By England Fan - Back Row in Idaho
March 21 2011

England fan Back Row in Idaho takes a look at defeat and victory over this last six nations and looks forward to the RWC also.

When reading the posts today on the message board and watching the game a thought came to mind.

Nerves and pressure...England had not just Ireland to beat but also their nerves and the weight of expectation for them to win the Slam...Ireland on the other hand had nothing to lose...they couldn't win the championship, if they played well (which they did) then they restored some pride especially in beating England and denying the Slam plus it was St Paddy's day weekend. So the context of the game could be somewhat artificial. Would it have been different if Ireland were also playing to win the Slam? Passes get rushed, kicks get sliced or pushed wide...it comes down to the team who has the nerve to win out in pressure situations. Saturday we could have played Wales, Scotland or whomever in the same position and likely lost, both sides have to feel the strain not just one. And that's the difference in the 6N vs. the RWC. Because the RWC is a knock out competition, lose today and you go home; teams meeting in the group stages, 1/4s and semis are facing significant pressure.

Hopefully England learnt a valuable lesson on Saturday about best laid plans falling apart if you are nervous and feel the pressure.

It makes you ponder how NZ will fare yet again in the RWC..why? NZ go into the tournament as most peoples' favourites, ally this to playing at home in NZ where - unless you've been there to know (or live in Wales) - everyone has an opinion and live and breathe the game. That's pressure especially in a year where the Nation suffered tremendous loss following the destruction of Christchurch in the earthquake.

To win a RWC you need the usual things; a good team, solid defence, reliable kicker, luck of the draw, etc but what you truly need., which England had in spades in 2003 is absolute confidence and steely nerve (forged in years of playing the SH sides and tasting the bitter sting of defeat and knowing what was needed). Think differently? Could this current England side play NZ in NZ and win with 2 in the sin bin? The 2003 side did just that and beat Australia and SA prior to the RWC. Everyone knew England were coming to town and were the favourites so there was pressure of holding the mantle of favourites. But when it mattered, after a battering by Samoa they won, after a huge struggle against SA they won, and in the final playing against Australia on their home park and against some, hmm, interesting refereeing of the scrum they still won. Because they were confident in each other and they had mental hardness that pushed nerves aside even when facing overwhelming odds to persevere knowing that in a game of 80 minutes chances come and they took them.

So is the class of 2011 equal to 2003...you could argue the players were better then (I would) but importantly mentally the 2011 side are not in the same league. That's why hopefully England learnt something very essential on Saturday, how to deal with the true mental side of the game.

Wow that turned out longer than I thought...apologies for any US spelling of words!

All great things are simple, and many can be expressed in single words: freedom, justice, honour, duty, mercy, hope.