Robinson promises a ‘no fear’ England

ENGLAND coach Andy Robinson has revealed his determination to push the world champions out of their comfort zone and instil a “no fear” attitude.

Robinson’s reign begins next month when England face Canada, South Africa and Australia on successive weekends at Twickenham.

Current form suggests England will do well to record more than one victory - having lost five of their last six Tests and finished, by their standards, a lowly third in the 2004 RBS 6 Nations Championship.

Robinson’s plans have also been rocked by injuries to World Cup winners Jonny Wilkinson and Richard Hill, while Lawrence Dallaglio’s retirement from international rugby has left a considerable back-row void.

But the former Bath and England flanker has a clear understanding of exactly what has gone wrong - and what needs to be done during the autumn Tests and next year’s Six Nations.

“We’ve lost five of the last six internationals, and that is not good enough,” he said. “Whenever England take to the pitch I have the firm belief that the team is going to win, and we haven’t been doing that.

“For the last two years before 2004, our whole mindset had been about winning the World Cup - and the focus really narrowed. That showed in the way we played.

“Now, we have to broaden our horizons and widen our perspective in how we’re going to play the game, and in how we are going to attack in particular. The only way you are going to do that is by creating a ‘no-fear’ environment and giving players the opportunity to express themselves.

“It’s not necessarily about experimenting. It’s about understanding what you think your limitations are and then being able to play outside of those limitations, to push yourself outside of the comfort zone.

“We haven’t done that as a coaching group over the last six months. We haven’t done it as an organisation.”

Putting a spark back into England’s game is one of the new man’s main objectives. Not only have the World Cup holders lost games over the past six months, they have also struggled to unlock opposition defences.

“We’ve lost some of our creativity, and it has been a bit of a downward spiral in some respects,” said Robinson, in the latest edition of England Rugby magazine which is published today. “That is not just in the England set-up, but in the Zurich Premiership too. You just don’t see the same creativity that you used to. As a group of coaches in England, we have to assess how to break down defences - because defences are dominating everything right now.

“But there is plenty of space on a rugby pitch; it’s just a question of finding it. That is where the creativity comes in, and we have to challenge the players to rise to the task at hand.

“You have to be able to attack from your own half, to recognise where a defence is weak and to have everyone on board in terms of 15 people attacking. Each player can inspire the others to do it and get that creativity back.”

Robinson has predicted that the Canada Test will be “a tough game,” but battles with South Africa and Australia should provide a clearer indication of England’s current standing.

“When you play a side like South Africa the following week (after Canada) you have to stand toe to toe with them,” he added. “They are going to be in your face, and if you can’t deal with that then they are going to walk all over you. So that will test whether we can be uncompromising.

“Then we’ve got Australia, who beat us by 50 points the last time we met. They haven’t won at Twickenham for a number of years, so who knows who the favourites will be? I hope our performances in the first two games will give us the platform to go into that final match with real confidence. I have total belief in the players we have available, total confidence in them - so, of course, that means I believe we are going to win these games.”