England team manager Martin Johnson is urging his players to focus solely on defeating Scotland to secure a quarter-final place in the World Cup.
A win in Auckland on Saturday, which can be backed at 1/7 with bookmaker, would guarantee top spot in Pool B and could send Scotland home early.
Johnson told reporters: “It’s knockout rugby. We have to win, they have to win. We are not talking about getting a losing bonus point, we want to go and win the game.”
Johnson has recalled Matt Stevens, Courtney Lawes and Delon Armitage to the starting XV, and expects his team to have enough to win the showdown, adding: “It is about us playing well.
“You have got to handle the pressure, handle the expectation, handle the spotlight and go out and play. If we do that we will put ourselves in a good place.”
