WillGreenwood

England v Romania, Saturday 07:00 (ITV1)

I hoped England would kick-start their World Cup campaign with a big win against Georgia. They covered the winning margin and all four of our bets on the match came in - which is fantastic - but did we see the comprehensive display I wanted? Hmm. Sort of. Not really.

England made a great start, playing dynamic rugby as Shontayne Hape scored a lovely pair of first half tries. But after that the old frustrations crept in and indiscipline, I'm afraid, was the key issue again.

England are becoming a self-fulfilling prophecy in referees' eyes. They are gaining a reputation as a wayward side, officials are eagle-eyed for their indiscretions and that's a very dangerous position to be in. Merab Kvirikashvili missed three penalties but better sides will be less profligate and they will punish indiscipline. Jonno needs to sort it out now.

The team that has been selected to face Romania on Saturday is, by and large, England's first 15. Once his suspension has been served, Courtney Lawes will return at second row, and we could yet see further changes, but Jonno will believe that this line-up can represent England from here to the World Cup final.

I'm confident that England will smash Romania. They should take note of the way South Africa tore apart Namibia in their 87-0 win and prevent Romania from registering a single point. Defence needs to be rock solid and discipline must be impeccable but Romania offer very little threat and there's no reason why England shouldn't keep them out for 80 minutes. If they do concede it will only be down to a lack of concentration, as it was last weekend when Ben Youngs was at fault for Georgia's try.

At the other end, Chris Ashton and Mark Cueto should be in their element. When I backed England to score over 5.5 ties against Georgia, I was being conservative - I wanted nine and so did the players. They will be very disappointed if they don't demolish a weak Romanian side on Saturday. It's time for a 60 pointer, a big win to blow away the frustrations and set up a final Pool showdown against Scotland. I'm keeping the faith and backing England to cover the handicap.

Recommended Bets
3pts Back England -50.5 @ 1.72
1pt Back 0-10 minutes for the first try

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