England have to understand expectations are high but they have just not delivered.

There is no other way to say it, I am disappointed and I am irritated. I gave them the benefit of the doubt against Papua New Guinea where I thought they were a little underdone. I thought they would wipe away the cobwebs and come out roaring against Australia. But it was more of a whimper.

Rob Purdham: Desperate to get stuck in

I think that perhaps the forwards held their own. They were solid and they tried their hardest. But we were completely outplayed out wide. It is a huge problem for Tony Smith.

If we put in a performance anything like we did against Papua New Guinea and Australia then we will be beaten by New Zealand. The Kiwis are not exactly firing on all cylinders either; in fact both England and New Zealand have been extremely disappointing.

The Australian public are a bit confused as they really thought both these sides were going to give Australia a real ding-dong battle. What irritates me is that we have the players and the quality to push the Aussies all the way.

No guts no glory

It is amazing that England can lose two games on the trot and still make the final. I am not knocking that, it is the way the competition has worked out. What I am worried about is our performance, not just in ability and skill factor, but where is the passion?

England are way behind Ireland and Scotland in regards to passion, commitment and attitude. They have a chance to redeem themselves and I know we have the ability to do it.

I am really concerned that they are going to go into this weekend's game with the wrong mindset. I really hope they are not thinking that if they lose this weekend they will still have another chance in the semis the following week.

They have to banish all thoughts of the semi out of their minds. Just imagine they do go into this game half-cocked and they do get beaten soundly. How on earth are they going to get themselves off the ground? You only have so many opportunities and England have got to take theirs.

Some people have suggested that this is the way England have planned it and that they are saving themselves for the semi-final and final. I am sorry that would be the strangest tactics I have ever seen. Psychologically they cannot afford to get beaten by New Zealand. Shape up England!

Ring the changes

I would throw in Danny McGuire at stand-off, put Lee Smith in at full-back and drop Paul Wellens. Wellens has been a great player for England but he was shown up against Australia.

They turned him around time and time again and by the time he got the ball England were in their own quarter. It is all about field position these days but when it came to England's last kick, well they barely made it to the halfway line. If you cannot get into the opposition's half, then you cannot control the game and that is the reason why we got hammered against Australia.

Smith has got to make changes. I want to see the likes of Rob Purdham, Jamie Jones-Buchanan and Mickey Higham given a chance.

Jamie Jones-Buchanan was our form player in the final few games of the season and he really wants the chance to show what he can do. Higham and Purdham are also just chomping at the bit to get stuck in. These are the players we want out there - players who fight back when they are against the ropes.

England have not displayed that fighting ability so far and this is their last chance to do so. I have talked about getting confidence back, which is important but what about getting some credibility back too?

I would rather give people the opportunity and go down fighting then stick with the same old people and just fade away. They cannot say that they have made a mistake and try to rectify it for the semi-final - it will be too late by then.

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