Are England fully prepared for their Rugby World Cup quarter-final game?
England are set to face old foes Australia in the Rugby World Cup quarter-finals on Saturday 19th October. So far in the tournament, the Red Roses are showing signs of being strong contenders for the Web Ellis Cup, but there’s been a slight hiccup. The predicted devastation of Typhoon Hagibis meant their final pool match against France was cancelled. The question is, will this lapse in play benefit or hinder England on Saturday?
Their campaign so far
In the pool stages, England defeated opponents Tonga, Argentina and USA, all by a comfortable scoreline. The only possible challenge they faced was against Argentina, who narrowed the margin of victory to 29 points.
France finished the group as runners-up. The meeting between the two would have been the decider, as to who would top the group. With the natural disaster affecting the tournament, the game was cancelled, and each side was awarded two points, meaning that England finished top of the table.
A potentially devastating gap
France and England are regular opponents. The two have come face to face over 100 times in the mud, with England winning 18 more matches than France. The competition between the two is quite even, but it would have been England’s most challenging World Cup game yet.
Understandably, a lot of fans were disappointed with the cancellation of the game. Nearly 70,000 people were expected to attend in Yokohama, with plenty more flying in for the remainder of the tournament. But how does this affect the squad?
The reality of it is that the squad have played one less game. It’s one less opportunity to put their strategies into practice and one more week of pent-up energy. For Eddie Jones’ side, there was little they could do but prepare – and prepare they did. With the team taking part in a ‘full-bloodied training session’ on the day they were set to face France, it seems England haven’t taken their foot off the pedal.
Elliot Daly, England full-back, has said “there is a lot of energy on the training pitch.” He continued, “We had to rein it back a bit today because the boys were getting a bit too excited.”
It all sounds promising in the England camp, and the team sound more than prepared to take on the Wallabies.
Looking ahead
The Red Roses have been victorious against the Wallabies in recent years, but the last time the two met on rugby’s biggest global stage – Australia won. During the 2015 Rugby World Cup pool stages, England were knocked out of the competition by Australia, which resulted in an embarrassing campaign for the host nation.
The ghosts that loom over England seem to have disappeared with the side having won all six of their previous meetings since that fateful day at Twickenham four years ago. However, it is time, for England to step up to the plate once more, and this time prove their worth in rugby’s biggest competition.
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The odds from Paddy Power can be found here for you to predict the outcome of the quarter-final: paddypower.com/rugby-union/rugby-world-cup-2019. For the English fans who watch the game, there will be many on the edge of their seats. A victory will mean potentially facing the All Blacks in the semi-finals, but another defeat to the Wallabies could be a devastating blow.
