Spirit lifts England's World Cup hopes
England may not occupy the favourites tag going in this Rugby World Cup as they did four years ago, but that doesn’t stop Lawrence Dallaglio from insisting that the defending champions should still travel to France full of confidence.
One of a select few to win World Cups in both sevens and fifteens, Dallaglio is relishing the opportunity to be back in an England squad after a 15-month absence and has been impressed by what he’s seen so in the training camp.
“The spirit in the squad is fantastic. I came back into the squad after 15 months and I looked around round the room and I actually thought ‘we are not in bad shape’. The strength of the squad is better than it was,” admitted Dallaglio, who turns 35 next month.
“There is a hard core of experienced players who have won big games for their club and country and then there are the likes of Danny Cipriani and Danny Hipkiss who are knocking on the door and bringing that enthusiasm.
“There is a great blend there and if we stay injury free and get our tactics right I don’t see any reason why we can’t go into the World Cup with a lot of confidence.”
Ashton praises Ward-Smith
However Dallaglio isn’t the only back rower hoping to win a place in Brian Ashton’s 30-man squad for the World Cup after a spell on the sidelines, the same is true of Bristol number 8 Dan Ward-Smith, who has been out injured since January.
Ward-Smith had been expected to make his England debut in the RBS Six Nations, but ruptured his patella tendon and dislocated his kneecap playing for Bristol and has been facing a race against time to get back in contention for a World Cup place.
That hard work – which included four weeks in America with the renowned knee rehab specialist Bill Knowles – though appears to be paying off as Ward-Smith took part in a full contact training session with the England camp on Thursday.
“Dan is a pretty determined character – he saw there was a light at the end of the tunnel and he really went for it,” said Ashton. “He is an incredibly fit athlete anyway, but going over to Vermont to work with Bill and having specialist attention, coupled with his determination, has accelerated his progress.
“Not that long ago it looked like 50/50 as to whether he’d be available for World Cup selection, but he did a full contact session this morning.”
Wales suffer Jones blow
However while Ward-Smith’s chances of making England’s World Cup squad are improving, the same cannot be said for his Welsh counterpart Ryan Jones who was ruled out of the tournament with a shoulder injury on Thursday.
Jones dealt Wales coach Gareth Jenkins a blow by withdrawing on medical advice following review of an exploratory operation he underwent earlier this month on the left shoulder he had reconstructed in 2005 after the British & Irish Lions tour of New Zealand.
“I just need to take a long term view and make sure its right before I play and that means missing out on the World Cup,” revealed Jones. “It’s obviously bitterly disappointing, but at the age of 26 it would be completely wrong decision to try to rush myself back to fitness with a high risk that something could go wrong.
“I’m missing the World Cup, which is extremely difficult to take, but it means I will be able to get back to full fitness and turn out and captain the Ospreys next season and ensure I’m still around when it’s time for the next one [World Cup].”
