‘LET’S BRING BACK THAT AURA’
maintain the momentum established in the rout of Fiji last Saturday. As the national team concluded their preparations yesterday, there was a clear desire to end a prolonged cycle of failure against the world’s top three nations. Since their 2003 World Cup triumph, England have claimed just four wins at home against the combined might of South Africa, Australia and New Zealand — losing 11 times. ‘It is about time we started beating these teams coming over in the autumn,’ said coach Graham Rowntree. ‘We’re going in the right direction, we’ve got a good feeling about what we’re doing, we’ve got good leadership, but the proof is in the pudding. ‘We’ve got to start beating these teams at Twickenham. The big three southern hemisphere teams have an equal standing to me and they would be significant scalps for us. ‘We beat Australia here two years ago — a great victory — but this game will be a real marker of where we’re going and how good we are going to be.’ With the Springboks and All Blacks looming in England’s last two autumn matches, captain Chris Robshaw adopted a similar tone about the need to make Twickenham a feared venue again. ‘We always speak about the era leading up to 2003 when it was a fortress — teams came here and didn’t get much,’ he said. ‘Of course, that’s what we want but that doesn’t happen overnight, it takes a long time to create that atmosphere and that aura around the place. Our aim is to have that again.’ Robshaw suggested there is an edge to any encounter between England and Australia, adding: ‘The rivalry between the countries in all sport, whether it’s cricket or rugby, is brilliant. It’s exciting for the fans and as players you want to be part of that rivalry.’