Vickery: England hungry for success

PHIL Vickery will lead England into the 2007 RBS 6 Nations admitting the last 12 months have proven “unacceptable” for the world champions.

England will launch Brian Ashton’s coaching reign against Scotland at Twickenham on Saturday week, and there is a determination to blast out of the starting blocks.

Since lifting the World Cup in late 2003, England have under-performed at Six Nations level, and new captain Vickery knows there must be a rapid revival if they are to have a realistic chance of retaining their world crown.

England have three matches in the tournament at Twickenham and, despite their abysmal autumn form which saw them lose three out of four games under former head coach Andy Robinson, the mood is one of quiet confidence.

Vickery said: “I want the players to go out and win a game of rugby, and I want to show people we have a hunger to be successful.

“For me, I don’t want to look backwards, but I would agree that the last year for us was unacceptable.

“We need to forget about the Six Nations as a whole at this stage. The focus has to be purely on Scotland — it is a fresh start for everyone.

“The first game of this tournament — it didn’t matter who it was against — was always going to be tricky.

“We have a new coach, a new captain and a lot of new faces.”

Ashton officially took charge of England just five days before Christmas and is now preparing to announce his first starting line-up, which is likely to show several changes from Robinson’s final game against South Africa in November.

Rugby league recruit Andy Farrell is likely to make his Test debut at inside centre, where he could be partnered by Gloucester’s World Cup-winner Mike Tindall, with Newcastle’s Toby Flood the leading contender for fly-half.

In the pack, uncapped Bristol number eight Dan Ward-Smith can realistically expect promotion to the international stage, with Sale flanker Magnus Lund a probable back-row colleague.

Ashton plans to name his side on Monday, having just overseen a three-day Twickenham training camp which saw English spirits lifted by last weekend’s Heineken Cup successes.

Leicester, Wasps and Northampton all secured places in the competition’s knock-out phase, with the first two recording stirring victories over Munster and Castres, respectively.

Vickery added: “We are all hugely proud of what the English clubs have achieved in Europe so far this season.

“Leicester, Northampton and my own club Wasps have given everyone a lift — it is great for all of us going into the Six Nations championship.”