Hill can't wait to get started
The World Cup waiting game will soon be over for England – and Richard Hill is eager to get started with tomorrow week’s Pool C opener against Georgia at Subiaco Oval.
England’s pre-tournament schedule has featured warm-up appointments with France and Wales, plus numerous training camps since the players assembled for World Cup duty more than two months ago.
But it will shortly be for real, with England being widely backed to reach the November 22 World Cup final in Sydney.
“It is great to be here,” said Saracens flanker Hill.
“If we were involved in the club season back home, then we would already have a few games under our belt and be in full flow with a league table to look at.
“Yes, the waiting has been a little bit difficult – I felt I was ready to go a couple of weeks ago – so it is always good to get started. It is the same in Test weeks, in that it is the actual playing you want to do, and we feel that we are close to it now.
“The realisation probably started the day before we met up and you start saying goodbye to all your friends and family. Everyone is wishing you good luck.”
England’s solitary defeat during the past 12 months was against France in Marseille, and home and away victories over New Zealand and reigning world champions Australia confirmed their status as planet rugby’s number one team in the rankings.
The task now is to maintain those lofty standards when it matters in a World Cup environment, while also coping with huge expectation from fans who genuinely believe that this will be England’s year.
“A lot of the pressure that we have is probably from ourselves in terms of reaching standards that we want to attain and need to attain, so there is plenty of work we can do now we are here,” Hill added.
“There are a huge amount of targets that we set ourselves. We have shown in the last 12 months the style of rugby we can play and how we can adapt, and it is making sure we don’t drop below the levels that we have now reached.”
Georgia look as though they will face England without skipper Ilia Zedguinidze when they make their tournament debut.
The 26-year-old back-row forward suffered a head injury during Georgia’s World Cup warm-up defeat against Italy in Asti last month, and has still to receive medical clearance.
Although Georgian officials have described the injury as not serious, Zedguinidze will be examined by a doctor on Monday, when a decision is expected on his availability for the England game.
Flanker Irakli Gundishvili though, is a definite non-starter because of hamstring trouble.
