All Blacks & AIG Haka 360

As many of you will know, when you fly abroad the ground staff often give you a little wave or nod that says ‘have a good one’ just as the plane is shunted back and taxied to the runway. It is a polite and unassuming gesture that some may not even notice, however earlier this week when the Air New Zealand ground staff bade farewell to their national side they did so with the ultimate mark of respect; a full haka.

Of course other nations have their own traditional war dances however, with respect, the Māori haka performed by the All Blacks is the most iconic and recognised by fans and players alike. This is why their partner AIG have chosen to develop a way to bring individuals, like you and I, as close to the haka as possible with their 360 haka Experience.  Now, normally I shy away from 3d programmes and virtual reality after a very bad experience when I was a child on Honey I Shrunk The Kids at Disney, it haunts me to this day (!) however the haka is more my scene and I was intrigued to see just how good this could be. 

The experience itself was filmed at this year’s Rugby Championship match against Argentina and the camera work and technology combined gives you the most phenomenal angles and vantage points both before and during the haka. Of course you do feel a little stupid with the headset on however it does add to the experience as you are enclosed in the action and moving your head around to gain different angles. Personally I have no idea how AIG have put this together however if you are in and round London during the tournament then I wholeheartedly recommend a trip to the South Bank to AIG’s Touchline to experience this. On a similar note, if you are feeling a little touristy whilst there then may I also suggest a visit to the London Eye, for it has had it’s own Rugby World Cup makeover and looks superb.

On launching ‘haka 360’ Sean Fitzpatrick shared a few of his experiences and something I didn’t know was that prior to the 1987 Rugby World Cup the haka hadn’t been performed on New Zealand soil before, it was only used when the team toured. He openly admitted that performing the haka was the most intimidating thing about his first cap and amusingly in 1995 he found his former team mate, Andrew Mertens, practising the haka in the showers two minutes before they were due to run out! 

A man that will be experiencing his first Rugby World Cup is Sam Cane and as we sat down in the corner of AIG’s Touchline his enthusiasm and happiness at being part to this tournament came across in spades. Sam’s previous Rugby World Cup experience, back in 2011, was a little different to the one that now lies ahead of him;

“I played for the New Zealand U20s that year and was was nominated for the Junior Player of the Year and it was lucky that it was the same year as the Rugby World Cup and everyone that was nominated for an award that year were put up in Auckland and got given tickets to the Final and the Third Place Playoff.”

“It is sinking in for sure, for the last couple of years the talk about the tournament and the hype has started to increase. But as a player you don’t even allow yourself to think about it and get too excited because so much can happen, injuries, selection, form all sorts of things so it is not until you get handed your ticket that you think wow we are actually going!”

Sam’s words ‘we’d be silly to come all this way and not enjoy it' are encouraging to hear.  Of course the pressure on every team is great, especially on the World leaders, however a Rugby World Cup should be a special experience and one that is fully absorbed by those performing. 

The All Blacks may have only landed a short time earlier however all looked cool, calm and collected. They are ‘pretty excited to get out there and play some rugby again’ as it has been few weeks since their final run out and their first opponents are a known entity; Argentina. With respect to Tonga, Georgia and Namibia, this opening pool fixture will be their most challenging, the choice of haka will be down to Richie & Keven Mealamu and regardless of which is chosen it will be the ultimate precursor to the action and ignite Wembley Stadium.  

Sean Fitzpatrick and Sam Cane were speaking on behalf of AIG, the Official Insurance Partner of New Zealand Rugby. AIG is bring fans closer to the All Blacks’ haka than ever before. Take the challenge at AIG.com/Haka360

#WearTheRose Live - England Rugby's Send Off

Since opening the O2 Arena has hosted countless events and has been filled by many different audiences from screaming teenagers almost self combusting over One Direction to the more experienced lady or gentlemen enjoying The Royal Ballet. Last night it was the turn of English rugby fans to fill the spectacular venue as our national side's title sponsor, O2, sent off the England Rugby players in style with #WearTheRose live. 

For the last twelve weeks this England Rugby side has been training, in relative isolation, focused on the task at hand either at altitude in Denver or in the leafy surroundings of Pennyhill Park in Surrey. The two Twickenham match days will have undoubtedly provided a taster of the support surrounding them however last night's event will certainly have brought home the full magnitude of what is to come. The evening was a huge celebration and whilst there will be some that say it is premature as England haven’t done or won anything yet, I believe it was a great way to salute the team and coaching staff and wish them well for what will be a monumental challenge ahead. 

As Stuart Lancaster addressed the 14,000 strong audience he was phenomenally composed and as eloquent as ever. As an individual Stuart himself has been on quite the journey to get to this point after being handed the role on an interim basis in 2012 and has always impressed me. Without a doubt Stuart and his coaching team have galvanised this England side and he spoke openly about his desire for all to be ‘more front footed’ about being English. In his first week with the players back in Leeds he wrote to all of the players’ parents and ask them to write back with what it means to see their sons playing for England and to get three or four other people that had influenced that players’ career to do so too. He did this unbeknown to the players and at the end of their first block of training shared the notes with them, something many have never forgotten. Last night, he openly explained how this idea came about;

“Everyone asks me where that idea came from and I’ll tell you, I’ve not told this story before but I’ll tell you now anyway, it comes from a player who is sat over there and when he was 15 I started coaching him and he left the club that I was at and went onto make his England debut in his 20s. I sent him a text on the day of the game, I was so proud and so chuffed to have been a small part of his journey to becoming this England player. He text me back on the day of the game and say ‘Thanks Lanny I can’t wait to be playing’ and that made me feel so special to be a very small part of his journey. I thought to myself can you imagine being his parents, or his grand father, or his primary school teacher or his girlfriend or whatever and how proud they would feel.”

Stuart spoke about the honour that is bestowed on the members of his team, since 1871 only 1,392 people have represented England Rugby. 1,392 people have known what it is like to run out at Twickenham Stadium in front of a packed house and represent their country playing the game that they love and that is some honour. The philosophy that this England side have openly articulated in recent years is about being ‘custodians of their shirts’ and ensuring that 'every time you wear it and when you finally pass it on you have taken it to a better place'. Of course triumphing in a home World Cup would certainly fall into that category and in order to try and achieve this Stuart articulated his viewpoint on the importance of playing at home;

“Let’s make sure that home advantage counts, let’s make sure that there are no regrets because we don’t want the fear of failure to kill any of the dreams that we have got, we’ve got to let the boys go out and express themselves. But, there is one final thing and it is an intangible but it is point of difference and it is called heart. If we play with our heart, and you guys get behind the team, the boys will play with their heart on their sleeves, on their shirts for you I can absolutely guarantee it.”

This World Cup will not be easy, England do not have the luxury of a favourable or kind Pool draw instead they must feel the full force of the World's best from the offset. The phrase 'to be the best you have the beat the best' applies for this tournament and to have to do so on home soil means that the pressure on their shoulders is immense. Months, and indeed years, of training are complete and now it is time for the players to deliver and as Stuart Lancaster says for supporters too - home advantage must count. 

Bath Rugby - Building Depth & Leadership

The 2015/16 Aviva Premiership season is undoubtably going to be one of the most challenging and arduous for our Aviva Premiership sides. With the presence of a home Rugby World Cup there isn’t any room for the annual LV Cup and with European duties as well rest weekends are few and far between. 

When the competition commences for some clubs the first challenge will be managing without many key individuals for the opening rounds and a side that will be losing more than most are Bath Rugby. In total Bath have over ten players out on International duty and it has meant that Head Coach Mike Ford has needed to address a number of elements during the pre-season not just his players’ conditioning. Developing a solid leadership group is integral to any domestic or international rugby side and most of the leaders that directed Bath Rugby to the Aviva Premiership Final are now away on International duty. There are few individuals for which leadership comes truly naturally therefore developing key players in that area has been, and remains, a focus for the summer;

“It isn’t a case of right you are a leader now go and talk to the players… they are learning what to, what needs to be said, how you say it and all of the different elements. Over the last four or five weeks we have had some fantastic growth in these players as leaders and when the other leaders come back we will have two leadership groups because it is important to keep developing and growing the players underneath.”

Heading into their four West Country Challenge Cup matches Mike was very open regarding the numbers that they have available to them this pre-season - fewer than other clubs. Exeter will be putting out a different XV in each half for their pre-season matches however Bath are a long way from having that luxury! This isn’t necessarily going to be a hinderance to the club instead it is going to give individuals ample opportunity to put their hands up for selection with specific goals outlined for each fixture;

“We have developed the less experienced end of the playing squad in terms of the time with the coaches, a lot of one on ones and they’ve been doing a lot more game time in training so they have got more reps in them. You’ll see a side against Gloucester on Sunday is very, very young but the summer is allowing us to make the depth in the squad stronger.” 

“As a club, as coaches and as a group of senior player we all sit down each week and outline the critical outcome that we want to achieve from a game. We did hat this morning and what we want to try and get out of the game this weekend and hasn't got anything to do with the result, put it that way. If we achieve what we want to achieve and this critical outcome then we will be in a good place to go into the week after when we play Exeter away and that is all we want to do, is to get better every day, every week and every game. We want to get better and the bigger picture is that come 17th October we are ready to play in the Premiership with a tough start.”

This weekend’s fixture will be played at the Memorial Stadium in Bristol as Kingsholm will be gearing up to host a series of Rugby World Cup fixtures. As with any domestic team that are losing a number of individuals to International duty, these pre-season fixtures and the start of the Aviva Premiership season will challenge Bath Rugby however at Farleigh House the mood is high. Yesterday it was announced that all four coaches have just signed new four year deals and all, in Mike Ford's words, are 'hungrier than ever' for this season after the denouement to last. The Bath blueprint will not be changing, attacking rugby is the order of the day and it starts this weekend against their old rivals Gloucester Rugby. 

Gloucester Rugby and Bath Rugby will announce the teams for their West Country Challenge Cup Derby on Friday 11th September at 12pm. KO Sunday 13th September at 3pm, Memorial Stadium in Bristol. 

Stuart Lancaster's Match Reaction (Eng vs. Ire)

Stuart Lancaster will have slept a little easier on Saturday night following his side’s victory over Ireland. After the nightmare that was Paris, England’s performance on green grass of home will have comforted their Head Coach however rest assured he knows that the greatest challenges are to come;

“It’ll be feet on the ground - we don’t want to get too carried away because we know the threat that’s coming round the corner a week on Friday, and that will be made clear when we’re together tomorrow [Sunday]. So the boys are pleased, but we’re not jumping up and down because we know that the real business starts a week on Friday and not today.”

In answer question that so many had been pondering on regarding which was more important the victory or the performance Stuart made it clear that the latter would always deliver the former; 

“If you go into a game with a mindset not to lose then ultimately you probably won’t win. You have to get your performance right and we looked at the areas we needed to improve against France. Set-piece wise the forwards did well and discipline was an awful lot better. It was disappointing to have two tries disallowed but overall we closed the game out well." 

Since being dropped from England’s side during the RBS 6 Nations Gloucester Rugby’s Jonny May has bounced back with exceptional performances that have eclipsed anything that we have seen prior from him in the red rose of England. His try after just 5 minutes set the tone for England and he has pushed his case very hard for a starting jersey against Fiji;

“I thought Jonny was excellent. They rarely found grass in the back field because Jonny, Anthony and Browny had done their homework, dealt with the aerial threat. Jonny showed really attacking intent but also physicality to score. Jonny put his hand up but he’s been putting his hand up throughout this pre-season camp.”

Earlier in the week Rob Andrew, the man that is now the RFU’s Professional Rugby Director, stated that this England side won’t peak for this Rugby World Cup. His exact words were; ‘Is this team going to peak at this World Cup? I don’t know. I doubt it, to be honest.’ With 13 days to go before the tournament it was the time for England’s Head Coach to state his personal perspective on it;

“It’s a results based business I understand that. But I think this team is ready, yes. I would also add to that Ireland, Australia, Wales, New Zealand, South Africa, the list goes on. There are six or seven teams who could win it and whoever does win it is going to have to put together a run of six or seven performances on the bounce. That’s our challenge as well. But playing at Twickenham the way we did today, we’re a hard team to beat.”

Speaking with Stuart just after Fiji's final warm up game at The Stoop he is well aware of the threat that the Pacific Islander's pose and as you'd expect doesn't have a single ounce of complacency going into the opening fixture. Fiji may be classed as a 'Tier 2' nation however in Stuart's eyes they are as stronger test for England as Ireland were this weekend.  He articulated again what he will be imploring England to do on Talksport's Full Contact Show with Brian Moore later on Sunday night; 

"I think that we have to get the basics right and the fundamentals of the game - that applies whether you are playing against Wales, Australia Fiji or New Zealand. You have to have good discipline, our defence has to be good because obviously they posses ball carrying threats across the park. Our set piece has to be strong and we have to get our game in the right areas of the field, not overplaying in the middle half of the field, not allowing them unstructured attack, and turning them a bit and making them play out before squeezing them as the game goes not. But, it is all very well said in theory you have to do it in practice and obviously come a week on Friday it is going to be a white hot atmosphere and we need to make sure that we can deliver under pressure." 

England now have their last uninterrupted week of training before the Rugby World Cup whirlwind commences. This week the focus turns to Stuart and his coaching team to make the appropriate selection decisions to face the Fijian charge. Having seen first hand the quality of Fiji's rugby it highlights, even more, the importance of England's victory this weekend and again reinforces the viewpoint that Fiji are a very real threat to all of the teams in Pool A. 

Fiji Watch

At the Twickenham Stoop Fiji secured themselves a confidence boosting and comfortable win in their final Rugby World Cup Warm up Fixture against Canada. It was yet another demonstration of the threat that the Pacific Islanders pose to all of Pool A and highlighted to England Rugby exactly what they will be facing on the opening night of the tournament. 

When Fiji announced their squad the potential was evident for all to see as it is jam packed with names that light up the Aviva Premiership, Pro 12 and Top 14. Historically Fiji have always delivered physically but have often spoiled their own work with wanton abandon and a lack of cohesion, however with two months of solid training the question lingered as to how good they could really be?

Fast forward to twelve days before the Rugby World Cup and answer is clear; Fiji are a genuine threat and every side in Pool A will need to take them very seriously. The team that pushed aside Canada did so with a productive amount of structure, a solid set piece and brutal physical intensity. From Fly Half Ben Volavola pulled the strings with efficiency however it was Bath Rugby's new signing, Niko Matawalu, that will have given the watching Stuart Lancaster and Andy Farrell much more to consider. Matawalu scored two tries of his own and was instrumental in setting up a third during the opening half. However his downfall was over exuberant swan dive that resulted in something tweaking and he left the field. It didn’t look serious, certainly not akin to the injuries of Leigh Halfpenny and Rhys Webb, and I expect him to start at Twickenham Stadium and give Ben Youngs and England a huge amount to think about. 

The trademark Fijian physicality is something that England must work out how to handle. The majority of elite rugby teams have their enforcers, the big men that do the damage however watching Fiji at The Stoop they appear to have fifteen of them. As you will see when the teams run out in 12 days time there is little discernible difference in size between their 10, 11 and 12 than their 6, 7 and 8 and all collide with their opponents with seismic force. On home soil there is no question that England will feel the full might of this Pacific Island and the thing that I hope for most, alongside a victory, is that England come out of the opener relatively unscathed from an injury perspective. 

Fijian footie thrives off the counter attack, any loose kicking or careless handling will play right into their hands and with someone like the 20 stone attacking threat of Nemani Nadolo sloppy game management will be punished. England must expect quick lineout off every single one, no matter where it is on the pitch, and can never switch off for a moment. The scrummage will be a contest, it isn’t an area of historical Fijian expertise however against Canada it was respectable. To be truthfully honest the true extent of Fiji's scrummaging prowess will only be seen on game day against England, for Canada’s set piece isn’t world leading whereas I believe that England’s is. 

The long and the short of 'Fiji Watch' is that England, and indeed every member of Pool A, have a rather large task on their hands. England really do have the toughest Pool in tournament history and their opening fixture against Fiji will be very far from a walk in the park. 

England Rugby - Home Sweet Home

When Nigel Owens blew the final whistle the scoreboard was illuminated with the words England 21 Ireland 13. With just 13 days to go before the Rugby World Cup England had delivered the victory required and done so with a performance that stamped their authority on Twickenham Stadium. The home side’s message to Ireland and indeed the rest of the rugby world was clear; this our home, our patch and we are ready for this tournament. 

As Twickenham Stadium filled to capacity, a little over eighty minutes earlier, you could feel the apprehension in the air. Of course there was excitement however the overarching emotions were caution and concern given England's performance in Paris. It is fair to say that no-one donning the red rose of England dared to contemplate the thought of another such loss, it would have been disastrous. 

The tone for the Test match was set by Chris Robshaw; off the opening kick off he charged down Simon Zebo and in no uncertain terms ‘sat him down’. Chris continued to do this off every single kick off for the entire fixture and alongside his 21 tackles England’s Captain led by example, as the true greats do. That opening hit and Jonny May’s electric try within five minutes said, in no uncertain terms; we are back and we are going to show you all what this England side can do. 

The major facets that were poor in France were corrected and made a discernible difference to England’s output. England were reformed when it came to their discipline, in eighty minutes of work they gave away just 6 penalties whereas in Paris they conceded 7 were in the opening half alone. The breakdown was contested with considered and appropriate intensity instead of over zealous but slightly wanton enthusiasm and a shaky lineout turned into a strong one. The scrummage wasn’t pristine, however it certainly provided enough of a platform for England’s backs to work from - something that was sorely lacking in Paris. 

Out the back England enjoyed themselves and it all started from the performance of George Ford. The Fly half handled the augmented pressure on him like a man ten years older and looked back to his effortless best orchestrating proceedings from the middle. His pinpoint cross field kick to Anthony Watson was his most obvious contribution however there were many more examples of his vision and distribution and I believe he will start against Fiji. Outside of Ford the 'new' centre partnership caused little to be concerned about, Barritt and Joseph looked comfortable together and gelled well.  

Prior to last night Jonny May, may not have had a starting jersey with his name inked on it however after such a dynamic and impressive performance I don’t believe that England can start without him. This is a big statement for I haven’t always been his greatest fan however the Gloucester man has worked extremely hard since being dropped in the 6 Nations and now offers the full package. May’s pace remains outstanding, however he now is delivering it off a visibly more muscular frame and one that enables him to be more confident and aggressive defensively. Alongside Watson and Brown England’s back three handled Ireland’s aerial challenge with delightful expertise and endlessly asked questions of their opponents on the counter. 

It was the performance that England required at the most pressured and important of times and it is testament to the England’s players and wider team that they handled the situation so well. Clearly, chances were missed and scrums were lost however when it came down to it Chris Robshaw and his team stepped up to the mark and silenced their doubters by never letting a very strong Irish side get, fully, into their stride. The baton is now handed back over to Stuart Lancaster to ensure that he nails the selection decisions for Fiji, his words in the post match pressure conference ‘we have no injury concerns’ are a blessing following such an intense test match. It was the lift that the squad and indeed the nation needed and I believe that England Rugby will now feel ready for whatever is going to be thrown at them this autumn. 

Graham Rowntree - England's World Cup Starts Here

In the press conference following England Rugby’s Team Run Graham Rowntree openly stated that ‘the World Cup starts tomorrow’ and he is right. England’s Forwards Coach is never shy about speaking his mind and explicitly stating this highlights, again, the magnitude of this match against Ireland. In spite of England’s pack looking distinctly off colour recently Rowntree isn’t pushing the panic button just yet;

“As I said last week we’ve not been the worst pack in the World for the last couple of years, as a coach you want to look at performances and not get hysterical about what has been said and understand what we have done against good opposition in the last couple of years. I’ve told the lads that this, this week… there are elements of our game that have got to be better but there always are and we’ve looked at that and corrected them and tomorrow it is important to deliver.”

An area of great focus has been England’s lineout and an individual that has received a lot of criticism in the past few months is Tom Youngs. There is perception that hangs across social media in particular that Tom is not up to the task, something that Graham Rowntree unequivocally believes is incorrect. The statistics tell you that England’s lineout percentage against France wasn’t glowing however in Rowntree’s mind that cannot be focused on Youngs alone;

“I’ve seen criticism of us as a pack and rightly so. You can’t pinpoint the blame on one person because it is not all down to the throwing in terms of those few lineouts that went astray, as I say there are a lot of moving parts in a modern lineout. You layer on top of that a very athletic defence and it is hard work. No, I would never pinpoint all of the blame on one person, never. Tom has been exceptional for us, his performance, a British and Irish Lion and I’m delighted to see him start tomorrow, looking forward to seeing him start at Twickenham and playing with his brother. I’m a big Tom Youngs fan, what he brings to the group, on and off the field is indescribable really.”

England trained hard throughout both of their previous fixtures and didn’t ease off heading into the Test matches as would usually be the case. This is something that many sides choose to do in order to ensure that they peak at the right time however as we have seen it does impact on performance levels. At Twickenham and in Paris England ran out with what Graham called ‘an element of fatigue’ however this will not be the case against Ireland;

“Last week was a tough week all around for everyone for many reasons but they have trained exceptionally well this week and we’ve tapered down nicely. As I said to you previously it was important to train through the last two games but we have tapered well this week and we are ready. We’ve had a good team run, we are ready for another full on game, another full on warm up game because essentially our World Cup starts tomorrow.”

When you review the starting personnel for this Test Match there are almighty head to heads all over the park. The front row tussle between the aforementioned Tom Youngs and Rory Best will be tumultuous, the thunderous prospect of Ben Morgan and Jamie Heaslip clashing at 8 and of course the critical lineout dual off between Geoff Parling and Paul O’Connell are all mesmerising. I have absolutely no doubt that this Test Match will be the most intense that we have seen between these two nations and as I have stated before for England, it is quite simply a must win match. 

England: 15 Mike Brown 14 Anthony Watson 13 Jonathan Joseph 12 Brad Barritt 11 Jonny May 10 George Ford 9 Ben Youngs 2 Tom Youngs 3 Dan Cole 4 Courtney Lawes 5 Geoff Parling 6 Tom Wood 7 Chris Robshaw (C) 8 Ben Morgan Replacements: 16 Jamie George 17 Mako Vunipola 18 Kieran Brookes 19 Joe Launchbury 20 Billy Vunipola 21 Richard Wigglesworth 22 Owen Farrell 23 Sam Burgess

Ireland: 15 Simon Zebo 14 Tommy Bowe 13 Jared Payne 12 Robbie Henshaw 11 Dave Kearney 10 Jonathan Sexton 9 Conor Murray 1 Jack McGrath 2 Rory Best 3 Mike Ross 4 Devin Toner 5 Paul O'Connell (C) 6 Peter O’Mahony 7 Sean O’Brien 8 Jamie Heaslip Replacements: 16 Richardt Strauss 17 Tadhg Furlong 18 Nathan White 19 Donnacha Ryan 20 Chris Henry 21 Eoin Reddan 22 Ian Madigan 23 Darren Cave

Rugby Aid - Game Day Nerves

Tonight will be a first for the sport of rugby as Rugby Aid arrives in London and former professionals and celebrities will clash for the inaugural fixture. England will take on the Rest Of The World in front of a packed house at the Twickenham Stoop and as the match will be televised live on BT Sport there is absolutely nowhere to hide for the celebrities or the former professionals!

Soccer Aid has firmly established itself in the diary and has raised over £15m to date for UNICEF and the hope is that from hereon in Rugby Aid will take it’s own place in the sporting calendar and raise a similar amount for the extremely deserving cause that is Rugby For Heroes. Rugby For Heroes supports our military personnel in the transition back into civilian life, a transition that many can find challenging and delivers the support and assistance required. 

The man leading the charge from a Rugby Aid respective is Mike Tindall, as a patron of the Rugby For Heroes Charity, a 2003 Rugby World Winner and someone that has a huge book of contacts he is without question the right man for the job! Mike has spearheaded a tremendous recruitment campaign and whilst his efforts to secure Russell Crowe's services didn't quite come through, the suite of former professionals and celebrity team mates that he has helped to recruit is outstanding. 

The names Simon Shaw, Iain Balshaw, Lee Meyers, Al Kellock, Jason Robinson and Shane Williams give you an indication of the calibre of rugby player that will be running out at The Stoop. These men will be joined by many that ignited our Aviva Premiership competition last season including Tom May, Brad Thorn and Mark Cueto and together they'll form the rugby backbone of both sides. 

As you’d expect the celebrities joining them, even with a fair few months of gym work in the bank, are feeling the nerves. The sight of the aforementioned Brad Thorn in the flesh and the realisation that none of the former professionals had lost any of their pace or strength, has caused a spot of concern. One man that we are are used to seeing as part of Made In Chelsea, Jamie Laing, has shown a strong skill set in training. Jamie actually played a good deal of rugby at school, was part of Worcester's Academy and even played England U16s however even with that background he remains apprehensive; 

“It is every school boys dream to play in this match, I grew up watching Tinds, Balsh and Jason Robinson playing rugby on the TV and here I am training with them. It is very daunting, the pure size of the guys, how good they still are and of course the fact that Serge Betsen is gunning for me!! My tactics are that I’m going to try and take him out first and just absolutely smash him, I think I've got one bit hit in me and that's it!!!” 

From a former professional’s perspective the question that has divided opinion the most is what to do when a celebrity runs at you!? Instinct and competitive spirit says ‘nail him’ and in all honesty a fair few of the guys including Tom May and Iain Balshaw said that however for others there is a spot of concern at going full tilt.

As with all good invitational sides the Rugby Aid teams went out for a good old team bonding session earlier in the week and rumour has it that Bryan McFadden took to the microphone and delivered a song or two!! Spirits are high going into the inaugural Rugby Aid fixture, the line ups are outstanding and I wholeheartedly recommend that you join me tonight The Stoop to support the two teams and of course Rugby for Heroes. 

Rugby Aid kicks-off at the Twickenham Stoop at 7.45pm on Friday 4th September. Tickets are £20 and available to buy via www.tickets.quins.co.uk or on the night with all proceeds going to Rugby For Heroes, which raises funds and awareness through the sport of rugby to support military personnel. Rugby Aid is also exclusively live on BT Sport 1 from 7.00pm.

England Rugby - No Room For Error

The harsh reality is that come Saturday evening one of England or Ireland will be nursing their wounds in defeat and will head into this Rugby World Cup off the back of two straight losses and the thought of it being England is too painful to think about right now. By hook or by crook England must muscle past Ireland on home soil even if Stuart Lancaster is played down what defeat could mean at the squad announcement day on Tuesday; 

“I think, both teams will want to win and unless it is a a draw there will only be one winner. Does it define how you’ll do in the World Cup? Personally I don’t think that it will, I think New Zealand in 2011 might have lost the last two games and then went on to win it. But obviously clearly from our point of view, playing at home, playing at Twickenham it is a game that we definitely want to win because it will build momentum going into that Fiji game - that game itself will be a game in it’s own right but we will learn a lot about our players this weekend and we look forward to it.”

Facing into the Irish challenge without fear will be critical for England Rugby this week - the Green machine is a well oiled one and one that has a potent mix of experience and flair. History tells us that matches between these two sides are fractious and intense at the best of times let alone with the added pressure due to the timing of this fixture and prior results. Ireland will name their side on Thursday and we all, including Stuart Lancaster, expect it to be a full strength one. On Saturday afternoon England will have to contend with and shrug off Ireland's fortes - aerial bombardment and tremendous physical intensity. 

For two weeks in a row England’s pack have been pushed around and the set piece has been shaky, particularly in Paris. This is not something that we are used to seeing and it simply cannot happen again this weekend. As we all know without clean ball there isn’t a platform work off, it makes George Ford’s job extremely difficult and is immensely demoralising in the process. Stuart Lancaster has tweaked his selection in order to set about restoring a fully functioning lineout with Geoff Parling, his first choice lineout caller, entering the row alongside Courtney Lawes. Tom Wood comes into the back row to also provide an option at lineout time and every ounce of Ben Morgan’s experience will be required to ensure that England get clean ball off the back of, what we hope, will be a solid scrum. 

As has been the case during every single warm up match this summer we will have a keen focus on the centre partnership with Brad Barritt and Jonathan Joseph starting their first test together. One game out from a World Cup is this ideal? No, far from it however injury has forced this to happen extremely late and Stuart Lancaster believes that we should still expect plenty from the duo;

"We should expect a strong performance from both. They are both high-quality players. If Brad had been fit for the Six Nations he would have started alongside JJ on the back of what he’d done in the autumn straight up but he wasn’t so Luther got his chance. That combination of Ford, Barritt and Joseph have trained together consistently against Farrell, Burrell and Slade for two weeks now. It’s not as if we have suddenly put them together on Saturday, there has been a lot of work done together on the training field. Obviously that has to translate into a game. When you have two quality players with the work we have done you should be confident they will be cohesive."

Cohesion across the park is king, we cannot see another performance that is ‘blowing the cobwebs away’, there simply isn’t time for it. A familiar and focused England side must step out onto the pitch at Twickenham Stadium, the England side that we know and love. England must make life immensely difficult for Ireland, they must have a solid and destructive set piece and in attack run lines and moves that make Twickenham explode with noise. England’s discipline must be on point, we all know that Nigel Owens is the best in the business and as a collective England must quickly understand his perspective and adapt to it. It goes without saying that the crowd's role will be to make Twickenham an uncomfortable and dare I say it unfriendly/hostile place for Ireland to be... they must pressure the visitors and provide support and reinforcement to England. 

It is fair to say that the pressure on their shoulders of this England XV and bench has escalated to a scale that none will have experienced before wearing the rose of England. The white hot pressure of the Rugby World Cup has arrived, two weeks early, and as Stuart said we will learn a lot about these England players on Saturday afternoon. 

England Rugby - Home Advantage

As a host nation you expect the time leading up to a Rugby World Cup to be a positive and comfortable one however it is fair to say that for England it has been a touch more turbulent than expected. 

It is my hope that the widespread criticism surrounding selection decisions was heightened due to the 'out of sorts' performance that England delivered in Paris and that it won’t continue to tarnish support. The fact of the matter is this; England are not the favourite, they are in the most difficult pool in history and if that hand wasn't challenging enough they are the hosts. 

In years gone by England had to contend with one maybe even two challenging group stage matches; the fate that will meet the likes of South Africa and New Zealand this year given their easier pools. However, when the pressure is even greater due to being the host nation, England will have to climb and conquer three group stage mountains in Fiji, Australia and Wales.

The Fijians pose the ultimate opening night threat, they are a handful at the best of times and after a successful summer together have the words ‘banana skin’ penned all over them. This week Wales announced a squad with a few surprises but ultimately one that looks battle hardened and that is ready to peak at exactly the right time. Wales' recent performance against Ireland shows that they aren't afraid to gate-crash and spoil a party and in my opinion they looked as strong as we've seen them in a last few seasons. The Australians, as expected have turned it on just at the right time too. Michael Cheika has been an inspired selection as coach, he has the respect of all of the players and his tinkering with the 'selection criterion' has already paid dividends. Oh and finally the Wallabies have found a scrum...!!

The long and the short of it is this; England Rugby need the power of home support. As cliche as it might sound ‘the 16th’ man can, and must, be a factor in this tournament. Twickenham Stadium must be shaken to its very core by the noise of support for England Rugby during every single one of their matches, for however long they are in the tournament. Now with the first match in sight wholehearted and vocal support is necessary, whether you agree with the selection decisions made or not. Positivity and unwavering encouragement must be the order of the day starting this week as England face a very stern test of character. Without question this England side will already be feeling and dealing with an immense amount the pressure, they didn’t perform in Paris and now must face a gnarly and scorned Irish side on home soil less than two weeks before their Rugby World Cup campaign commences. Wales have done the business, Australia beat the All Blacks during their preparation and England have won one and lost one. This fixture is critical and it isn’t as if Ireland are easy opponents like others have chosen for their last warm up game. 

The players and coaching staff say that they don’t read the media or react to what is being said on social media channels however that simply isn’t the case. Continual negative gripes, comments or questions saying I knew that 'x' shouldn’t have been selected will filter through. This is a colossal task ahead, just ask any member of the 2011 New Zealand squad, being a host nation means that tournament it so much more intense and pressured than it already would be. We all have our viewpoints regarding selection, of course we do, however for the next nine weeks unequivocal support will be king to ensure that home advantage is fully exploited and made the most of during the greatest tournament of this squad’s lives. 

Ireland will arrive at Twickenham Stadium this weekend and this can't be an easy trip for them, they must feel uncomfortable and on edge. Trips away to the Stade de France or Ellis Park shake even the most experienced of sides and this must be the same now. I'm not saying veering away from the etiquette of the game, respecting the kickers and opposition is paramount however generating and cauldron of noise and feverish atmosphere will assist England in the mighty task that they face. Supporters cannot influence the discipline of the players or the strength of the set piece but they can assist in delivering the small margins and extra lift that will always be required during a Test match.