Rob Andrew challenges England to seize opportunity
Wednesday 12 August 2015 22:29, UK
Rob Andrew has challenged Stuart Lancaster's 2015 squad to seize a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to lift the Rugby World Cup on home soil.
The 52-year-old rugby operations director at the Rugby Football Union, was part of the England squad who reached the final of the 1991 World Cup, the last time the tournament was hosted by England.
Despite the pressure of playing in front of a home crowd, Andrerw is hopeful the current England squad can repeat the heroics of 12 years ago.
He said: "When you get the opportunity to play in a home World Cup, of course you get pressure, that is what the England players will have to cope with, but that is part of being a top-class sportsperson.
"It is a wonderful opportunity for this group of players which they will not get again. You have just got to throw everything at it.
"All of us will never forget the 1991 World Cup journey we went on, it was wonderful through the group stages, and then onto Paris in the quarters, up to Scotland for the semi-final.
"Ultimately, of course, we fell short of being able to deliver in the final, which was disappointing, but fortunately the 2003 team restored the balance and managed to win it.
"Hopefully this group of players 12 years on can now repeat that."
The former England fly-half, who won 71 caps and scored 396 points, believes having George Ford and Owen Farrell battling for the No 10 jersey in the starting XV can only be positive.
"You can go back in history and there has always been competition with players, I had a bit of a run in with Stuart Barnes for a few years, every era has that," he said.
"Owen and George will be battling it out for another decade, they are both young and very talented, and have been destined to be in this position.
"They have been friends and competitors ever since we first saw them in the Under-16s and England are very lucky we have players of that calibre.
"They are both fantastic young fly-halves, slightly different in how they play, but you would want them both in your squad, that is for sure."
