Home advantage key to England's World Cup campaign, says Sir Clive Woodward
Wednesday 9 September 2015 16:14, UK
The man who guided England to World Cup glory 12 years ago believes they can regain the Webb Ellis Trophy this autumn, citing Twickenham as being their 16th man.
Sir Clive Woodward, who was England head coach for seven years from 1997, believes home advantage can make a major difference to their World Cup campaign.
He also believes the England camp should not get ahead of themselves and focus only on the next fixture.
Comparing his 2003 troop to Stuart Lancaster's current squad, Woodward told Sky Sports News HQ: "This is a different team in terms of experience. But they are playing at home.
"In Paris (two weeks ago) they were so poor but a week later at Twickenham they were so, so good, dispatching a good Ireland team easily.
"The Twickenham factor is huge. Someone has to come to Twickenham and beat England.
"But you have to go game-by-game-by-game. All their thought processes are on Fiji. I wouldn't let anyone talk about Wales, Australia etc.
"Beat Fiji, then talk about Wales. You have to keep everyone on their next game. So if they play all their games at Twickenham they have a chance.
You feel England are coming to the boil nicely. If I was Stuart or a member of the team I'd be hugely excited now. I think they are in great shape.
"But at the moment don't think beyond Fiji. People talk about the Wales and Australia matches but the game against Fiji is huge. It is no walk in the park. They will have to be on their 'A' game to win it."
And Woodward admits England could go all the way in rugby union's premier tournament: "The Ireland game (21-13) was hugely significant after such a poor game in Paris.
"Ireland go into the World Cup as the most fancied northern hemisphere team and England should have won by a lot more points.
"You have a good feeling about the team. The crowd were great and England have a great history in World Cups.
"You feel England are coming to the boil nicely. If I was Stuart or a member of the team I'd be hugely excited now. I think they are in great shape.
"There are no right or wrong ways to win a World Cup. I passionately believe you can go to a World Cup with 15 uncapped players and win it.
"Look at the New Zealanders. They have left out two of their best players - Cory Jane and Israel Dagg - 150 caps between them. I think England are in a really good position."
And what does Woodward think of Lancaster's decision to name Sam Burgess in the England set up - less than a year after switching codes from league to union?
He went on: "Stuart's seen him in training and obviously he doesn't think he's a risk at all.
"The debate is over, so now you back him. He's an amazing player, make no bones about that.
"He's just new to rugby union. He looked pretty good at the weekend and I'm excited about seeing him play to be honest."
Woodward also thinks Wales will still be a major force in the competition despite the loss of Leigh Halfpenny and Rhys Webb to injury.
Asked what their coach Warren Gatland will be thinking about right now, Woodford said: "Feel sorry for yourself for about 48 hours. There is always that grieving. Webb and Halfpenny were two great players for them.
"But then you say 'It's done and dusted. Bang. It's gone.' And then get everyone focused. But Wales are bringing in really good replacements - Mike Phillips, Eli Walker.
"Gatland is excellent. If there is one coach out there who thrives on all of this it is Gatland.
"Wales still have a great team and I'm very excited about their back-row. I think Wales will be just as good and I'd warn England and Australia."
