Australia have paired the double threat of Michael Hooper and David Pocock in a bid to beat England at the breakdown in Saturday’s crucial World Cup match. “It’s an all-eight battle but there are also a lot of one-on-one battles going on in there, and when you have been on the wrong end of it, they will definitely have a few doubts in their mind, despite the fact they’ve had a few fix-ups”.
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“I think that Fiji game particularly was a really tough game, they were very physical”, Moore said.
England must locate and exploit an Australian point of weakness if they are to win, although the Wallabies’ scrummaging problems appear to have been repaired under the astute coaching of Cheika and his set-piece taskmaster, the former Argen-tina hooker Mario Ledesma.
“We want to go in there strong from the first scrum, put a statement down early and allow those demons to grow”.
The Wallaby scrum – more specifically the front five – has always been seen as the Achilles heel of the team, not at times able to provide enough ball to unleash one of the most exciting and potent backlines in the world. Our set piece in particular was good last weekend and Australia will definitely be concerned.
“Every team has the ability to bounce back”, said Cheika.
It was largely overlooked In the aftermath of the Wales defeat last weekend that England’s scrum was restored to full power after a shaky performance against Fiji. I think they have more in their game.
“Our aggression has got to be calculated, but at the same time you’ve got to clear people out and let them know you are clearing them out”. The squad became such fans of the chicken dishes on offer at Exeter’s outlet that a few went for their piri-piri fix a couple of times a day.
Joesph’s return is a boost to Lancaster who could well be without star second row forward Courtney Lawes because of a knee injury, while No. 8 Billy Vunipola will definitely miss the game after being ruled out of the remainder of the World Cup with a knee ligament injury.
“If they win their share of ball they have just a bit too much round the park”.
“We’ve got guys who can step up and take those roles and guys have already been doing it as well”.
“All we can do is stay as square as we possibly can and make the opposition make their play from there, and see what happens”, he said.
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A dominant setpiece has been the building block for past England successes over the Wallabies – the 2007 World Cup quarter-final triumph was built on Andrew Sheridan’s power – and it is an area where they are banking on pushing Australia into reverse again. “I’m not a tournament organiser, I’m not involved with England”, said Cheika.
