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England fight for World Cup survival against Australia

England must triumph against Australia when the sides play their Pool A encounter at Twickenham on Saturday night. Victory for the rugby World Cup hosts will maintain their hopes of reaching the knockout stages. A win for Australia would guarantee their place in the last eight.

England captain Chris Robshaw (left) and coach Stuart Lancaster face the biggest game of their international careers when they take on Australia.
England captain Chris Robshaw (left) and coach Stuart Lancaster face the biggest game of their international careers when they take on Australia. Reuters/Henry Browne
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It’s do or die for England when they take on Australia at Twickenham on Saturday.

The rugby World Cup hosts must beat Australia to have a chance of advancing to the quarter-final of the competition.

Australia, who have overcome Uruguay and Fiji in their two matches so far, will progress to the last eight with a win. 

If England fail, they will be the first hosts in the 28-year history of the tournament to be eliminated at the pool stage. 

England skipper Chris Robshaw has been under intense pressure since the defeat against an injury hit Wales at Twickenham on 26 September. 

"As an international captain I've learnt in the past you take the rough with the smooth," the 29-year-old Harlequins player said. "There are good times and there are bad times and you need to learn how to deal with it. You want to go out and prove a couple of people wrong."

England lost 28-25 and Robshaw has been lambasted for his decision to reject taking a last-minute penalty that could have tied the match. Instead his side went for a try that would have won the match. They failed.

 "I made that call," Robshaw said. "I wanted to go for the corner and to go for that win. Unfortunately it didn't pay off." 

The botched surge for glory in second-half stoppage time means that there is no more room for errors in Saturday’s showdown against Michael Cheika’s ruggedly talented outfit.

"It's knock-out rugby for us. There's no second chance. It's all on the line, it's as simple as that," said Robshaw. "There's a huge amount of support for us. I took the dog for a walk recently and you get people coming up, cheering you on and willing you on. That's what it's all about.

"We've got ourselves in the best possible frame of mind to deliver and now we need to."

Former England coach Sir Clive Woodward tried to help the cause in the prelude to the clash.

The man who orchestrated England’s World Cup winning campaign in 2003 told the British newspaper the Daily Mail that the Australian players lacked intelligence on the field because of their indiscipline.

“Contrary to popular belief, they are not the brightest team," he opined. "They give away penalties and pick up yellow cards when they are stretched.”

But Cheika jousted with the jibes. "Sometimes it's not intelligence but emotional intelligence that helps in this game. It's not the IQ [intelligence quotient] it's the EQ [emotional quotient].

"So hopefully we've got a bit of EQ among us. We’re loving our time together and we are doing our best for our country.

"I understand it's all a bit of fun and games and a bit of a snipe here, a snipe there, I'm pretty comfortable with all that stuff," the 48-year-old, who can boast a fortune from the fashion business as well as international success as a coach, added.

"I believe a lot in my own players so I don't think having a crack at other players, it's all a bit of show, I don't think that's what I am here to be doing, others can do that. "  

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