TOKYO: United States hooker James Hilterbrand has stepped up the fighting talk ahead of the Eagles’ Rugby World Cup clash with England, stressing their highly rated opponents are far from unbeatable.
Asked what mindset the underdogs needed to prevail in their Pool C clash on Thursday, Hilterbrand said: “Those guys don’t deserve to be on the field with us. That’s the way that we have to think about
it.”
“We’re not some subservient rugby nation that doesn’t deserve to be on the pitch and can’t win,” added Hilterbrand, who was born in Australia and represented them at junior level.
The Eagles have been drawn in the so-called ‘group of death’ that includes England as well as France, Argentina and Tonga but Hilterbrand stressed the need for a positive attitude going into the first game against Eddie Jones’ side.
He mentioned one of the England set-up, centre Piers Francis, saying: “(He) is a mate of mine, I played with him in Edinburgh. He eats, he bleeds just like the rest of us. Just because he puts an England badge on doesn’t mean he’s unbeatable.”
Hilterbrand claimed that every player in the United States squad “has played in a competition against the players that are in England’s squad and either turned them over individually or even as a
team”. “We’re in a World Cup. There’s no other result besides a win.” – AFP
