Thompson confident of silencing critics

Steve Thompson swept aside England’s critics today and insisted Clive Woodward’s side were on course for the rugby World Cup final.

The hooker is looking forward to a fiery confrontation with France’s formidable front row of Jean-Jacques Crenca, Raphael Ibanez and Sylvain Marconnet in Sunday’s semi-final.

And if he needed any extra incentive, then it comes in the fact that France are the only international team against whom Thompson has ended up on the losing side.

Despite England’s patchy form so far, however, Thompson maintains they can find a higher gear in what should prove to be a momentous semi-final at the Telstra Stadium.

“There’s always criticism. On the tour when we were here in the summer, we won the game but we were boring,” said Thompson.

“We scored three tries but still people said we weren’t exciting and we’d never win the World Cup and we weren’t going to win anything because we were chokers.

“But I don’t read newspapers, I don’t listen to the news. At first you do but then you realise it would send you crazy if you listened to all of it.

“We know what we have to do. Even if we got the ultimate goal there is going to be criticism. There’s always someone going to jump on the bandwagon somewhere. So long as you’re happy in yourself and in the squad it doesn’t matter what people think outside.

“France have put some big scores on some good teams. They’re playing some great rugby at the moment. I’ll always respect them and it’s going to be close.

“But we know we can do it. It’s just stepping up a couple of gears because we know it’s going to be a real physical battle.”

Thompson’s line-out work and barnstorming running in the loose could prove a critical factor in a match which could turn out to be the swansong for many of England’s so-called ’Dad’s Army’ forwards.

But 25-year-old Thompson sees it differently.

“It could be the last match for all of us,” he said. “International rugby is like that – one minute you’re in and the next you’re out.

“Jason (Leonard) is out there probably getting his 112th cap but there are others getting 10 or 12 and it could be the end of their international careers if we don’t perform on Sunday.

“Both teams are very physical and you know if you are not quite right you are going to get beat up and going to lose. There’s nothing worse as a rugby player than being beaten up and losing a match as well.

“But there is a great team spirit and although we haven’t played well we’ve come through and won the games so something must be right.

“Every team has got up to play us but everyone’s pretty calm about it and we know what we have to do.

“The last year we have been building for this. It’s the biggest competition ever. Some players only get one shot at it. This could be our only shot. We’re in the semi-finals. It’s up to us to perform.”