England playing to win not to entertain

ENGLAND coach Clive Woodward says his side is not in Melbourne for their Test match against Australia to entertain, it’s here to win.

"I don't care," Woodward said bluntly, when asked about England's tactics.

Wallaby skipper George Gregan yesterday lauded the English style, saying they played the most expansive game in world rugby.

Others have criticised England, accusing them of boring, forward-dominated play.

Woodward didn't care either way, as long as England was ahead of Australia at fulltime in the Telstra Dome match.

"It's not about style ... we play to win and that's what we're paid to do.

"It's about winning a Test match, not about entertaining and that's what we're trying to do."

Woodward said sides lifted their game when they played against the world No1-ranked team, but his players were prepared for anything thrown at them.

"England can win wherever they are against whoever in whatever conditions," he said.

England assistant coach Andy Robinson believed Australia had benefited from Phil Waugh's inclusion after injury ruled out regular flanker George Smith, rating the NSW terrier as "potentially better" than Smith.

Woodward, too, believed the Wallabies had lost little by naming inside centre Nathan Grey as the starting five-eighth after Elton Flatley was dropped for disciplinary reasons.

He expected Australia to be "inspired" by Grey, who has only played half a Test in the position, and rated him a very good player regardless of the number he wore on his back.

"From my experience they always step up to the mark," Woodward said.

"You can actually inspire things by having this situation ... but it's about playing the XV, and winning the game."

England go into the match after 12 successive wins, including last Saturday's impressive 15-13 victory over the All Blacks, the first by the English in New Zealand in 30 years.

They have never beaten the Wallabies in Australia in 10 attempts, but have won their last three clashes, all at Twickenham.

Despite the momentous achievement in Wellington, Woodward said his men had remained focused.

"We have a chance to go back to back against two of the best sides in the world.

"If we're going to do something special come October ... going back to back is a huge bonus."

Meanwhile, one of long-standing and often bitter rivalries in international rugby will be renewed today when New Zealand and Wales meet in a Test match in the North Island city of Hamilton.

Expectations are not high that the encounter the most recent of 18 meetings between New Zealand's All Blacks and the Welsh Red Dragons will add lustre to their mutual history.

The roots of rivalry are spread so deep through the rugby culture of both countries that whenever Welsh and New Zealand fans gather arguments still occur over a try disallowed in the first match between the teams in 1905.

Wales has not beaten New Zealand in a Test match for 50 years, since 1953 when Clem Thomas engineered a 13-6 win in Cardiff.

The 1970s produced a series of close and controversial matches but in the last 20 years Wales has not been able to come within 20 points of New Zealand.

advertisement story continues below Its current tour is only its third to New Zealand and its first since 1988 when it conceded 50 points in successive test matches.

The Welsh team which takes the field in Hamilton Saturday will be battling not only the All Blacks but that oppressive history.

Wales' 30-10 loss to Australia last weekend was its seventh in consecutive Test matches. It failed to win a match in this year's Six Nations Championship and it last beat an opponent of any note, France, more than two years ago.

It lost 43-17 to the All Blacks when the teams last met in Cardiff in October.

But Wales' New Zealand-born coach Steve Hansen believes his team will push the All Blacks more closely today than critics allow.

Hansen acknowledges that the largest hurdle the Welsh have to leap today is a mental one. "One of the things that Welsh rugby has lacked is self-belief," Hansen said.