‘They mean business’ – Ben Earl on the ‘glint’ within the England camp and those that haven’t ‘pulled their weight’
'They mean business' - Ben Earl on the 'glint' within the England camp and those that haven't 'pulled their weight'
England back-rower Ben Earl has claimed that the squad has a “glint in their eye” ahead of their Six Nations round four fixture against Italy on Saturday.
The players met this week to clear the air and assess the disastrous losses to Scotland and Ireland, with numerous players reportedly putting their hands up and admitting they underperformed in the matches.
The Six Nations title is mathematically out of reach for England now, but the men in white are determined to rebuild their fans’ trust and get back to winning ways.
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“There’s no point sulking about it”
“These are the weeks where boys have a little glint in their eye. They mean business,” 28-year-old Earl said.
“You look at some of the big guys in our squad and go ‘something good is coming’. We’re all hoping that is going to materialise on Saturday.”
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Words are cheap when actions don’t back them up. But Earl believes that the atmosphere within camp has changed, for the better.
“It’s come from within. If we’re being honest, there’s been some challenge from within the playing group. A few of us had a meeting last Wednesday and we’ve stripped it bare,” he admits.
“There are people in the squad who don’t feel like they’ve pulled their weight or performed well enough. Some people have come forward and said they need to be a lot better at this or have been a bit off on that.
“Once you get that out there, it’s about how you move forward. There’s no point sulking about it.
“Hopefully it’s something we can look back on again when we play more big games over the next 18 months, and we can say ‘I won’t forget those conversations’.”
Following their visit to Rome, England will travel to Paris to face France in the final match of the Six Nations, as they look to put a dampener on what has so far been a perfect campaign for Fabian Galthie’s side.
