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Well, we’ve had a good couple of days since the win over Tonga on Friday night. That’s eight tries in two games against good quality opposition. We know that there’s still plenty to work on, but we are improving all the time and are relishing the prospect of playing Australia in Marseille on Saturday. 

We’ve had a really good open team meeting that gave everyone the opportunity to give their thoughts on what was working well and where we could improve. It was a very positive get together, and so much better to have these sessions when things are on the up rather than a crisis meeting when things are not going so well. 

Two areas we need to improve on are our defence and our work at the breakdown. In terms of defence, we are going to have to be much more aggressive and increase our line speed in getting up to the tackle area. It is going to be crucial to stop the Aussies crossing the gain line. 

We will also have to compete better at the breakdown. In George Smith and Phil Waugh Australia possess two of the best in this phase of the game. Again we are going to have to be quicker and more aggressive than we have been to stop them having a big influence on the game. 

The forward battle, as always, is going to be key. If we can dominate up front it will give us a real edge. But we will have to be clinical and make sure that we take the chances that come our way. 

We have clean bill of health for the squad with the big bonus that Jason Robinson is fit and raring to go; one of the best finishers in the game. 

It’s 2-2 overall in terms of England / Australia games in the World Cup. And while the Aussies will no doubt be looking for revenge after 2003, we are quietly confident that we can get the job done. We have effectively played two knock out rounds against Samoa and Tonga, so we are used to the pressures that that brings. 

There will no doubt be a lot said in the media this week in the build up to the game, but I have to say that we are a pretty experienced bunch and I can’t see anything affecting our preparations. 

Personally, I have been given no indication from Brian Ashton as to whether I will be in the 22 come Saturday. I’d obviously love to be involved, but if I’m not I’ll be right behind the boys, just as will be all those that don’t make the final squad. 

We have had some time to relax following the Tonga game, although for those, me included, who didn’t play on Friday there’s still been training sessions to put in. A number of the squad went to Euro Disney with their families and, from what I hear, had the full red carpet VIP treatment.

As for me, I was with a group that went off shooting. We went with our security guys to a range and were able to blast away with all sorts of weapons, from hand guns, shotguns through to machine guns. I’m not sure anyone was in the Clint Eastwood category, but there was certainly The Good, The Bad and The Ugly – although I won’t say who was who! 

Before I sign off, I must say that I’m genuinely disappointed to see Wales and Ireland get knocked out. I was really hoping that the six nations would be pushing right to the end of the competition. So I suppose it’s up to Scotland, France and ourselves to take it forward. 

Finally, congratulations to the boys at Bristol. I’ve kept in good contact with them while I’ve been with the England squad and it was great to see them notch the first win yesterday.

We are a very happy camp today after yesterday’s hard fought victory. It was a great relief to get such a good win over quality opposition. The consequences of failure and going out of the tournament were too dire to think about.

We’ve had the press on our backs right from the start of the tournament following the performance against USA, so it was great to get things back on track and a World Cup quarter final against Australia is now looming large.

But we can’t get too ahead ourselves as we’ve another tough encounter ahead of us on Friday against Tonga. For that game it’s simply winner takes all and up for grabs is that place in the quarters and the Aussies.

The game against Samoa I’m sure was a great game for the neutral but it wasn’t so much fun having to watch it from the bench when there’s nothing you can do to help the 15 guys out on the field.

At half time we were convincingly ahead and the aim was to get out and make sure we scored first in the second half. Unfortunately the Samoan’s came out very strongly and at 26-22 with less than 20 minutes, the finger nails were being bitten.

The locals in the crowd were getting behind the Samoans and we needed to be composed. I thought we not only did that, but were really clinical in taking the chances that came our way. We closed the game out fantastically well.

Today has been a chance for some R & R. We are still down in Nantes and have had families and friends with us and it’s been a very chilled day. We’ve largely been left to our own devices with some of the guys heading to the golf course and others, me included, indulging in a spot of go-karting.

We’ll be heading back up to our HQ outside Paris tomorrow and then from Tuesday onwards we’ll be fully focussed on the Tonga game. We are happy with the win but we know that there is still plenty to work on ahead of Friday.

The bonus from yesterday was that we didn’t pick up any injuries. As always against any team from the Pacific Islands yesterday was a very physical game, but also a fair one and played in great spirit. Obviously there are a few bumps and bruises to nurse from yesterday but nothing more serious than that.

I’m sure Brian [Ashton] would relish the opportunity to pick an unchanged team. Even with Phil [Vickery] available for selection after completing his suspension. If we did go with the same team, it would the first time in a good wile since we’ve been able to do that. And to be fair the guys that played yesterday deserve to stay in the team

We picked a team to do a job against the USA and didn’t really perform. We then picked what was supposed to be our first choice team against South Africa and we were well beaten. But yesterday, when we needed a win desperately to stay in the competition, the guys who were selected stepped up to the plate.

So it’s onwards and upwards. As I said, we know that we’ve a tough game ahead of us on Friday against a very physical Tongan side who will be putting everything on the line to try to get past us, but we are relishing the prospect of facing Australia. And believe me we don’t to miss out on that!

I’m signing off now but will be back later in the week to give an update on how preparations are going for the Tonga game.

Even today I still can’t shift the huge disappointment from last Friday and the way England failed to compete with South Africa. It is now time to put all that aside, at least for a few hours anyway, and concentrate on Le Crunch.

There have been some big games so far but surely tonight sees the biggest in this year’s tournament. For Ireland it is not quite the last chance salon but defeat tonight would leave them needing a bonus point win against Argentina next week to stand any chance of going through. And even that might mean a date with the All Blacks in Cardiff.

For France it is simple – lose and they are out. Looking ahead to tonight’s game there are some interesting team changes to conjure with. For the Irish the change at scrum half looks bold. Eion Reddan certainly has impressed at Wasps and will be more combative and aggressive in his approach. Talking to Irish legend Mike Gibson earlier today he feels that the French could well be more worried about Reddan than they would have been if Peter Stringer had been selected.

 Can the Irish come up with the big performance tonight? Certainly some of the Irish contingent I have been with today think so. I am here in Paris today with another group of VU rugby fans all licking their lips at the prospect of tonight’s encounter. With us today are Irish rugby legends Paul Wallace and the afore mentioned Mike Gibson. Both guys, although showing a few nerves ahead of the game, firmly believe the Irish will get the win they need.

Paul feels that France are still very much the favourites.  ‘The Irish have not lost yet and I would be incredibly surprised if we did not see a big performance from them tonight. The pressure is all on France. The Irish are the underdogs and that is the way we prefer it.”

Tactically Paul would like to see a shift away from the way Ireland have approached the previous two games. “I think we have been using Brian (O’Driscoll) too much from first phase ball and I think we have been far too flat when we have had second and third phase possession,” he said.

He believes the lineout will be crucial and feels the selection of Sebastian Chabal in the French second row will play into Irish hands. “He is a fantastic player, but I would have picked him the back row. It should mean that with their best lineout jumpers missing it will enable us to dominate the lineout and hopefully starve the French of the ball.”

Mike feels the inspiration for the Irish players could well be found in what the consequences of defeat will mean. Again, as with Paul, he feels the Irish have to be tactically astute, particularly with their kicking game.

He said: “We need Ronan (O’Gara) to have one of his Munster performances where he controls the game and puts his forwards where they want to be, deep in French territory. His kicking needs to be spot on as he needs to be very careful of the pace and power the French back three possess.”

Many thanks to Mike and Paul for their time. I will be there pulling for the guys in green at St Denis tonight. Whatever happens there should be an amazing atmosphere and it will be a fantastic occasion.

France out of the World Cup two weeks into the tournament? Who would have thought that before the first ball was kicked but, if the Irish can produce that big performance, we know is in there and get a foothold in the match it may just be their night.

Just after I finished my last blog the whole squad got together for a clear the air meeting. It is up to the 30 players and management to sort it out because this weekend really is ‘must win’ time against Samoa.

It was a necessary meeting and you can imagine the anger and hurt we were feeling – especially after we had trained so hard. It was an open forum to express our views which is better than some sort of whispering campaign, and really allowed us to clear the air.

South Africa must not be seen as a fatal hammer blow. We are well aware that we are playing below our potential. We can not eradicate the pain but what we can do is turn it into a motivating factor. One thing that came out of it was a need to simplify the game plan. The desire to do well is still there and the team spirit is still good, despite our disappointing start.

The training has gone well. In fact I have got a couple of names to share with you. Peter Richards has been nicknamed ‘Apple’ (the same name as Gwyneth Paltrow’s baby). The reason is that in training he keeps turning the ball over so Apple Turnover has been shortened to Apple!

The other name is for Nick Easter. Easter told me in confidence (sorry!) that he calls HIMSELF ‘The Dominator’. Can you believe that he actually looks in the mirror and in all seriousness calls himself The Dominator? Obviously I could not keep quiet about that one and all the lads know. Not only does it make him sound like an arse but it is even too cheesy a name to be used for a Hollywood film.

A few of the boys went off to the Palace of Versailles this week, but I must say I am no culture vulture. I stayed behind with a few of the boys – including The Dominator – to watch a film.

I am disappointed not to be starting the game this time but this is a good squad environment. You have to take the rough with the smooth, and if I get the chance to come off the bench I am looking forward to helping England achieve the victory we must have.

For a few days only I am going to become an Ireland fan. I have dug out any green clothing I can find and even tried out my Irish accent, although I don’t think I will be using that in public.

The reason is that my next trip is to Paris this week for the Ireland/France game. The Irish were really poor against Georgia and I think it was their traditional luck which helped them avoid the greatest ever World Cup shock.

I will be in Paris with a group of VU rugby fans. Joining us at the game will be a couple of Irish legends. The first is Mike Gibson – who toured five times with the Lions and is one of the few people over here who knows how to beat the Kiwis having been a key member of the victorious 1971 Lions team. The other former Irish star joining me in Paris is Paul Wallace another fantastic Lions player who was a key to the Lions triumph in 1997 and a fellow member of the front row union.

France will be feeling better after their clinical performance against Namibia, but both France and Ireland are teams under pressure. I predict that there could be a number of mistakes in the game caused by that tension which will decide the game.

After the Ireland/France match I am travelling to Nantes for the England game, and going there purely as a fan. I suppose it can’t be avoided so we’d better talk on the blog about England.

There is no getting away from the fact that they were just terrible last week. Even though Samoa have suffered their own defeat to Tonga they must really believe they can beat our boys. England are now in a knock-out situation there is no more room for errors.

England will be lifted with the return of Olly and Jonny and I really hope this will get our back line moving – something that just has not happened so far. I am surprised that Lawrence is still not involved having not even made the bench. I would certainly want him as an option in this sort of situation. The back row is certainly up to taking on the physical power of the Samoa team but I think Lawrence would have brought something extra.

 Josh will be great at full back. He is an experienced player and a cool head. It is a shame for Ronnie that he is not starting as hooker but I am sure he will come on from the bench. The lineout did not really function on Friday but it was the same when Chuter came on to replace Ronnie. The third hooker – Lee Mears – will be disappointed that he is still not included. I think the pace he could bring would be useful.

Everyone was down after the defeat on Friday but we still managed to have a great time in Paris. I just wanted to go back on some of the comments Andy Robinson, Phil De Glanville, Scott Hastings and Matt Perry made whilst we were over for the England/South Africa game.

Robbo said that a South Africa win against England would really lift Samoa for the game coming up this weekend. I agree with that, but after Samoa lost to Tonga I think they will be feeling just as disappointed. It is now down to which team reacts in the best way to their defeats.

Matt Perry felt that a major problem for England had been the pace they were playing at. With Gomarsall now in at scrum half from the start England might well have quicker ball and ultimately more pace.

Phil felt that on Friday we would miss Olly Barkley as much as anyone and I think he was right. Now that Olly is back and alongside Wilkinson I think that we will see a different England. He still believes in Corry’s captaincy and he will have to lead from the front to see us through on Saturday.

So come on Ireland and come on England. Let’s all have a bit of the luck of the Irish this weekend and I hope my green pullover still fits me.