England rugby union star Chris Robshaw admits he is still haunted by his side’s exit at the 2015 World Cup at the hands of Australia
The Red and Whites are about to face Australia at Twickenham, with the 31-year-old holding mixed memories against the Wallabies
CHRIS ROBSHAW holds some cherished memories of taking on and conquering Australia.
There is his first Test try against the Wallabies in 2013, plus playing a huge part in the 3-0 hammering of the old enemy Down Under last year.
But there are some bruising memories, too. The 2015 World Cup defeat leaves a sour taste in Robshaw’s mouth, especially as he was skipper for the 33-13 Twickenham tonking which knocked England out of the tournament.
Robshaw, 31, who has played 57 times for his country, recalled: “The World Cup defeat was brutal.
“I think everyone who played that day still carries some of those scars.
“It’s taken a long time to try and eradicate that feeling.” Robshaw today gets another opportunity to erase the pain when the teams battle it out at Twickenham.
And it was at England’s HQ that Robshaw first went over the try-line for his country — although the flanker is modest enough to admit the typically workmanlike score “won’t make any highlight reels”.
He said: “We’d been talking all week about putting pressure on this particular lineout.
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“The ball got charged down and luckily bobbled to me about 30 centimetres from the line.
“I wish it was a bit more spectacular than it was. I wish I could have chipped the full-back or ran in from 50 metres out but I’ll take it!”
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England’s failure at the 2015 World Cup capped a difficult four years for Robshaw with the England captaincy.
But he feared things would get even worse when Eddie Jones replaced Stuart Lancaster as head coach after their World Cup KO.
The straight-talking Aussie had previously described Robshaw as “not outstandingly good in any area” — and when he summoned him for a chat ahead of the 2016 Six Nations, Robshaw was worried.
He remembered: “I’d seen his comments and I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t nervous.
“But we had a coffee, spoke for about an hour-and-a-half and he was just very honest with me.
“One of Eddie’s biggest strengths is his man-management. He’s good at weighing up whether players need an arm round the shoulder or a bit of stick.”
England followed up their whitewash over Australia with a 37-21 Twickenham win last December.
But the Wallabies’ impressive 29-21 victory over Wales last week has provided Robshaw with a crucial benchmark of where England stand two years away from the World Cup.
He said: “They’re a very intelligent and skilful side. They can attack you from anywhere, score tries in a blink of an eye.
“Every game I’ve played against them has gone down to the wire.
“Whether we’ve won or lost, it’s usually been by a handful of points.
"It’ll be a real test of how good we are defensively.”
Chris Robshaw was speaking on behalf of Mitsubishi Motors, Official Performance Partner of England Rugby. To watch more insights into leadership and life in the England camp, follow Mitsubishi Motors on Facebook
