England off pace, says Robinson

ANDY ROBINSON has conceded that England have “dropped off the pace” since their World Cup triumph two years ago.

And with the countdown continuing to England’s world title defence - the opening game of France 2007 is just 22 months away - autumn Test appointments with Australia, New Zealand and Samoa assume considerable significance.

England’s fumbling efforts during the past two seasons are reflected by a poor results sequence, with just seven victories from 16 starts. The clock is ticking on their World Cup aspirations, especially given how New Zealand, South Africa and France have moved clear of England, both in consistency and performance.

Graham Henry’s All Blacks arrive at Twickenham on Saturday week - an occasion when England will be comfortable second favourites - so defeat against the struggling Wallabies this weekend cannot be seriously contemplated.

Australia are arguably in a worse state than England, reeling after six successive defeats, which included a Tri-Nations whitewash, while their record-breaking skipper George Gregan has come under concerted attack from former players, coaches and the media Down Under.

But the Wallabies’ post-World Cup record against England is a good one, having crushed them 51-15 in Brisbane during an ill-conceived 2004 southern hemisphere tour and then triumphing 21-19 at Twickenham last November.

“Obviously, since the last World Cup we have not stayed still and not moved forward - we have dropped off the pace. There are steps we need to take, and the autumn internationals are the first steps on the ladder of how we are going to develop and move forward,” said head coach Robinson.

Robinson gave his players yesterday and today off, a midweek luxury afforded them because of the detailed work put in during a longer than normal preparation period that began when the squad assembled on October 31.

“By having a two-week training camp, it meant we could do things differently,” added Robinson.

“And by doing things differently, we were looking not just at preparation in terms of developing skills and organisation, but also looking at physical and mental preparation. Having Wednesday and Thursday off is different, but it also shows we feel we are ready and it enables the players to have that physical break.”

Despite Australia’s recent woes, history suggests that Saturday’s encounter will a close, fiercely-fought battle. The last five Twickenham meetings between England and Australia have produced an average winning margin of less than three points, and you sense Robinson is anticipating something similar this time around.

“Any Australian side is very dangerous. At the moment, I have a picture of how we want to play on Saturday, but the picture might change depending on how the scoreboard gets moving, how we start the game, what the weather conditions are like and whether we can score the points we want to score early. There are lots of questions going into the game, and they will only be answered on Saturday by the two teams.”

England have paid special attention to the Wallabies’ marauding back-row forwards George Smith and Phil Waugh, with Gloucester pair James Forrester and Andy Hazell replicating their threat in training sessions, while the scrum is another key area.

England will unload a front-row of Andrew Sheridan, Steve Thompson and Phil Vickery whose combined weight is more than 55 stone.

“If we go away from the scrum and make it free-kicks, then it becomes a boring game, so we are looking to have a fair contest at winning the ball at the scrum. All we ask of the referee is that it doesn’t turn into a free-kick fest,” said Robinson.