Stuart Lancaster expects Australia backlash for England

[SinBin]

England coach Stuart Lancaster has warned that Australia will be a "different animal" to the side that was beaten 33-6 by France on Saturday. "There is bound to be a reaction," said Lancaster ahead of Saturday's Test against the Wallabies at Twickenham. "We recognise the challenge that is coming our way. They are a side with character and resilience. We need to make sure we are ready."
England were totally dominant in their 54-12 defeat of Fiji on Saturday.

Australia, on the other hand, were obliterated in the scrum as France ended a run of five defeats to the Wallabies, whose coach Robbie Deans admitted Les Bleus were "too good" for his team.
The France defeat compounded what has been a difficult few months for an Australia team which has been criticised for their performances in the Rugby Championships, although they did draw 18-18 with New Zealand last month.
"It was only a couple of weeks ago they pushed the All Blacks and we are expecting that type of performance this weekend," said Lancaster, who enjoyed his first victory since taking permanent charge of the side.
"We've got a confidence that's building in our side but equally we're wary of a team that's been beaten and the reaction it will create.
"They're not ranked second in the world for nothing. They have performances in them that are of a high quality and I'm sure they'll be ready for us on Saturday."
France's victory took them above England to fourth in the world rankings, which could prove to be significant when the draw for the 2015 Rugby World Cup is made on 3 December.
England, who play Australia, South Africa and New Zealand in the forthcoming weeks, need to regain their place in the top four if they are to be among the top seeds for their home tournament.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/rugby-union/20302381

England must be shaking in their boots

[MI5_Dog]

Stuart Lancaster expects Australia backlash for England

I think Stuart Lancaster is the only person expecting it!

[Alison]

"A side with character and resilience" ??? He must have been watching some old tapes

[Alison]

I know that Fiji weren't much cop at the weekend but still, this highlights reel from the game has me a teensy weensy bit worried

http://www.rfu.com/rfutv/videos/2012...tory-over-fiji

[jargan83]

I'm sure the English hairdressers and beauticiains will cop the backlash from our side of princesses

[Sheikh]

Digby's having a laugh, surely:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2012...d-pretty-wings

Australia's Digby Ioane has said he is relishing the chance to launch his comeback against England's "pretty" wings.

Ioane will line up opposite Chris Ashton in Saturday's Cook Cup showdown at Twickenham with either Charlie Sharples or Ugo Monye occupying the left wing.

The destructive 27-year-old has been carrying a knee problem that forced him to miss the Wallabies' past two matches but is ready to excel on his return. "The England wingers are pretty, really good looking. I just can't wait to go against them," he said.

"I'm looking forward to this game because I want to redeem myself. In the last few matches I've been injured and have struggled. Now I'm fully fit and I've got to prove myself again."

Ashton, who returns after missing Saturday's 54-12 rout of Fiji through suspension, left an indelible mark on Australia two years ago. Running nearly the length of the field to score a brilliantly worked try, he spearheaded England's 35-18 triumph on a memorable day at Twickenham.

Ioane has yet to cross swords with the in-form Saracens wing but has been impressed with what he has seen of the rugby league convert on YouTube. "It will be really exciting and an honour to play against Ashton," he said. "I've never played against a winger like him so I'm looking forward to it.

"I hear he's coming back into his stride and is really respected over here. I've watched a lot of him on YouTube. There's a lot of clips on there of him scoring tries. I respect what he's done for his country and his league background. Normally in Australia any league players who join union end going back to league.

"I find going from league to union is pretty hard, while it's pretty easy the other way around. I find league's not skilful, you've just got 13 guys and you have to run against them. Union is different, there's more to it."

Australia were licking their wounds as they transferred from Paris to London, reeling from their 33-6 capitulation to France. It has been a challenging year for a team badly hit by injuries, with the coach, Robbie Deans, awarding 14 new caps, using 41 players in their 12 Tests and naming four different captains.

Furthermore they have failed to score a try in 177 minutes of rugby and it is the first time since 1979 that two matches have passed without the Wallabies crossing. It is a remarkable statistic for a team famed for their attacking ingenuity and dynamism, but Ioane offers a simple explanation.

"It's frustrating, but you can't pull everything off in one day. Hopefully we can show on Saturday what we're capable of," he said. "We're not offering excuses, but we just haven't had our full team on the pitch.

"Losing games isn't a good feeling and it means you have to pick it up. But France played really well. Their scrums and offloads killed us. You think they're down in the tackle but then they get that second pass away. It's hard to defend against that sort of play."

Deans names his team to play England on Thursday afternoon, with David Pocock, their outstanding openside, expected to return from a knee injury.

"Pocock has the X-factor. He brings a lot of chat and confidence. He's someone to look up to," Ioane said.
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Ioane is calling the English wingers "pretty"? Has he looked around the Wallaby dressing room?

[Alison]

Yep, he must be if this is the best he/the PR machine can come up with:

"The England wingers are pretty, really good looking. I just can't wait to go against them,"

And the only really good-looking winger in England is in fact Tom Varndell of Wasps - defo not Ashton, Sharples or Moyne!!

[SNOB]

They realy should tape Digby's mouth. All he's doing is inflaming the opposition.
He should be telling his team to pass the ball, I mean pass as " into the hands not over the head or behind or infront for that matter."
OK how many will we lose by? <14

[zed]

I think he was probably just messing around.

RE saturdays game, I really hope our scrum holds up.. The English scum is pretty solid and took Ireland's apart in the 6N. If (when?)that goes early on we could be looking at a bit a schellacking!

[Jules]

Losing is bad enough but losing to the English makes it ten times worse. I have never got over 2003. I hope they pull something out of the bag or I would say they go down by 12 at least...

[zed]

If the English carry on developing as they are, they'll be no 2/3 in the world within a year. They have a lot of depth at the moment, a lot of really good young kids coming through and a couple of guys who are not world class, but will be in the future e.g Tuilagi. I reckon we'll go down by 20+

[James]

Stuart Lancaster expects Australia backlash for England

I think Stuart Lancaster is the only person expecting it!

I expect it. Australia will win by 8.

[normie]

Yep, he must be if this is the best he/the PR machine can come up with:

"The England wingers are pretty, really good looking. I just can't wait to go against them,"

And the only really good-looking winger in England is in fact Tom Varndell of Wasps - defo not Ashton, Sharples or Moyne!!

Its all good! Diggers wants to fire up. As long as he doesn't swoon in their presence..... or go weak at the knees when he tackles them......or tweet them at half time for hair product advice..... or

[Sheikh]

Remember the 2010 match at Subi? England dominated the scrum to the extent of being awarded two penalty tries, but the Wallabies still won 27-17 because the England backs were cr*p and the Wallaby backs (Burgess, Cooper, Mitchell, Barnes, Horne, Ioane, O'Connor) had a grand day.

The England scrum is probably as good as back then and their backs have a new confidence while the Wallaby scrum is toilet and the backs in disarray.

It could be a shoeing. I'm sort of hoping it is, as I think a close loss or a win would extend Deans' stay.

[James]

Yeah but our scrum for that game was Ma'afu, Faingaa and Daley. That scrum is a thousand times worse than what we have going now. I wouldn't worry about the scrum- I'd worry about brainless attack.