England front-row Ellis Genge wants his side to “motivate” themselves and not rely on the Twickenham atmosphere alone to get a result against Italy on Sunday.
The start of the Steve Borthwick era did not go as planned as the Red Rose fell short to Scotland in the opening round, losing 29-23 last weekend.
After the game, the coach expressed his frustration, claiming his side “weren’t good at anything” and has made several changes for the Italy Test.
Find the fire
Genge, who played under Borthwick at Leicester Tigers, insists the squad need to find their own fire in the new era.
“I’d be worried if we don’t motivate ourselves to be honest,” the prop said.
“If we’re not trying to win and are relying on the fans to give us the energy to do so, we are probably not in the right spot.
“It’s brilliant to have a loud crowd and loads of noise but in the same breath it’s not something we’re necessarily relying on – we have got to find our own fire.”
England have been victorious in all of their previous 29 Tests against Sunday’s opponents, but this emerging Italy side poses a greater threat than in the past, and Genge is under no illusions of the task ahead.
“There were all those articles about whether Italy should be replaced in the Six Nations by Georgia, but they have really showed their worth over the last few fixtures,” he said.
“They had that big win in Wales away from home and played brilliantly against France, so they are definitely no mugs.
“Everyone was reasonably shocked about how close it was against France and they had every opportunity to win if a few things went their way.”
Work to do
With Borthwick having only taken over the team at the end of last year he admits there is work to do ahead of the World Cup.
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“We have a lot of catching up to do. The situation here is different with this team,” the coach said.
“You see those teams who are in a four-year cycle putting the final touches to their teams, but our situation is different. It’s clear why that is.
“We can’t do anything about what is gone before. All we can do is maximise every day going forward.
“We tried to do that when we came into camp two-and-a-half weeks ago and tried to do it during the Scotland game.
“I want this team to deliver, to win. I want the supporters and players to be proud of this team. I am also pretty clear about how much work there is to do and want to get on with it.
“There were certain things that improved during the Scotland game but we need more growth in other areas. I want England to go into every game in a position to try and find a way to win.”