England head coach Stuart Lancaster insists Wales, who shattered his side’s Six Nations dream last year, now provide the inspiration to stage a championship fightback.
France were installed as favourites to relieve Wales of their crown after a late converted try, brilliantly finished by the dancing feet of Gael Fickou, inflicted a 26-24 defeat on Lancaster’s men in Paris.
The loss means England must win all four of their remaining games, starting with Saturday’s visit to Scotland, to improve on two successive second-placed finishes.
A defiant Lancaster reacted to the Stade de France setback by reminding his players that in 2013 Wales were edged by Ireland in their Cardiff opener yet went on to successfully defend their title.
“Wales lost in the first game last year and won the championship, don’t forget that. That’s what I told my players after the game,” he said. “France will be a tough side to beat, but championships aren’t won in the first round.
“We’re disappointed to have lost and that’s probably a reflection of where we are in terms of our expectation.” Only three and a half minutes were left when Fickou’s footwork outwitted the cover defence with his route under the posts offering Maxime Machenaud the simplest of match-winning conversions.
Having controlled long spells and seemingly dictating the final stages of a chaotic and gripping contest, England were stunned to have slipped behind. With a trip to Edinburgh looming next weekend, the challenge facing Lancaster is to lift spirits as quickly as possible.
“It will be difficult to pick the players up initially, but I’m confident of the impact it will have when I show them the tape of the game,” he said.
“We showed great character, but the skill and execution and lines of running were also good.
“We’ll take plenty of positives from that and we’ll be able to get them in the right place because clearly Scotland away is a massive game.”
There was much to praise in England’s performance as they once again drew on their reserves of character to turn a 16-3 deficit into a 24-19 lead, but as Lancaster accepted afterwards, “we need to win big games”.
The head coach also distanced England from reports that an approach has been made for rugby league star Sam Burgess of the South Sydney Rabbitohs with a view to him playing in the 2015 World Cup.
“I can’t comment on it, other than the fact that I haven’t or no one from the Rugby Football Union has approached the Rabbitohs,”
Lancaster said. “We’ll have to wait and see, it’s not for me to decide. He’s under contract at the Rabbitohs as far as I’m aware.”
