England & Scotland set for battle

England manager Martin Johnson says his side will go all out for victory in their crucial Pool B World Cup showdown with Scotland on Saturday.

England will still qualify if they earn a losing bonus point, with Scotland needing a winning margin of eight or more to have any chance of progression.

But Johnson says his side will approach the game with a “knock out” mentality.

And Scotland counterpart Andy Robinson has called on his players to “use every emotion” to beat England.

With World Cup progression at stake, Johnson admits there has been an added intensity to the build-up ahead of the game at Eden Park.

“There is lots of chat of getting bonus points but we want to win the Test match as we always do,” said Johnson. “That doesn’t change.

“We are playing knock-out rugby. This is where we want to be – playing a big pool game, wanting to win it to win the pool.”

“There has been a definite edge about it.

“It is a big game, they’ve picked a team full of power with some very direct carriers so it is going to be a big battle in midfield in terms of getting over the gain line.”

The build-up to the game has been slightly overshadowed by the suspension of two England coaches for the World Cup game against Scotland on Saturday.

Kicking coach Dave Alred and fitness specialist Paul Stridgeon were found to have switched the ball Jonny Wilkinson was due to kick with during England’s 67-3 win over Romania without asking the permission of referee Romain Poite.

Johnson spoke of his regret over the incident and when asked whether the situation had been an embarrassment for England, he said: “Paul and David did what they did in the heat and confusion of a Test.

“We should have asked the referee [if they could switch balls], we didn’t. They asked us to stop, we did.

“I don’t suspend guys lightly. We regret what we did and it was wrong.

“In the heat of a World Cup match these guys have made a mistake and they have paid for it.”

Meanwhile, Scotland full-back Chris Paterson says he is unconcerned about the World Cup match balls following the furore with Alred and Stridgeon.

Windy conditions have caused difficulties for kickers so far, but Paterson has no complaints with the match balls which have caused such controversy.

“We’ve trained with the balls since June or July and we get on and train with it,” said Paterson.

“As long as they stay on the tee I’m trying my best, to be honest.”

Scotland head coach Robinson preferred to focus on his side, rather than comment on the situation in the opposition camp.

Robinson, England head coach from September 2004 to November 2006, said: “We’ve got to take care of what we’re about.

“It’s a hard enough job for us worrying about what, as opposed to worrying about the opposition and what they’re up to. It’s about us.

“I really hope it’s another cracking test match. For us, it’s about finding the answers to breaking down this England team and if we do that, we have the players to finish off.”

England team: B Foden; C Ashton, M Tuilagi, M Tindall, D Armitage; J Wilkinson, B ngs; M Stevens, S Thompson, D Cole, L Deacon, C Lawes, T Croft, L Moody (capt), J Haskell.

Replacements: D Hartley, A Corbisiero, T Palmer, N Easter, R Wigglesworth, T Flood, M Banahan.

Scotland team: C Paterson; M Evans, J Ansbro, S Lamont, S Danielli; R Jackson, M Blair; A Jacobsen, R Ford, E Murray, R Gray, A Kellock (capt), A Strokosch , J Barclay, R Vernon.

Replacements: S Lawson, A Dickinson, N Hines, R Rennie, C Cur, D Parks, N De Luca.

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