Saints star Wood urges England to summon up spirit of 2007

England captain Chris Robshaw (right) and Tom Wood leave the field dejected after the Rugby World Cup match at Twickenham Stadium, London. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Saturday September 26, 2015. See PA story RUGBYU England. Photo credit should read: David Davies/PA Wire. RESTRICTIONS: Editorial use only. Strictly no commercial use or association without RWCL permission. Still image use only. Use implies acceptance of Section 6 of RWC 2015 T&Cs at: http://bit.ly/1MPElTL Call +44 (0)1158 447447 for further info.

Stuart Lancaster’s men are one defeat away from elimination, with this weekend’s opponents Australia desperate to end the hosts’ hopes of progression from Pool A.

England surrendered a 10-point lead to lose 28-25 to Wales at Twickenham last weekend, putting them in a perilous position.

But Wood is confident he and his international team-mates can turn things around.

And he is using what happened eight years ago, when England lost 36-0 to South Africa in the pool stages but still made the World Cup final, as a motivational tool.

“Nothing changes for us,” said the Saints flanker.

“We’ve got to shake off that hurt, dust ourselves down and get back on the horse straight away.

“It wouldn’t have been a small game, but it becomes an absolute must-win now. We’ve got to come out all guns blazing and realise it’s not all over.

“England lost to South Africa in 2007 and still went to the final and could have won it but for a late decision. We’ve got to remember those things.

“It’s disappointing that we didn’t beat Wales. It was a game we feel we should have won.

“We felt like we did enough to win the game, but it doesn’t work like that.

“They took all of their chances, nailed all of their kicks, from the touchlines and the halfway line, and credit to them.”

England turned down a late kick at goal, which would have levelled the scores, in favour of going for a try to win the game.

Captain Chris Robshaw has come under fire for that decision, but Wood said: “We back ourselves, we back each other and we’ve regrouped and pulled tight.

“It never falls on one man’s shoulders and although all the attention will be on that decision, over the course of the game there’s lots of things we’d have done differently.”