England Must Improve Says Grayson

Fly-half Paul Grayson fears England could suffer under a bruising Irish challenge if they do not step up a level in
Saturday’s RBS Six Nations clash at Twickenham.

Fly-half Paul Grayson fears England could suffer under a bruising Irish challenge if they do not step up a level in
Saturday’s RBS Six Nations clash at Twickenham.

Grayson says the world champions know they must improve on their
performances against Italy and Scotland if they want to chalk up
their 23rd
successive Test match victory on home soil.
“Ireland are coming to Twickenham to win, and we need to be
very wary that
they will be coming to go flat out, to go after us and go for the
upset,” he
said.

“We were slightly rusty against Italy, but they are no
pushovers, and I
think everyone else will discover that as the tournament
unfolds,” he added.

“We were under no illusions about what to expect in Scotland,
and we kind
of tailored our game to cope with that and squeeze the life out of
them,
rather than run them off their feet.

“We did that effectively. It perhaps didn’t come over quite
as
spectacularly on the television, but in terms of application, game
plan and
result, we got exactly what we wanted.
“This weekend, it is absolutely necessary to step up a level.
We are clear
as to what we have got to do, and we don’t want to be surprised.”

Ireland number eight Anthony Foley (pictured) believes a run-out against
Clive
Woodward’s champions is the perfect way to celebrate his 50th cap.
“Playing the world champions is a good way to mark your 50th
cap. There
isn’t a whole lot of expectation on us because everyone is expecting
England
to win. It’s a massive, massive game,” he said.
AFP – 2004.