England vulnerable off back of winning run – Proudfoot
England forwards coach Matt Proudfoot has drawn inspiration from the recent State of Origin Rugby League series to explain why he thinks his side are vulnerable heading into this series.
Eddie Jones has a perfect record at England against Australia, the side he coached between 2001 and 2005, winning eight out of eight games since he took charge of the men in white in 2015.
But, having taken the entire squad to the second game of the State of Origin – which saw New South Wales level the series by hammering Queensland 44-12 – led Jones' assistant to believe Australia will take inspiration to produce a similar bounceback.
“It gives you a certain amount of vulnerability because you know the opposition is itching for your scalp,” Proudfoot said. “You're vulnerable at stages like this.
“We went to the State of Origin on Sunday night. Queensland did really well, unexpectedly, in the first game. In the second game, it turned over.
“So when you win, you're vulnerable because your opposition is obviously hurting and wanting to come back.”
Australia go into this series as the bookies favourites, with the hosts 1/2 while England are 13/7.
England will take their own inspiration from winning 3-0 back in 2016, and the ten surviving players from that squad have helped the rest of the squad to understand what it will take to repeat the feat.
“Mako Vunipola, Jamie George and Maro Itoje were there and we discussed their experiences as a pack on Monday,” Proudfoot said.
“A lot of the young guys are experiencing this type of environment for the first time, so that was a really big topic – how tough the first Test was.”
Proudfoot has emphasised a good start, which England failed to do as they quickly went 10-0 down in the first test six years ago, before coming back to win and complete a whitewash in the other two tests.
“We were under the pump in that match and that's why the first half is going to be crucial for the pack to get the team on to the front foot.
“Success looks like getting on the front foot on Saturday. A three-Test series is a long series.
“The first contact, the first 10 minutes matter. The first game is going to be very important.”
