England under no illusions about Welsh strength, says Wigglesworth

LONDON (Reuters) - England will not be lulled into thinking that Welsh injury woes will reduce the old enemy's competitiveness ahead of their pivotal Rugby World Cup clash, scrumhalf Richard Wigglesworth said on Monday.

England under no illusions about Welsh strength, says Wigglesworth

(Reuters)





Six Welsh players were hurt during their opening 54-9 win over Uruguay, giving coach Warren Gatland major selection problems for Saturday's game at Twickenham, but Wigglesworth insisted Wales are have not been weakened significantly.

"Definitely not, they have had a lot of time together," he told reporters. "We know we are going to get the best from Wales. We are under no illusions about how tough it is going to be."

England beat Fiji 35-11 in their opening game, but it was a disjointed performance that required a last-minute try to secure the bonus point.

"We had a debrief this morning," Wigglesworth said. "It was a tough start for us. We definitely need to improve."

England were criticised for lacking penetration in the first half against Fiji but they improved after the introduction of a number of replacements, including Wigglesworth.

"We talked (today) about our decision-making on the ball," he said. "We were too lateral sometimes."

But the 32-year-old could not find fault with England's fanatical Twickenham support and is hoping for more of the same against Wales.

"Twickenham had a different feel at the weekend," the scrumhalf said. "It was the best I have ever heard it. I am sure that it will be ramped up again this weekend."

Wigglesworth also had praise for the management's decision to give the England players the weekend off to relax.

"It is great to be away from it," he said. "I got away by watching every World Cup game at the weekend. But I think it is hugely beneficial to get out of the bubble a bit."





(Reporting by Ed Osmond; Editing by David Goodman)


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