Richard Cockerill says all three Leicester Tigers players in the England squad for the Rugby World Cup are "very important" to the campaign.England head coach Stuart Lancaster yesterday confirmed the a 31-man squad which included Tigers colleagues Dan Cole, Ben Youngs and Tom Youngs.
With 51 caps, only James Haskell and Danny Care in the squad have more Test experience than tighthead prop Cole, while scrum-half Youngs is hoping to reach the half-century mark during the World Cup. Older brother Tom is approaching his first World Cup, after making his Test debut in 2012, but is already a British & Irish Lions cap.
“Dan and Ben are among the most experienced members of the England set-up, and Tom has also played Test matches with the Lions and has packed a lot of experience into a short space of time as an international player,” said Tigers director of rugby Cockerill.
“They are all very important players in the England set-up.
“They’ve come through the ranks at Leicester, from their earliest days in the academy here, and they’ve all played in massive matches in the Aviva Premiership and European Cup. They know what it is to play with that kind of pressure week in, week out.”
After trimming the final eight names from the group that played home and away matches against France, England now have one last warm-up fixture, against Ireland next Saturday, before kicking off the tournament against Fiji on September 18.
“Now the squad has been picked, everyone knows where they stand and they have total focus on the World Cup,” said Cockerill.
“There’s still one warm-up game left, but it is all about being ready for that first game against Fiji. It’s a tough pool with Australia and Wales, and England will be looking to build momentum through the tournament, which is always important.”
Back at Welford Road, kick off the Tigers’ build-up to the World Cup is a fixture against Los Pumas in Argentina’s final warm-up fixture in the Marcos Ayerza Testimonial Challenge on Saturday, September 5. Tickets are on sale now.
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Key men in England's World Cup quest
28 August 2015 8:00 AM
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