England are primed for their World Cup showdown with Scotland after some intense training sessions, says Shontayne Hape.
Training scuffles a good sign for centre
Shontayne Hape says England are primed for their World Cup showdown with Scotland after some tough training sessions.
Victory in Auckland on Saturday would see Martin Johnson's men top Pool B and avoid a quarter-final date with tournament hosts New Zealand.
Hape revealed the intensity levels have been turned up a notch in training, even spilling over into the odd physical altercation.
"Training's been going really well, training today was awesome, obviously the players are really pumped up and there were a few scuffles going around which shows the intensity is high and the adrenaline is up there," Hape told
Sky Sports News HD.
"It's a massive game against Scotland, if we lose we're out so we're not worried about the points. We know we need to win."
Focused
Scrum-half Joe Simpson, meanwhile, insists England are not thinking about the possible quarter-final permutations.
The Wasps youngster, who made his international debut in the pool win over Georgia, knows the focus must be squarely on Scotland.
"We've come back to Auckland, it's a new stadium so that will throw something different into the mix," he said.
"But we know what we've got to do, it's all about rugby while we've been here - you get time off to relax, but you've got the videos everywhere and you know what you're here to do.
"So it's all about winning (against Scotland) and then after that we can concentrate on who we've got in the quarter-finals.
"But we're looking no further than this match and I think everyone is really looking forward to it."
