England’s forwards have been challenged to banish their Paris hangover by restoring their reputation as one of the best packs in world rugby this weekend. Their line-out captain, Geoff Parling, is suitably wary of Ireland’s strong XV for Twickenham but refuses to accept that one sub-par warm-up effort against France is proof that the World Cup host nation are on the slide.
Parling, who has been recalled to the starting XV alongside Courtney Lawes to help steady a lineout that seldom functioned effectively at the Stade de France, is also adamant that his hooker, Tom Youngs, has received a disproportionate amount of blame. “You don’t suddenly become a poor set piece,” said Parling, who will dramatically improve his prospects of starting big matches at the World Cup should England go well on Saturday.
“I don’t think there’s a big problem. It’s a combination of little things that didn’t go well but I still think we’re a very good set-piece team. It’s now up to us to show it at the weekend. I just think it is a few little fix-ups.It really does get to me when people always seem to blame the hooker. Sometimes that’s out of order. There was only one bad throw in the last game against France. No matter how many times I say it’s not their fault they still get blamed.”
The 31-year-old Parling, who moved from Leicester to Exeter Chiefs this summer, knows Youngs well from his time at Welford Road but reckons a cosy familiarity between a jumper and a specific hooker is only a small part of the overall lineout process. “I don’t think it matters too much. You’re talking about maybe 1%. I enjoy working with Tom as I do the other hookers but I’m thinking more about the team, the pack and the performance we can put on. We’ve had a lot of flak thrown our way, some of it rightly so, but we still think we’re a very good pack and a very good team.” Parling openly acknowledges, though, that England could do with a rousing performance in their final game before their opening World Cup fixture against Fiji.
“I see this as the start of the World Cup. I know it’s not but it feels like it is. It’s September so we want to get the ball rolling.
“We know we had a frustrating performance last time round and we know it can’t happen again. You do that against Wales, Australia or Fiji and things aren’t going to go well. We have done a lot of work but you can train all you want and the proof is going to be on Saturday.”
Having played alongside Paul O’Connell for the Lions in Australia in 2013, Parling knows precisely what is coming. “We are up against a world-class pack with a lot of experience. I still think you can see the impact Paul has on those around him. The guys in that pack look up to him and I have nothing but praise for him. He is an unbelievable character and player.”