England’s Monye keen to atone for ‘stinker’

By Alex Lowe

Friday, November 20, 2009

UGO MONYE is ready for anything New Zealand throw at him after a particularly apt church service last Sunday put his "absolute stinker" of a performance against Argentina into clear perspective.

The Pumas ruthlessly exposed Monye’s inexperience as a stand-in full-back and peppered him with a barrage of kicks until his technique and confidence under the high ball was shot to bits.

England’s attack coach Brian Smith put Monye out of his misery at half-time by moving him back to the wing, which is where he will start against New Zealand tomorrow.

Monye was tough on himself immediately after the game – but by Monday morning he had dealt with the disappointment, with the help of his faith, and he is now relishing the chance to tackle New Zealand.

"I had an absolute stinker last weekend. It was probably the worst I have played in my whole career and I wanted to deal with it as quickly as possible," he said.

"I analysed the game on the Saturday night and I went to church on Sunday and that gave me strength. The service was all about healing – and I probably needed a bit of that on Sunday.

"Now I am confident, I have probably trained harder this week, I am more focused and I am happy to be on the wing this weekend. I have predominantly played all my rugby there. I am happy under the high ball, chasing and receiving. I think it is one of the strengths of my game. If New Zealand want to challenge me early in the game then I am happy for them to do that."

Meanwhile, Dan Carter believes a rejuvenated Jonny Wilkinson will provide England’s greatest threat at Twickenham on Saturday.

New Zealand assistant coach Steve Hansen has described the rivals’ first showdown in national colours as a battle between the two finest fly-halves of the last decade.

Wilkinson’s injury curse has restricted the number of meetings between the two but Carter has seen enough to understand what he adds to England’s game.

"I’ve got so much respect for Jonny – he’s a class player and is getting back to his best form," said the 27-year-old.

"Obviously he has had a pretty frustrating couple of years but I think he has bounced back extremely well from the challenges he’s faced. He still poses a real threat to us. He’s the player we have identified who can really steer and direct the English team around."

This appeared in the printed version of the Irish Examiner Friday, November 20, 2009