France game 'like a final' for England players, says Tom Wood
Wednesday 12 August 2015 11:30, UK
England flanker Tom Wood believes Saturday’s game against France is "effectively a final" for some of the players.
Wood, who is set to be named as captain for the friendly, admits that it may be the last opportunity for players to impress Stuart Lancaster before England's final World Cup squad is picked.
"France is a massive game in its own right and we will be treating it like a full-blooded Test match, but there will also be World Cup places up for grabs, everything on the line," said Wood.
"For some people, it is effectively a final - if you don't play well, you're going home. That is the reality of it, so it will be full on.”
Wood, 28, was keen to stress the importance of a home victory over one of England’s major World Cup rivals at Twickenham.
"For some people, it is effectively a final - if you don't play well, you're going home."
"It would certainly diminish our advantage on paper and undermine us slightly, saying that we have huge home advantage playing at Twickenham during the World Cup, if we end lose warm-up games," he said.
England’s uncapped trio of Sam Burgess, Henry Slade and Calum Clarke are all likely to feature in Saturday’s match. Burgess will be making his international debut just 10 months after switching codes, but Wood says he has high hopes for the 26 year-old Bath inside centre.
"There is no question of his pedigree, his temperament or his composure,” said Wood.
“Instead, it is are his instincts up to scratch at Test level in union? That is a question hopefully he will answer positively on Saturday. He has been great in training.
"He is a tremendous athlete, he is good around the lads, so it is just about proving a point on the field."
England play Ireland in a final warm up match at Twickenham on September 5th, before facing Fiji at the same venue in the World Cup’s opening game on September 18th.
