Six Nations: Graham Rowntree wants another 10% from his England forwards

http://www.theguardian.com/sport/2015/feb/10/six-nations-graham-rowntree-england-forwards-italy

Version 0 of 1.

Not everyone believes England’s forwards have instantly become world-beaters following their Six Nations win over Wales in Cardiff. No less a judge than the outstanding former Lions flanker Peter Winterbottom insists they still have some way to go and has queried the view of Mike Brown that England now have two world-class packs. “You only need one,” tweeted Winterbottom. “Eng pack not there yet.”

The forthright Winterbottom also went on to remind the full-back that no one can claim to be truly world-class until they “stuff’ New Zealand in this year’s World Cup final. It is hard to disagree with his no-nonsense advice and the England forwards coach, Graham Rowntree, has made it clear he is still seeking improvements from his players, starting with Italy on Saturday.

While Rowntree was suitably encouraged by the outcome in Cardiff, the last thing he wants is for even the merest hint of complacency to set in. “I am not sure we are worthy of the label of world-class,” he said. “We are striving for perfection in many areas and until we get that I won’t have us being labelled that. Our work-rate was exceptional but there are always things to work on.”

While the consistency of England’s set-piece work has visibly improved, Rowntree specifically wants his players to reduce their error count and to be as accurate as possible in all departments. “I want everything to be 100% – completion, delivery, lineout and breakdown speed. We want another 10% in all of those areas but we’re not there yet. If you’re striving to do that every week the score takes care of itself.”

He admitted the second-half performance against Wales was as close to gold-standard quality as England have come in recent times. “Yes, in terms of pure output and work rate,” Rowntree said. “I understand there were errors but the numbers don’t hide. [Chris] Robshaw’s tackling, our impact work, our carrying … the lads poured themselves into the game. You’re always anxious going to a place like that but we had a clear plan and the guys were hungry.”

New Zealand’s forward display against England in the third Test in Hamilton last summer also continues to serve as a reminder of the level world champions need to reach on a regular basis.

Rowntree cannot call on Leicester’s Geoff Parling, who is unavailable after being forced to cease training prematurely on Monday because of a continuing knee problem, but said those who do face Italy are determined not to settle for second-best. “We didn’t have to give them the po-faced headmaster speech because they knew they weren’t perfect. It means nothing unless you do it again.”

With Stuart Lancaster set to announce an unchanged line-up – he has confirmed the same matchday 23 with the prop Davy Wilson still resting a nerve problem in his neck – it will be interesting to see whether Italy’s pack have more joy than Australia, the last visitors to Twickenham, enjoyed in November. “They are quite a lumpy pack, as we are going to find out at the weekend,” said Rowntree, cautioning against widespread assumptions of a one-sided home win. “You are never going to get your own way early-on against Italy.”

Absolutely the last person who will be taking anything for granted is the feisty Brown, whose influence on the squad is increasingly apparent. “He is demanding of himself and demands the best of others,” Rowntree said. “I like that. If your team-mates make errors, they’ve got to know about it. I call him Mr Angry. He is good at uplifting others.”

The Northampton centre Luther Burrell, who enjoyed a productive evening in midfield alongside Jonathan Joseph at the Millennium Stadium, feels similarly: “He’s the angriest man in this team. He’s a fantastic bloke but he has got that edge about him. You need players like that, otherwise teams will get on top of you. We don’t want to take a backward step, we want to be confrontational. We can’t afford to let the game come to us, we have to go out there and meet it head on.”