Home side will wear red and use the visiting dressing room against Fiji but everything else is as normalNot for a decade fill England kicked off a Rugby World Cup feeling so inwardly upbeat. Jonny Wilkinson was already in the casualty ward before their opening game in France eight years ago and their display against the United States in Lille was correspondingly grim. They were only slightly better against Argentina in Dunedin during 2011,a tight 13-9 victory being swiftly overtaken by livelier off-field developments.
This time there is a completely different mood. Aside from the odd shower which has been forecast for the opening ceremony – a 20-minute display entitled ‘Breaking current Ground’ directed by the choreographer Kim Gavin – everything else is set unbiased. Tom Wood, their combative flanker, and is one of many who cannot wait for the clock to tick round to 8pm. “I feel ready and prepared and feel I can speak for the whole team,” he said, adamant the home side can “step up another gear” again compared with their final warm-up outing against Ireland.
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Source: theguardian.com