England hooker Jamie George said on Saturday that World Cup victory over Argentina had not really changed the mindset ahead of Sunday’s match against Japan, as did pre-tournament criticism were not very important to the players.
“You know, it’s funny. We were the worst team in the world two weeks ago, and suddenly we are the best team in the world, George told reporters. It’s funny how bad luck can change in two weeks.”
“But we are not moving too quickly. We don’t believe everything that is said around us, just like we didn’t believe all the criticism that was addressed to us before.”
“For us it’s just about making sure we get the most out of each day. We know very well what each training day looks like and what we need to get out of it.”
On Sunday, George will line up alongside two new pillars, Kyle Sinckler and Joe Marler, who will replace Dan Cole and Ellis Genge. He hopes the pack will put on another show of strength, after their impressive performance against the Pumas, where they were without flanker Tom Curry for almost the entire match.
England are heavy favorites on Sunday against a Japanese side who are struggling to rediscover the form that took them to the quarter-finals at home four years ago and were beaten 52-13 at Twickenham in November last.
They represent a different technical challenge to what England’s players are used to, however, and lock Maro Itoje says the team has been very focused in their preparation.
“We know they move the ball, we know they’re a very smart team that comes up with very smart plays,” he said. “However, the aim is to impose the English style of rugby in this match. We therefore intend to defend well and impose our physicality.
