to spark it).

“We don’t have to have a kicking from the coaches or be dragged through the mud by the press before we have a reaction and say ‘yeah, we’re up for it’.

“We have to set our own standards. This is England and this is what we are about.

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“You don’t come here and take your foot off the gas. England is your club level plus 20 per cent and more. There is an expectation here that you don’t walk in defence. You don’t amble to rucks.

“You hit them with everything you’ve got and then you get up and look for the next one. That is what our expectation of each other has got to be.

“We have got to demand that of each other. The new guys have to realise that. Otherwise you lose.”

Lancaster has similarly challenged his players to start quickly against Ewen McKenzie’s side as England look for a first win in the Cook Cup match for three years.

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“The key message this week is that we can’t wait a game or two into a series to get up to speed,” said England’s head coach.

“Being an international rugby player is about being ready in the here and now.

“You must get to that level of intensity that is required to win without going through one or two poor performances or needing a kick up the backside.”

As is tradition with a Lancaster team, England are on the inexperienced side, with the eight on the bench outweighing the 15 on the field in terms of caps won. The half-back partnership of Owen Farrell and Lee Dickson have only 25 appearances between them, a number dwarfed by the 95 their opposing numbers Will Genia and Quade Cooper share. And it is that play-making axis that England’s backs coach Andy Farrell fears the most.

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“Giving Quade the vice-captaincy is a very smart move,” said Farrell. “It matures him a little bit naturally and it’s reward for how he’s buckled down over the last three or four games and driven the team on.

“It’s not that he’s unpredictable, because he knows what he’s doing. It’s a slight on him to say he’s just a maverick that’s off the cuff, he’s knows what he’s doing.

“I saw Genia coming on in the second half in South Africa recently and throwing the ball around with Cooper. Together, they’ll be a threat.”

McGeechan on Lions: Page 7.