England are focused on themselves and their preparation for the Rugby World Cup rather than those wondering if they are among the favorites to lift the trophy in France, captain Owen Farrell said on Monday. Coach Steve Borthwick has revealed his list of 33 players for the tournament which will take place from September 8 to October 28, a few days after a crushing defeat against Wales in Cardiff (20-9) which raised many questions about the work done by the group over the last few weeks. Farrell will captain the team, as he did four years ago in Japan when England were beaten 32-12 by South Africa in the final, and he says he doesn’t listen none of the outside ‘noise’ around the group.
“The goal of the team is to get the best out of ourselves now,” Farrell said at a press conference. “We are looking forward to this competition and it is a great opportunity for us, but our focus now is on our ability to become a better team. We’ve done that over the past few weeks and now that the team has been selected, we can focus on it even more.”
And the Saracens player added: “The World Cup is about pressure. It is more important than any other competition, there are more looks, more noise. We need to focus on what we can control and not let other things interfere. External factors don’t really matter.” England start their World Cup against Argentina in Marseille on September 9, and also face Japan, Samoa and Chile in Pool D.
Vice-world champion, the XV de la Rose, despite its poor results in 2023, will be favorites of this group but Farrell also warned against any form of complacency. “Just look at the FIFA World Cup (in Qatar) where Argentina lost to Saudi Arabia. Just look at previous Rugby World Cups where New Zealand were so dominant (but didn’t lift the trophy)…like in 2007 when South Africa won.” he explained. “We are where we are now and we are working hard to give our best. The dream is always to be in the big game at the end of the competition.
