Stuart Lancaster believes his side will be contenders to win the 2015 Rugby World Cup despite being pipped by Ireland to the Six Nations title on points difference. England's head coach also predicts New Zealand will find England an increasingly tough nut to crack in the three-Test series against the All Blacks in June.
Having finished runners-up in the Six Nations for the third year in a row, Lancaster clearly feels his young squad are on an upward curve. Asked if he felt England had a decent chance of winning the Webb Ellis Cup he said: “I do. I still think we’ve a lot of improvement to make. The New Zealand tour will be a big test, as will next season’s autumn internationals and the Six Nations, so we won’t get carried away but we feel we’re making good progress.”
Despite the disruption of flying out to New Zealand without those players involved in the Premiership final and having to pick a depleted side for the first Test in Auckland, Lancaster also feels the All Blacks can be rattled. "We should go into that tour confident," he said. "We've played against New Zealand twice at Twickenham and beaten them once and pushed them hard in the second game. We've got a good young side who are confident."
England have not beaten the All Blacks in New Zealand since 2003, having frequently travelled south with an under-strength, battered squad. This time, believes Lancaster, things will be different. "It won't be one of those tours when players are hanging in there. There will be no end-of-season tiredness. We will go out there all guns blazing and have a real good crack at it. As long as we keep our momentum going the players should be peaking for the end of the season. There is frustration we haven't got across the line this time but in some ways you can channel that frustration into more positive performances in New Zealand."
Regrets
Sitting in Rome watching Ireland clinch the title in Paris proved an uncomfortable experience for England's players and coaches, who were left to regret their narrow failure to defeat France on the opening weekend. Lancaster was swift to congratulate Ireland, their coach Joe Schmidt and Brian O'Driscoll, suggesting the outcome was a "very fitting" end to the latter's Test career, but is still cursing England's poor start at the Stade de France.
"There's no doubt that first 20 minutes in France gave us a mountain to climb that ultimately cost us in the end . . . I've always believed in where we're going and I'm confident we've got the right people involved. We're in a far stronger position than we were at the start. But you have to give Ireland credit, they went to France and scored three tries. Ultimately they've won the championship, which is what really matters."
Guardian Service
