England’s James Haskell tries to find positives from win against Samoa

Martyn Thomas 17:40 23/11/2014
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  • Disappointed: James Haskell was unhappy with his first performance back in an England jersey since June.

    England flanker James Haskell has described victory over Samoa as “extremely frustrating” but is adamant there were positives for the red rose at Twickenham.

    Haskell, making his first England appearance since June, played 67 minutes in west London but did not exert the influence he would have liked as the Pacific islanders were seen off 28-9.

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    A mixture of torrential rain and a determined effort from Samoa made for a scrappy contest and the Wasps captain is unsure he has done enough to retain his place for the visit of Australia on Saturday. 

    “Every time you put on that shirt is a massive honour and to get a victory is good,” he told Sport360. 

    “[Saturday] was extremely frustrating, obviously it always starts positively, you have grand hopes for the game but it didn’t really go the way I wanted it to go.”

    Haskell added: “You want to go and put a big performance in, obviously selection is always up for grabs, I just think it was difficult. 

    “The ball didn’t really come my way to carry, I thought I had two or three turnovers but the referee disagreed. So, it was how it was, I think it’s a great honour to play for England to get that victory was ultimately what matters.”

    And it is not only Haskell who will feel Saturday represented a missed opportunity.

    Having scored two quick-fire tries early in the second half to secure the win, England failed to add to their tally in the final 26 minutes as several presentable chances went begging.

    “We know we left some opportunities out there,” the 29-year-old admitted. 

    “The positive is we are creating those opportunities. We were just unable to finish them. 

    “I think every time we play Samoa – I’m one of the guys who had played them before here – it’s always going to be scrappy, they fly into everything. The ball was like a bar of soap so it was very difficult to hold onto it. 

    “We take positives out of it, the Australia game will be something completely different, but we have got a victory which is what matters and we know we’re doing the right stuff behind closed doors. It’s just translating that onto the field.”

    One bright spot on an often grey evening for England was the performance of George Ford at fly-half and Haskell praised the Bath man, and his fledgling midfield partnership with Owen Farrell.

    “I thought George was fantastic. I’m a massive fan of his,” he said. “I think he played some very, very good rugby. He’s obviously a dangerous threat and I thought those guys linked well when we had the opportunities.”

    England coach Stuart Lancaster now has to decide whether to stick with the 21-year-old for the final autumn test against the Wallabies.

    “It’s up to the coaches now to come up with a team and come up with a plan to beat Australia,” Ford said. 

    “Whether involved in it or not I’ll back it 100 per cent. It’s going to be a massive squad effort this week to beat them.”

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