Chris Robshaw, the England captain, believes his side's resilience amid a gruelling autumn has proved they posses the mettle to survive the environment of a home World Cup.
A 26-17 victory over Australia at Twickenham on Saturday salvaged respectability from a largely disappointing QBE Series, with the countdown to next year's global showpiece now only eight games. Comprehensive defeats by New Zealand and South Africa took their losing run to five tests, before success came against Samoa and Australia.
"Relief" was Robshaw's reaction to the result and while he applauds the tenacity of his team-mates, he knows standards must improve if the hosts are to be a force at their own tournament.
"The pressure hasn't been a bad thing, it's just great to see how we have responded to it," said Robshaw, who was outstanding against Australia. "Now we know that if it happens again the guys aren't going to crumble, they're going to find ways of winning. At a World Cup you can't afford to lose one or two games - then you are packing your bags and watching [the rest] on TV."
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