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World Cup defeat will spur England in Australia - Clifford

England became the first host nation to be knocked out at the group stages of a World Cup following their 33-13 thumping by the Wallabies at Twickenham.

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Source: Reuters


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The Australian-born Clifford, who was included in Eddie Jones' 32-man squad for the tour, said the defeat was still lingering in the players' minds.

"Whoever is lucky enough to get picked will think about that game," he told reporters, ahead of Old Mutual Wealth Cup match against Wales on Sunday.

"I am sure quite a few of the lads who played in it (the defeat by Australia) will be out there and will use it as a driving force to give you an edge."

The 23-year old also hoped that the English back row would be better suited to match Australia's pace and intensity, crediting the work of former Wallabies captain George Smith, who worked with England this season.

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"Every back row player in the England squad will say that the work they did with him has helped massively," he added.

"I hope he will be involved (in preparations for the tour) because he was a great coach and a great person to learn off."

England play Wales in a warm up game at Twickenham on Sunday, before heading to Brisbane to play their first test on June 11.

(Reporting by Nivedita Shankar in Bengaluru; Editing by Amlan Chakraborty)


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