England were defeated for the first time by Fiji in a warm-up game at Twickenham six weeks ago, losing 30-22; Jamie George: “We’ve got a great group of senior players who are very open and honest with the younger players who this could be intimidating for”
Last Updated: 11/10/23 5:51pm
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England hooker Jamie George believes there will be a ‘very different’ side to face Fiji in their last eight encounter, than the one who narrowly won over Samoa
England hooker Jamie George believes there will be a ‘very different’ side to face Fiji in their last eight encounter, than the one who narrowly won over Samoa
Jamie George says England will call upon all their big-game experience in order to overcome Fiji in Sunday’s Rugby World Cup quarter-final in Marseille.
England have appeared in the last eight of the tournament in all but one of its editions – on home soil in 2015 – and reached the final four years ago when they lost 32-12 to South Africa in Japan.
Of that matchday 23, there are 15 survivors currently in Steve Borthwick’s squad who are continuing preparations for the Stade Velodrome showdown.
Owen Farrell and his England team-mates look on after defeat to South Africa in the 2019 Rugby World Cup final
Fiji, meanwhile, are appearing in the knockout phase for only the third time and their first since 2007, placing a question mark over their ability to deliver when the pressure is on.
“We can’t shy away from the fact this is probably one of the biggest games we are ever going to play in,” Saracens hooker George said.
“We’ve got a lot of players who have been there and done that on some big stages. We’ve got players who have experience of a World Cup final and the latter stages of World Cups and some players who are playing in their fourth World Cup.
“We’ve got a great group of senior players who are very open and honest with the younger players who this could be intimidating for.
George believes England’s experienced players will need to step up and guide the youngsters through an ‘intimidating’ quarter-final with Fiji
“But this is why we’re here. We want to play on the biggest stage, the quarter-final of a World Cup is exactly where we want to be. Next week want we to be in the semi-final and so on.
“These are exciting times and the more experienced players need to draw on their experiences and make sure everyone is in the right spirit going into the weekend.”
Were they to beat tournament darlings and underdogs Fiji to reach the semi-finals, England’s players will no doubt make themselves more unpopular than they already are. On Tuesday, Billy Vunipola described England as everybody’s “first least-favourite team”.
George added. “Outside of England, I think people probably don’t really like us too much. And we’re OK with that.
“It’s not like we sit in meetings and talk about it’s us against the world. I think the main focus is making sure our fans are very proud of the work we are doing. Anything outside of that we aren’t too bothered about.”
Vunipola ‘quietly confident’ of revenge against Fiji
Earlier in the week, Vunipola told Sky Sports he’s “quietly confident” that England can gain revenge against Fiji six weeks on from suffering a first-ever defeat to them, losing 30-22 in a warm-up game at Twickenham.
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England’s Billy Vunipola says the squad are quietly confident that they can exact revenge on Fiji
Though Fiji suffered a shock loss to Portugal to conclude the group stage, they pushed Wales close in their opening match and defeated Australia 22-15 on their way to finishing second in Pool C.
England, meanwhile, have won all four World Cup games since that humbling home loss to top Pool D, though they closed out the group stage with an edgy 18-17 victory over Samoa.
“Quietly confident,” Vunipola said. “I don’t think the same Fiji that played against Georgia and Portugal is going to be the one that we find this weekend. We’re going to be prepping for the team that we played six weeks ago, the team that played against Wales and [beat] Australia, with all the threats that they bring.
“Everyone knows that if we lose, we have to go home on Monday, so there’s definitely a bit of edge to training.”
He added: “Now at the pointy end of the competition, we need to be ready. Especially for a big physical team like Fiji.
“Six weeks ago they turned us over and it wasn’t like they beat us at a neutral venue, it was at home. We know what they bring and we’re going to be ready for Sunday.”
Follow England’s Rugby World Cup quarter-final against Fiji on Sky Sports’ digital platforms from 3.30pm on Sunday.