Rugby World Cup 2019: England-France cancellation can benefit Australia – Horwill

James Horwill thinks the cancellation of England’s Rugby World Cup clash with France could work in Australia’s favour when the teams meet in a blockbuster quarter-final on Saturday.

England were due to face Les Bleus in their final Pool C match in Yokohama last weekend, but Typhoon Hagibis prevented the fixture from going ahead.

It led to England coach Eddie Jones saying the typhoon gods must be smiling on his team after they were given a weekend off and finished top to set up a showdown with the Wallabies.

Yet former Australia captain Horwill believes England will be wishing they had locked horns for a pool decider with their Six Nations rivals, having won their other three games at a canter.

#ENGvAUS #GoldBlooded #RWC2019 pic.twitter.com/Of9VxLkkKM

— Wallabies (@wallabies) October 15, 2019

Horwill told Omnisport: “England are a good side, well drilled and very disciplined with what they do. When they get on the front foot, they are very hard to stop.

“I think they would have liked to have had that game against France because it would have been a strong test and a really challenge.

“They have come through the pool stage being able to deal with the opposition quite comfortably, which is obviously a good thing for them, but they haven’t had a big test.

“It depends on how you look at it. From the point of view of someone like Billy Vunipola, with a sore ankle, he’s had extra time to rest up and get fit in a week off.

“They would have wanted to play again, but they should feel good going into the game. But if the heat comes sometimes you need to think, ‘We’ve been here before last week and we know how to get through it’.

“Obviously that is not something England have had to deal with.”

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