âAgainst France
on Saturday night, they were pushed hard and only had two or three
opportunities, but they took them. That is the mark of a great team.
âTo back ourselves to win a World Cup in England we have to have the
confidence to play a side like New Zealand.
“We play them four times over the next six months. If we want to be genuine
contenders in 2015 we have got to have the belief we can win these games.â
Lancaster dismissed the notion that his young side might be overawed, citing
the lead-in to last seasonâs unexpected win as an example of just how to
handle things.
âOur mindset has to be the same as it was last year,â Lancaster said.
âWe were on the back of two losses last year but we still had that inner
confidence.
“You have to accentuate the positives.
“That belief is there, although we recognise that we have got to put in a
level of performance above and beyond the two games we have put in so far to
beat New Zealand.â
England will be without four injured Lions
with Lancaster confirming that prop Mako Vunipola had definitely been ruled
out, to join long-term absentees Tom Croft, Brad Barritt and Manu Tuilagi.
Christian Wade, the speedy Wasps speedy wing who had been pencilled in to
start against Argentina,
is not expected to be fit to take part in the double training session on
Tuesday as he recovers from a tight hamstring, which would rule him out of
contention.
Marland Yarde, the London Irish wing, was also absent with a hip problem
against Argentina but it looks as if he will be available.
Joe Marler, the loosehad prop who left the field at half-time against the
Pumas after taking a blow to the head, is going through concussion
return-to-play protocols.
Lancaster names his side on Thursday and is unlikely to deviate from those who
have done service over the past fortnight.
He had a particular message for Chris Ashton, the wing who almost messed up
the act of
try-scoring on Saturday by carrying the ball too far. âJust put the ball over
the line would be my advice,â Lancaster said pointedly.
Getting his team to play at an elevated level for the entire match will be a
prime focus over the next four days.
England laboured in the second half against Argentina, the flip of their
performance against Australia,
when they rallied after the break following a wretched opening period.
âThe challenge when playing New Zealand is to do it for 80 minutes,â Lancaster
said.
âThat will be our goal. Our first-half performance against Argentina was
excellent, with some of the best rugby we have played.
But we went away from that in the second half. We tried to play round
Argentina without earning the right to do that.
âDefensively we have been strong and our decision-making at the breakdown is
much improved.
“We have to be on the money in that area, it will be a big, big part of the
game.
“New Zealand have got fantastic strike runners.
You know that there will be times when they are in the ascendant and it is all
about not panicking under that pressure.
“It is about staying in the game for 80 minutes. That is what it takes to beat
them.â
Lancaster shrugged aside suggestions that New Zealand had been severely
handicapped last season by illness.
“I didnât realise anything had been discussed about it. It is about us this
week and getting our selection right.
“It is about growing our self-belief. What happened last year is irrelevant.
“New Zealand will be keen to finish off this northern hemisphere tour with two
wins.â
There are no special plans in place for facing the haka.
âIt is one of the great rituals in sport and New Zealand put a huge
amount of emphasis on it and rightly so,â Lancaster said.
âOur players will look forward to facing it.â
Article source: http://sportsnewsireland.com/rugby/rugby_irish/shane-byrne-launches-u21-rugby-tournament-2013-09-02/
England v New Zealand: This is the biggest challenge in rugby union, says ...
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