Northampton flanker Teimana Harrison is set to start for England in Saturday’s third Test against Australia in Sydney.
Advertisement
“We’re looking forward to playing in front of a full house at Allianz Stadium on Saturday and we are confident we can finish the job off with a win”.
Yet as Dylan Hartley explained, the series has become like the three knockout rounds of a World Cup: the quarter-finals, the semis and now this.
‘We are very happy with the tour, ‘ said Hartley. “You guys [the press] write nice things, friends, family, your extended network all want to say how good you are and their well done on the series”.
“We have all made a conscious effort to ignore that. The team have prepared like it is last week’s game – a decider”. Anyone who is vanilla is never really that successful. “Praise can definitely make you weak”.
“You have to work extremely hard to earn an England cap, so there was no temptation to make changes for the sake of change, ” England coach Eddie Jones said. I’m not saying Dylan’s got a flawed character, what I’m saying is that a little bit of edge, a little bit of something about you, is good. “As a schoolboy I’d watch them play on the summer tours and in the Six Nations and every opportunity I get I’d love to put on the shirt”. Once it became apparent his established starters still had more to give, Jones decided there was more value in sticking with them.
“Toomua came back and we probably could have spun him out last week, but he needed more running in his legs”, said Cheika.
“Their attitude has been first-class”.
“It’s great for the players because eight months ago, they weren’t feeling very good about themselves”. And the Australian insists that during his reign, caps must be won the hard way.
“He (Harrison) is a bit of a street fighter, he doesn’t mind throwing it around a bit and we’re going to need that on Saturday night”, Jones said. “If you look at sides who come to Australia and win, the only side who regularly does is New Zealand”, said Jones.
“It’s a tough environment that is all about winning”.
“It comes down to the mental strength and desire of the player to want to be part of the England side. I think mentally we know how we can play, there’s always stuff to improve on and play a complete game but mentally it’s about getting up for this game and treating it like a final and finishing our season with a win”.
Advertisement
“You want someone to go to you and say “the buck stops with you”.
