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Coaches: Lancaster rues missed chances

ByPA Sport

Published 18/11/2012 at 12:38 GMT

Reaction from the coaches after a busy weekend of international rugby as Stuart Lancaster insists England must learn lessons at the top level of Test rugby.

Stuart Lancaster England

Image credit: AFP

Stuart Lancaster: "I'm disappointed we lost but I thought Australia played a smart game and bounced back from their defeat against France last week and were competitive in all areas. There were lots of positives from our own performance but the reality is we needed to take the opportunities we created, especially in the last 20 minutes when we thought our tempo would pay. They are the lessons we have to learn for South Africa next week."
Robbie Deans: "It was much better than last week (against France) and obviously it had to be. A big part of the adjustment was mental. Paris is a bit alluring but in Tests you have to turn up or you get blown away. The lads defended very well because England threw a lot at them. The boys had a lot of faith in the defensive line and I think that showed. I think we went a bit defensive in the last 10 but that was indicative of the confidence they had and their ability to hold their line. Any result at Twickenham is significant, it doesn't come easily here. I'm pleased for the lads."
Andy Robinson: "The last 30 minutes was very pleasing but what happened in the first 50 minutes was hugely frustrating. We faced a different threat today. Last week we faced speed and this week we were facing physicality - they are probably the toughest team to play against. It showed the gulf and where we are. We can't afford to give penalties away in the way we did. We need to improve our discipline because we gave them field positions and the ability to build their maul in the first half. In the second half we didn't give penalties away so our defence was on the front foot. In the first half we allowed SA to get momentum by tackling high. After half-time we tackled low, which stopped their momentum and we played inside their half."
Heyneke Meyer: "I'm really disappointed with the second half. I thought we played tactically very well in the first half. The plan was to put them under pressure and I thought at 14-3 at half-time we could move on from there. The second half we just gave away too many penalties. I just checked the stats quickly but it was seven penalties just from scrums. But I'm very happy with the character of the players, our defence was awesome. Also Scotland deserve a lot of credit, they really came at us in the second half. I thought we were in control and then there was a pretty huge swing in the momentum. But that's how you win trophies and World Cups and we will learn from that because we were under huge pressure and kept them out."
Declan Kidney: "Overall, the first half went okay. The third quarter definitely died a lot and we'll have to take a good look at that because that was the section last week (against South Africa) that cost us. We finished strongly but the thing that pleased me most was the defence. Even though we were points ahead we defended stoically. There were a lot of young men out there having their first go and I think it would be wrong to single any one player out. There was a fair bit of finishing from some of the backs but there was good work done by the forwards too. Craig (Gilroy) seemed to enjoy it. I'm sure Fergus (McFadden) will remind him that he was in the scrum that led to one of his tries. It was a good team effort and the wingers, well it's their job to finish the chances when they come to them. Fair play to him, he took his chances when they came his way."
Philippe Saint-Andre: "I told the guys that now, the toughest was ahead of us against Samoa. I have to congratulate my squad tonight but we have to stay humble because the giantkillers are coming at the Stade de France. Last night, after I watched Wales versus Samoa, I did not sleep very well -- and it was not because of today's game."
Steve Hansen: "I'd like to congratulate Italy on playing a great game of rugby. I thought the attitude of their game was outstanding. The most important thing is that the 70,000 people will have gone home with the idea that rugby is a great game, which is better than the last time at the San Siro. Italy came to play rather than keep the score down. If Italy want to become a great rugby nation they have to learn to play, and at half time it was only one try each."
Rob Howley: "I have spoken to the players and we are obviously disappointed as a coaching team and group of players. International rugby is about discipline and when we created opportunities in the game, although we did not have many, we were disappointed in terms of our top-three inches at times. We were outperformed by a Samoa side whose ability to keep the ball better than us was the most disappointing aspect of the performance. We did not have control of possession or in terms of the contact area and that (performance) is obviously not international standard."
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