Jeremy Guscott: Slammin’ Sam will deliver – I’d start him against Wales

The lack of big match international experience showed on Friday night and England cannot afford another performance like that in this Pool of Death.
Wales and Australia ooze quality, with numerous hard-nosed veterans throughout their lineups, so Chris Robshaw needs to get his squad into the right head space for next Saturday night’s clash against Warren Gatland‘s bunch – because for me that is the main thing lacking in this team.
Wales have won Grand Slams and numerous Six Nations titles. Add to the mix the wily old Wallabies who never know when they are beaten and the task in Pool A looks ominous. But the result is all that really counts in World Cups providing the squad understand where improvements need to be made and how to deliever.
England are at a disadvantage because they don’t have enough of these men. They have a load of world class players in the making – but the time is now to step up, time and again, and show the kind of consistency that sets apart New Zealand from ther rest.
We have been waiting for these players to break through over the last 18 months and now is not the time for them to go back into their shells. Physically they are in the best shape of their lives after the brutal summer training camps so now it comes down to the mental side.
If Billy Vunipola could reproduce the performance he showed on Friday in his 30 minute cameo, every game, he would be genuinely world class. Ben Morgan is a rare beast with the power he can generate, but he went missing on Friday so all I can assume is that it is a mental issue for both No.8s.
Morgan has recently returned from injury, but if he is not match fit he should not be there, so it’s time he switched on and gave the sort of match-winning displays he produced last autumn.
Mike Brown epitomises that warrior, never-say-die attitude that the rest of the team must summon. He plays every match like it is his last and therein makes sure it isn’t. He’s courageous and attacks everything – whether it be the high-ball, the tackle or the counter.
There is no doubt this side want this trophy as much as any other team in history and they have put in all the hard yards to get here. Now it is about finding that intensity to match. Hopefully, with the sideshow of the Opening Ceremony over they will re-focus and come out firing against Wales next weekend.
Some players can switch on the metal toughness with ease – Brown’s one of them – others must look inside themselves to develop that necessary self-belief to banish fear and perform on the big stage. If they can do that I still think England can go all the way. If they don’t I fear the worst in the coming weeks.
That is why Sam Burgess is in the squad. He may have played Rugby League for 99.9 per cent of his career, but he has proven time and again he is the type of guy who takes pressure in his stride and delivers. From his debut for Great Britain aged 19, to handling the weight of expectation of being an Englishman playing League in Australia with a hefty price tag and huge responsibilty – he shows he is a born winner.
That needs to rub off on the rest of this young squad and inspire them all to be world class, rather than just be happy being in the England team.
I didn’t think I would be saying this, but I would play Burgess in the midfield against Wales next week. Brad Barritt is as tough and couragous as they come, but he seems to me to be lacking game time and the partnership with George Ford inside, and Jonathan Joseph outside, was not as fluid as it needs to be.
Burgess showed he was the equal of the hugely powerful Fijians which says a lot about the man. He is the type who relishes the confrontation and literally stands toe to toe and says ‘bring it on’. It would be a brave call for Stuart Lancaster, and braver still should it not work out and he needs to replace Burgess after 15 or 20 minutes. But I would have no problem with that if it’s the right call for the team – and I’m sure Burgess would say the same.
To get a bonus point victory in their opening game is a massive plus for England and overall they will be pleased with that after all the hype and the nerves surrounding the match, but they need to step up a few levels against Wales.
They need to establish their shape and pattern in the first 20 minutes and that opening period against Ireland two weeks ago is the benchmark. The breakdown needs to be ferocious and the backs must play with greater pace and depth, with carriers displaying the destructive determination they did to blow Ireland away. England are one of the fittest teams in the tournament and they need to match that with intensity and consistency.
The kick-off which was allowed to bounce in front of Ben Yougs set the tone for the match; nobody put their hand up to take charge. Yes, Fiji were big and powerful with strong, direct runners but England should have been more capable of withstanding that.
Like many, after that initial scrum penalty I thought England would steamroller them but the forwards barely got going after showing glimses in that rolling maul. They didn’t gain dominance thereafter like they should have and struggled in all facets of the set-piece and breakdown; continuity, tempo, intensity, accuracy were all missing for large chunks of the game.
World Cup-winning teams have all had a lot of caps and England must find their go-to men – the leaders who will not allow themselves to be second best. That is not the England team we have been watching for the last 12 months and I’m backing Robshaw to rally his troops and come out firing next week. There is huge quality in this side – they just need to get their heads right now and focus only on playing rugby.