Parling ready for battle

By Mark Stevens

Geoff Parling says England will be doing their utmost to give a good account of themselves as they prepare to kick-off their Rugby World Cup 2015 campaign a week today.

The Exeter Chiefs lock will be hoping to be part of Stuart Lancaster's grand plans for the tournament opener against Fiji at Twickenham (8pm) having featured in last weekend's 21-13 win over Ireland.

Parling - who joined the Devon club this summer from Aviva Premiership rivals Leicester Tigers - was recalled to second row for the final warm-up fixture, partnering Northampton's Courtney Lawes in the England engine room.

His experience and guile, particularly when it comes to the line-out - which had struggled in the two previous fixtures against France - was clearly evident and helped to give Lancaster's side a solid platform from which to work off.

"I thought the line-out went well," said Parling. "There were a few things that we need to work on, but overall when you come up against Paul O'Connell and a seven foot bloke [Devin Toner], it's always going to be a good test.

"As I said, I thought we stood up well and we should be pleased, but there are always things to work on as we look to push forward."

England, though, will be glad to have come through their final work-out with plenty of positives, a fact not lost on Parling, who knows Fiji will offer a creditable threat to the host nation in the opening clash.

"It was a very important win for us," added the British & Irish Lions forward. "We needed some momentum heading into the Fiji game, so to get a win against a very good Irish team was just what we wanted.

"I know people said afterwards that they didn't really turn up, but I think that was more down to the fact that we didn't allow them to turn up. I thought we played well and there was a lot of good things to take from the game.

"Yes, we should have been more ruthless because we left a few scores out there, but we needed that win and it's given us a real positive outlook to take forward into the next game."

As Parling knows, however, Fiji - who he has faced once before in competitive action - are a growing force within the international game and are no longer seen as the minnows of yesteryear.

"They are vastly improved since the last time I played against them," said Parling, who has now won 25 caps for his country. "They are up to ninth in the world on the back of their win in the Pacific Nations Cup and they are a lot more organised than in the past.

"Add into the mix that they have some very dangerous players, so it all makes for a tough game of rugby for us. Right now we cannot even talk about Australia or talk about Wales, we have to focus solely on Fiji and nothing else."

And with two fellow Chiefs - Jack Nowell and Henry Slade - alongside him in Lancaster's 31-man squad for the tournament, the trio will be hoping to make their mark and help England become world champions for only the second time.

"We're all looking forward to the tournament," continued Parling. "Obviously training has been a bit different because there have been less guys about the place, but it's got a lot tighter and we're getting more reps in during each drill.

"Throughout the squad you get the feeling that 'this is it' and now it's time to get down to business. We all want to push on because it feels like the Rugby World Cup is just around the corner, which it is!"

Chiefs supporters can get behind the England team right here at Sandy Park by booking in for one of our International Rugby Dinners, which will be taking place during the tournament. Further information on these dinners are available by calling 01392 427427.