England kick off their Six Nations campaign in Wales on Friday with captain Chris Robshaw keen to use the cauldron of Cardiff to hone his side’s Rugby World Cup credentials.
The two sides will meet again at Twickenham in the pool stage of the tournament in September, and Robshaw is sure England’s chances of lifting the Webb Ellis Trophy for a second time will depend on proving they can first cope with the unique demands of the Six Nations.
In an exclusive interview with Brian Moore on talkSPORT, the back-row forward said: “The big thing about the game in Cardiff is dealing with the external pressure and everything that comes along with it.
“Going down to the Millennium – with the history of the fixture – it’s going to be magnified and the whole tournament is going to build and build. So as players we want to go there and win to give us a lot of confidence going into the Rugby World Cup.”
As well as the trip to Cardiff, England also head to Dublin to play Ireland in the Six Nations. However, there are home fixtures against Italy, Scotland and France. And with three of their four pool matches in the Rugby World Cup also at Twickenham, Robshaw is keen to return to the fortress mentality of his predecessors in 2003.
He continued: “That side enjoyed a long unbeaten run at Twickenham, that’s what people remember and that’s what we want to replicate. It’s a real fortress, that’s why the fans come here and that’s what they want.
“For us to come into a Rugby World Cup, a home World Cup, we want to be remembered in the same light.”
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