Scrum coach Harrison, George, Daly - 'We had open and honest review after poor performance against Samoa'

Tom Harrison, assistant coach

On Owen Farrell being seen with heavy strapping on his knee in training:

“Everyone’s fit, everyone’s trained fully today. There’s no issues there.”

On Joe Marler:

“He’s brilliant for the group on and off the pitch. He brings a lot of energy around the team room when he’s on it.

“Big players step up on big occasions. We’ve got some very experienced players in or group who will step up and step forward again this weekend. Joe’s one of those players who’s been in and around England for a very long time and he’s come in well prepared for the challenges that lie ahead.”

On the Fiji scrum:

“If you look at how they’ve developed their game around their set-piece, they’ve managed to reduce the amount of penalties that they give away. They are big human beings who will rely on that and try to overpower you there.”

On Jamie George staying on for 80 minutes and Theo Dan not playing against Samoa:

“I don’t think it’s a case of not trusting Theo Dan, I think it’s a case of the performance Jamie was putting in was a brilliant performance. Leadership qualities that Jamie brings are irreplaceable in the group, so in tight moments we needed Jamie on the pitch and that was the decision that was made.”

Jamie George, hooker

On pressure management:

"I guess it manifests itself from the top down, Steve [Borthwick] talks about it a lot. A lot of players have been there and done that on the big stages, some players have got experience of World Cup finals and latter stages of World Cups. Some players, this is their fourth World Cup.

"I think we have a great group of senior players who are very open and honest with the younger players that it could be intimidating for. This is why we are here, we want to play on the biggest stages, the quarter-final of a World Cup is exactly where we want to be and next week we want to be in the semi-final and so on. It's exciting times and the more experienced players probably need to draw on those experiences."

On how they will prepare:

"I think you can't shy away from the fact that this is probably one of the biggest games we're ever going to play in. I don't think we should shy away from any emotion that comes with that. I think earlier on in my career in particular I tried to feel a certain way or tried to be perceived to be feeling a certain way or trying to shy away from emotions. I don't see why you need to do that. We've got space to speak to people, we have a really open group. If people are nervous that's fine, if people are excited that's fine but the most important thing for us is focusing on each week. It's something we have done well since we have been in France, particularly there are a lot of clear things we have got to go after in the week. Try and know our opposition as much as we possibly can and be really clear about what we are going to go through in that week. Focusing on that rather than the enormity of the occasion."

On Samoa:

"Last weekend wasn't good enough, it was poor but we have had a really good open and honest review. We were very clear that some of the stuff wasn't good enough, our energy levels were poor and that is inexcusable to be completely honest. Would we rather it happen then than now? Yes. Are we going to learn from it? Absolutely. You'll see a very different England team on Sunday."

On Eroni Mawi, who plays at Saracens with George:

"He is a very, very strong man. He came to Sarries I think quite a raw and very talented rugby player. He has worked really hard to make sure he gets better. Juan has come in recently as a scrum coach and those two have done some excellent work. For me Eroni showed he is a very talented scrummer, very strong and he is going to pose a big threat to us this weekend but this inside knowledge is always good when it comes to scrum time."

On the line-out and if Fiji will struggle:

"I think Fiji's set piece as a whole has got a lot better. I think the way Portugal targeted their line-out in particular was something that was very interesting and especially how they go about it. We have got some complete line-out picks in our team. George Kruis coming in, a complete nause, obviously Steve is father. A lot of the conversations together are not necessarily fascinating but they are going to become very [important]. we trust in that plan and we are going to try and put Fiji under pressure in that area."

On embracing being 'public enemy number one':

"We are very proud of the English support that we have. I think outside of England I think people probably don't really like us too much and we're okay with that. Myself, Billy [Vunipola] and Elliot [Daly] come from a club [Saracens] that aren't very well liked either, we don't mind being in that position. I think that is what Billy alluded to. I think what we have done since being in France in terms of really building English support, we have had has been unbelievable to be honest. In Lille last weekend in particular, going round before the game and seeing the stadium, seeing white shirts in the stands was breath-taking to be honest. We are very proud of that. We love the support we have in France and at home and outside of that I don't think we're too bothered."

On why supporters outside of England don't like the English team:

"I don't know. It's not like we sit in meetings and talk about it's us against the world. I don't think that is what Billy was alluding to but I think the main focus is making sure our fans are very proud of the work we are doing. Anything outside of that we aren't too bothered about."

Elliot Daly, winger

On whether they have to change the way they defend against Fiji:

“They’ve got a little bit more of an offload threat than other teams. We want to shut that down as much as possible.

“We looked at that Fiji game and we probably weren’t where we wanted to be, and from that point we made a conscious decision within the group to really up our defence, to really be that team that people are scared to attack against. In the broad scheme in the last five or six games after that game, we’ve proved that. We just want to go one step further this weekend with that.”

On his tackles at Rugby World Cup 2023 being dominant:

“The way we’re pressing, the way we’re getting off the line lends itself to me being in the eyeliner a little bit more and being able to put in bigger shots.”