Six Nations England v FranceIt was not quite Henry V on the eve of Agincourt but England's captain Jason Robinson issued his own quietly spoken warning to France yesterday, insisting his side are not in decline and will prove as much in Sunday's Six Nations international at Twickenham.
Like everyone else connected with the England squad, Robinson is determined to atone for last weekend's under-par performance against Wales and, despite seven defeats in his country's last 10 Tests, can detect no sign that the world champions are heading for their worst Six Nations campaign since 1987 when they lost to Wales, France and Ireland.
"Losing one game doesn't make you a bad team. We know we've got some rebuilding to do but at the same time we know we've got the players to win," said Robinson, claiming his team's 11-9 reverse in Cardiff could easily have gone the other way.
"Last week we should have won. We only lost to a kick in the last few minutes . . . we're certainly not a team in decline."
In his four games as captain this season in place of the injured Jonny Wilkinson, Robinson has so far presided over two wins and two narrow defeats but has made it clear he is not prepared to settle for mediocrity despite the difficulties caused by injuries and big-name retirements since the World Cup.
"It's not easy sometimes but if it means giving people a kick up the backside I'll do that," confirmed Robinson. "Last week was very disappointing but the main thing is how we react to it. If we can underperform and lose by only two points then I'm sure that if we play well this week we'll get the win we need.
"I still believe that we've got a team who can beat anyone on our day. We might be down but we're certainly not out. We'll come out fighting."
Even Robinson accepts, however, that no one quite knows what sort of French challenge awaits, despite the presence of his two Sale colleagues Sebastien Chabal and Sebastien Bruno in the opposition changing-room. There has been some predictable pre-match banter - "We said to Sebastien Chabal he can only run over Charlie Hodgson so many times" - but the power of the French front five remains an area of English concern.
The hooker Steve Thompson, for one, only needed one glance at the heavy-duty French selection in the front-row to know what to expect.
"They've always picked a scrummaging team to try and outscrummage us and they've gone for that again," he said.
The England camp were less forthcoming over reports that the rugby league internationals Andy Farrell and Kris Radlinski have been the subject of interest from the Rugby Football Union but the lack of any firm denials implies a move for the Wigan pair has been discussed, if nothing else.
The mere suggestion England are keen on signing two league men in their late 20s will not thrill the younger generation of England union players, adding extra spice to tonight's A international game between England and France at the Recreation Ground in Bath.
