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“Go, say….” alice ganz Began, facing the question he expected was coming. The prop had only ruled England out twice before He will play against Fiji this weekendHas been named as co-captain with one benched kill itojeHis memories of the 53–10 defeat to France and the World Cup warm-up defeat against Wales are not overly positive.
As it turned out, the journalist had actually begun his line of questioning with ulterior motives, but since Ganz had taken up the matter, the record Defeat at Twickenham during the 2023 Six Nations Had to touch. Of course, the captain had already been reminded by his comrades. “Immediately, a couple of lads came up to me and said, ‘Let’s hope it’s better than last time’,” Ganz said after being named to lead an overhauled England team this week.
“It’s really an honor every time you get run out. It’s not necessarily something that massively changes the way I feel about representing England. It’s not like carrying another burden; it doesn’t make the shirt heavier for me, it’s not something that will change much of what I’m doing at the moment. It’s a crazy thing to say in years to come that you’ve captained your country three times, and that’s something I’m very proud of.” Will accompany you.”
Other than speaking a little more during the week, there has been no significant change in Ganz’s leadership role. The loosehead is already a key speaker and leader by example in the England team; There is significant leadership density around it, with Itoje as co-captain on match day 23 and three appointed vice-captains, as well as the always influential George Ford on the outside. But it’s Ganz who often lights the fire within the squad He did it with the British and Irish Lions in the summer – His chest-thumping, “head-banging” speeches are among the highlights of the documentary charting the tour of Australia, although he suggests his style is a little different within a group whose pressing of emotional buttons he is more familiar with.
There will be some painful experiences that Ganz can draw on, At least not Fiji’s last trip to TwickenhamThe demolition at home to England came three weeks after the Welsh warm-up defeat, the first defeat to the Pacific Islanders to bar them from qualifying for the 2023 Rugby World Cup. While there was some mitigation for poor performance and steve borthwickgood side In their group stage opener against Argentina, There is still frustration that may arise from Ganz blaming the troops for the war on Saturday evening.
“It feels like I’ve been part of a lot of heartache,” Ganz reflected as another difficult memory came to mind. “It was a tough day – we talked about the conversation we had four days later and how uncomfortable it was, and obviously, you don’t want to repeat those feelings.
,[It was] Bit of a rude awakening, eh? You go to the World Cup and you lose that game. We are not taking them lightly in any way. Take yourself back two years and everyone would have thought Fiji would be an easy encounter, but that’s not the case at all. You have to give them credit where it’s due and prepare as if it is any other test.
Ganz was informed by Steve Borthwick on Sunday night that he would lead the starting XV this week, once it became clear that Itoje would not train on Monday or Tuesday due to a minor lower limb injury. Bad luck has forced Borthwick, to some extent, into an alternative selection to that which he might have planned before November – the desire to give Tommy Freeman as much run as possible at outside center has been put on hold, perhaps temporarily, with Tom Roebuck ruled out and against the odds for next Saturday’s meeting with the All Blacks.
However, rotation for the sake of rotation makes no sense, even with some different combinations deployedGone are the days of Fijians turning up to Twickenham little-prepared – Fijian Drua’s development within Super Rugby Pacific has added structure both on and off the field, with their European-based standouts now sprinkled through Mick Byrne’s more cohesive selection. While he will pose varying threats to other opponents, particularly with his offloading and jackling ability across the pitch, any team that can afford to leave Bayonne’s dynamite center Cirelli Makala on the bench clearly has a talent surplus.
Twice going head-to-head with England, including in the World Cup quarter-finals last time around, will only help their confidence. “The fact that we have been there on that big stage at Twickenham and then in the quarter-finals means we have been there before,” said head coach Byrne, adding that his team are due to face England again on South African soil at the New Nations Championship next July. “It takes away the element of players being overwhelmed by that opportunity, which keeps a really good focus on the ability to play our game.”
Genge is particularly familiar with some Fijian enemies. bristol beer Colleagues Viliame Mata and Kalaveti RavouvouThose who start at eighth and outside center, respectively, are easily outmatched by anything other than the pitch. Geng suggested, “The Fijians I’ve ever played with are fantastic, talented people.” “He’s very laid-back and very informal about things. But don’t be fooled – when Bill Mata is on the pitch he does a very bad job.
“I love watching him melt people down for Bristol, and I’m sure he’ll try to do the same with me at the weekend. I made it clear to the boys that although these guys grew up on the beach, throwing rugby balls around, and they’re lovely people, it’s much worse playing against them.
“I don’t want any boys to be shocked by this and the battle of physical attrition that is to come. There is no rich history of England v Fiji matches but the bottom line is the last time we played at Twickenham they beat us.” Ganz and his squad aren’t eager for a repeat.