Today we were all delighted by the Rugby World Cup 2015 launch video that featured a number of familiar England Rugby faces and in just a few days time the tickets will go on sale for next year's tournament. Before England get there they have the 2014 QBE Internationals to tackle and today's video turned my thoughts to reflect on the development of our England Rugby side since the 2013 fixtures.
Over the course of their 8 Test matches
England have grown, they have built match on match, and come of age before our
very eyes. England now play a patient style of rugby, one that is confident in its
own abilities and does not force proceedings. Their pace and flair is greater
than ever before but it is delivered at the right time instead of being constantly forced. Being under the cosh no longer phases Chris Robshaw and his men
nor does a huge weight of expectation that they have on them to win. Lying underneath their calm and
composed exterior there is a desire to prove themselves, a desire that is
greater than ever before; every single member of the England set up knows the
weight of expectation that is on them so close to a home Rugby World Cup, they feel it
acutely and are getting used to carrying such a burden. This pressure is welcome and indeed necessary because it means that come the 18th September 2015 when they run out at Twickenham Stadium against Fiji they won’t suddenly be
hit with a tidal wave of emotions and pressure because they will have shouldered this expectation for months already.
Over the past twelve months England’s
depth of talent has deepened to a point where in every position there are at
least two or in some cases even three viable options. For Stuart Lancaster and his team
selection headaches are constant, and I’m sure welcomed. A Rugby World Cup is not won
by fifteen players, it is won by a squad that is filled with talent, a squad
that is pushing each other every step of the way and England now have that. The
long term injuries to key men last season and the summer scheduling fiasco allowed others to step into
the frame and push their causes. To a man they did so with conviction and class and the
development of England’s talent pool over the past twelve months has been
substantial.
The Summer Tour to New Zealand was the
ultimate test of their maturity and like a teenager being sent away to
university for the very first time there were a couple of hick ups and life
lessons learned. Against the best in the world only constant and unrelenting
pressure will suffice in order to succeed; eighty minute performances must be
delivered, not sixty or fifty minutes. However their failure to win a test against the
All Blacks should not mean that the entire year itself is also labelled in that
manner, that would be overly harsh and unjust. England’s reaction to their losses spoke volumes,
their standards are higher than ever before, their frank analysis of the results signal a new age in elite English rugby. It is an age where nothing but the most clinical and cut-throat performances are accepted and anything else is shunned. Indeed it is an age that reminds you of a
certain famous England squad and their own unremitting quest to be the best in the
world.
Twelve months, three hundred and sixty five days, is a long time in rugby and if England make the same amount of progression that they have done since this time last year then there is no reason why they won’t head into the World Cup confident and fully ready to take on the monumentous task at hand. For now the 2014 QBE Internationals are the focus and four from four is the desired outcome. New Zealand... South Africa... Samoa... Australia; a formidable task and another huge stepping stone in this England side's journey.
Twelve months, three hundred and sixty five days, is a long time in rugby and if England make the same amount of progression that they have done since this time last year then there is no reason why they won’t head into the World Cup confident and fully ready to take on the monumentous task at hand. For now the 2014 QBE Internationals are the focus and four from four is the desired outcome. New Zealand... South Africa... Samoa... Australia; a formidable task and another huge stepping stone in this England side's journey.
