Twickenham roar is worth 12 points to England, says Jason Leonard

Passion play: England fans show their support before kick-off at Twickenham
(Matthew Lewis/Getty Images)
Chris Jones17 September 2015

England kick off the World Cup tomorrow with Jason Leonard convinced the Twickenham crowd is worth 12 points per game to the hosts.

The former prop was part of the side that won the World Cup in Australia in 2003 and thinks the home support can inspire the current side to glory.

Leonard, who is now president of the RFU, believes England have a key advantage with their pool games against Australia, Wales and Fiji all at Twickenham. Should Stuart Lancaster’s men progress, their knock-out matches will also all be at HQ.

And Leonard hopes England lift the trophy to ensure he is not “wheeled out” in years to come as a member of the only Red Rose team to rule the world.

He said: “The home support could be a 9-12 point advantage at Twickenham and it will take a good side to play well against us in that environment. Stuart Lancaster is a noble guy who has given players the chance to win the Cup.

“All of the 2003 Cup-winning players want this England side to triumph because we don’t want to be wheeled out in 30 years and be introduced as members of the only England team to win the trophy. Can England win the 2015 Cup? Yes, they can.”

Inside Pennyhill Park - England's Rugby World Cup base

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England’s rugby team came agonisingly close to making history in 2007 by becoming the first team to retain the trophy. They controversially lost the final to South Africa 14-9 after Mark Cueto’s ‘try’ was ruled out by the television match official.

Chris Robshaw will lead England out against Fiji tomorrow night and Leonard is confident the squad will peak at the right time.

He said: “I do believe that every squad that has won the World Cup have tended to contain really experienced players.

“When Stuart Lancaster started this journey he wanted to get players up to 30 caps and that has happened in some cases but injury has played a part along with dips in form. It’s a fact that you don’t have to be the best team in the world for four years to win the Cup – you need to be the best for four weeks.”

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