• 'Time has come to focus on trophies not learning curves'
• Squad ready for tournament opener against France in Paris
England are about to select a back line averaging a mere 13 caps per man against France but do not mention the word rebuilding to their captain, Chris Robshaw. The Harlequins flanker is urging his team to aim high in this year's Six Nations and says the time has come to focus on trophies rather than learning curves.
With a tough opening fixture looming in Paris and a starting XV containing three Six Nations rookies in Jack Nowell, Luther Burrell and Jonny May, no one is claiming England are the finished article. With the 2015 World Cup only 20 months away, however, Robshaw says players will be expected to make an immediate impact, regardless of how many caps they have.
"We're not in a building stage any more. We want to go on and be successful," said Robshaw, at the forefront of England's Six Nations campaign for the third successive tournament. "We are improving tournament by tournament but to be a successful side you have to go to tough places like Paris, with a hostile crowd, and make sure you hit the ground running. We expect a lot from each other now … standards are a lot higher than they used to be. We want to achieve. Every time we meet up we want to be better."
The most obvious yardstick is the final game of last year's championship when England were pulverised 30-3 by Wales at the Millennium Stadium. Significantly only half that team are set to start in Paris on Saturday and Robshaw is confident there will be no repeat against a similarly physical French pack. "We've looked back at that day and examined things that got away from us. Hopefully, if we are in those situations again, we will deal with them better. It was a massive defeat for us and we'd be lying if we said it didn't hurt. It took myself and a lot of the other guys a while to get over that but that's gone now. We had a really good autumn and we have to make sure that game is not the only driving force for us to be successful."
It helps that the majority of England's players have faced quality French opposition in the Heineken Cup in recent weeks. It has not gone unnoticed, either, that the Six Nations provides a closer to level playing field than European club rugby, where the disparity in playing budgets with the French Top 14 can be marked.
Robshaw, for one, sees it as an opportunity to strike a counter-blow on behalf of the Premiership. "Each league want to be the best in the northern hemisphere. They want to be vying for the best players in the world to come and play in their leagues along with their homegrown players. The Six Nations does put it on a more similar level. We'll see what happens."
The performances of Danny Care and Nowell in Europe for Harlequins and Exeter Chiefs respectively have certainly played a significant role in their impending promotions for the start of this year's Six Nations.
Quins lost out to Clermont but Care's ability to conjure attacking opportunities out of nothing has deservedly earned him an opportunity at the expense of Ben Youngs. Nowell, similarly, is a player who crosses the advantage line on a frequent basis but Robshaw acknowledges it is up to England's forwards to supply a robust platform for their team-mates.
"Ask most back lines what pack they want to play behind and generally it will be a very simple answer. They want to play behind big, physical packs who can get them on the front foot. It makes it an easier game as a nine or 10 if you are always on the front foot and going forward and space is being created."
That will require England's pack to live up to their billing as a growing force. "You would like teams to look at your side and want to have certain aspects of it because that means you're doing well," says Robshaw.
"That's the challenge for us as a forward pack now. We've reached the point where sides are potentially noticing us and treating us with respect. Now we have to reinforce that and make it count."
*England (probable):* M Brown (Harlequins); J Nowell (Exeter Chiefs), L Burrell (Northampton), B Twelvetrees (Gloucester), J May (Gloucester); O Farrell (Saracens), D Care (Harlequins); J Marler (Harlequins), D Hartley (Northampton), D Cole (Leicester), J Launchbury (London Wasps), C Lawes (Northampton), T Wood (Northampton), C Robshaw (Harlequins, capt), B Vunipola (Saracens).
*Replacements:* T Youngs (Leicester), M Vunipola (Saracens), H Thomas (Sale Sharks), D Attwood (Bath), B Morgan (Gloucester), L Dickson (Northampton), A Goode (Saracens), B Barritt (Saracens).
*France (probable): *Dulin, Huget, Bastareaud, Fofana, Medard, Plisson, Doussain, Domingo, Kayser, Mas, Pape, Flanquart, Nyanga, Le Roux, Picamoles.
*Replacements: *Szarzewski, Slimani, Forestier, Maestri, Burban, Chouly, Machenaud, Fickou. Reported by guardian.co.uk 1 hour ago.
• Squad ready for tournament opener against France in Paris
England are about to select a back line averaging a mere 13 caps per man against France but do not mention the word rebuilding to their captain, Chris Robshaw. The Harlequins flanker is urging his team to aim high in this year's Six Nations and says the time has come to focus on trophies rather than learning curves.
With a tough opening fixture looming in Paris and a starting XV containing three Six Nations rookies in Jack Nowell, Luther Burrell and Jonny May, no one is claiming England are the finished article. With the 2015 World Cup only 20 months away, however, Robshaw says players will be expected to make an immediate impact, regardless of how many caps they have.
"We're not in a building stage any more. We want to go on and be successful," said Robshaw, at the forefront of England's Six Nations campaign for the third successive tournament. "We are improving tournament by tournament but to be a successful side you have to go to tough places like Paris, with a hostile crowd, and make sure you hit the ground running. We expect a lot from each other now … standards are a lot higher than they used to be. We want to achieve. Every time we meet up we want to be better."
The most obvious yardstick is the final game of last year's championship when England were pulverised 30-3 by Wales at the Millennium Stadium. Significantly only half that team are set to start in Paris on Saturday and Robshaw is confident there will be no repeat against a similarly physical French pack. "We've looked back at that day and examined things that got away from us. Hopefully, if we are in those situations again, we will deal with them better. It was a massive defeat for us and we'd be lying if we said it didn't hurt. It took myself and a lot of the other guys a while to get over that but that's gone now. We had a really good autumn and we have to make sure that game is not the only driving force for us to be successful."
It helps that the majority of England's players have faced quality French opposition in the Heineken Cup in recent weeks. It has not gone unnoticed, either, that the Six Nations provides a closer to level playing field than European club rugby, where the disparity in playing budgets with the French Top 14 can be marked.
Robshaw, for one, sees it as an opportunity to strike a counter-blow on behalf of the Premiership. "Each league want to be the best in the northern hemisphere. They want to be vying for the best players in the world to come and play in their leagues along with their homegrown players. The Six Nations does put it on a more similar level. We'll see what happens."
The performances of Danny Care and Nowell in Europe for Harlequins and Exeter Chiefs respectively have certainly played a significant role in their impending promotions for the start of this year's Six Nations.
Quins lost out to Clermont but Care's ability to conjure attacking opportunities out of nothing has deservedly earned him an opportunity at the expense of Ben Youngs. Nowell, similarly, is a player who crosses the advantage line on a frequent basis but Robshaw acknowledges it is up to England's forwards to supply a robust platform for their team-mates.
"Ask most back lines what pack they want to play behind and generally it will be a very simple answer. They want to play behind big, physical packs who can get them on the front foot. It makes it an easier game as a nine or 10 if you are always on the front foot and going forward and space is being created."
That will require England's pack to live up to their billing as a growing force. "You would like teams to look at your side and want to have certain aspects of it because that means you're doing well," says Robshaw.
"That's the challenge for us as a forward pack now. We've reached the point where sides are potentially noticing us and treating us with respect. Now we have to reinforce that and make it count."
*England (probable):* M Brown (Harlequins); J Nowell (Exeter Chiefs), L Burrell (Northampton), B Twelvetrees (Gloucester), J May (Gloucester); O Farrell (Saracens), D Care (Harlequins); J Marler (Harlequins), D Hartley (Northampton), D Cole (Leicester), J Launchbury (London Wasps), C Lawes (Northampton), T Wood (Northampton), C Robshaw (Harlequins, capt), B Vunipola (Saracens).
*Replacements:* T Youngs (Leicester), M Vunipola (Saracens), H Thomas (Sale Sharks), D Attwood (Bath), B Morgan (Gloucester), L Dickson (Northampton), A Goode (Saracens), B Barritt (Saracens).
*France (probable): *Dulin, Huget, Bastareaud, Fofana, Medard, Plisson, Doussain, Domingo, Kayser, Mas, Pape, Flanquart, Nyanga, Le Roux, Picamoles.
*Replacements: *Szarzewski, Slimani, Forestier, Maestri, Burban, Chouly, Machenaud, Fickou. Reported by guardian.co.uk 1 hour ago.