England
England must take advantage of home World Cup: Robshaw
ESPN Staff
June 28, 2015
Chris Robshaw
Chris Robshaw© (Photo by Steve Bardens - RFU/The RFU Collection via Getty Images)

England captain Chris Robshaw has urged his team-mates to embrace the "bonus" of playing a home Rugby World Cup this autumn.

Barring injury, Robshaw will lead out the hosts when they kick off the tournament against Fiji at Twickenham on September 18 aiming to become world champions for a second time.

Martin Johnson, captain when England lifted the Webb Ellis Cup in Australia in 2003, admitted this week that the side that took part in the 1999 World Cup crumbled under the pressure of playing on home soil.

For Robshaw, though, the thought of having a whole country supporting his side is a source of motivation.

"It's a bonus, for sure," he added.

"People ask 'is it pressure?' No, we've got to put that pressure on other teams.

"Other teams come here playing in front of 60 million people cheering us on and we've got to use that to our advantage."

Moreover, Robshaw revealed Usain Bolt is an inspiration for England as the hosts bid to thrive on partisan support similar to that generated for London 2012.

The England skipper saw Bolt's 200 metres win at the Olympics three years ago, a victory which was preceded minutes earlier by David Rudisha's astonishing 800m success, and liked what he saw.

"What those guys showed, and it's a mentality hopefully we can have, you've just got to go for it," Robshaw said.

"You've got to not look back after the tournament and say 'we could've done this, we should've done that'.

"Go out there, enjoy it, make the most of this occasion and hopefully do as well as possible."

Comparisons are being made between the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games and the World Cup, and Robshaw hopes to convert everyone in the country into rugby supporters.

"I'm not hugely into my athletics and some of the things I went to see, but you get caught up in it," added Robshaw, who also saw the road cycling events pass through his hometown of Kingston-on-Thames, Surrey.

"You walked around the Olympic Park and you could feel the excitement, just how happy everyone was to be there, the passion of it.

"We want to bring the people who are potentially huge rugby fans, get them involved.

"The beauty of it is there's games all over the country."

© ESPN Staff

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