Ben Youngs: ‘Australia match our World Cup final’

With his own job in the balance, too, he admitted: “Yes, it does”.

Robshaw was playing his 40th game as England captain, passing the mark of World Cup-winning skipper Martin Johnson, and he will go down as one of the gutsiest players to wear the armband.

Let’s hope so. First, though, the poring over what went so wrong at Twickenham on Saturday continues, the examination intensifying into England’s dramatic late collapse.

Winger Hallam Amos suffered a dislocated shoulder, centre Scott Williams a knee injury and full-back Liam Williams a head knock that forced him to be carried off on a stretcher.

Speaking at a post-match press conference, Edwards who is English himself said: “I went to Mass this morning, and even the priest came out and put his hands up in the air to celebrate”.

“There is nothing better than when you lose a game how upset and annoyed you are about it. At least now we can focus our minds straight into another game”.

“That call comes down to myself”, Robshaw said.

We felt we had good ascendency in the drive, but it did not come off. “We coped with (the injuries) and I am incredibly proud of the boys”.

“The medical staff are assessing them throughout the day with scans etc, and I think we will have more of an idea of where we are tomorrow, really”, Wales assistant coach and defence specialist Shaun Edwards said at the Wales squad base on Sunday.

“Our execution at the end needs to be reviewed”.

“For England to say it was the captain’s call, and for Robshaw to accept the blame, is not right. Yet again in the last 15-20 minutes, England didn’t have the 15 players on the park you would want when the pressure is ramped up”.

Ever since the draw was made in 2012 this was on the cards against Wales and Australia.

“It was a professional and well-executed first-half performance so I’m certainly not going to sit here and hang anyone out to dry”. If you go there you have to nail it and we didn’t. Kate was very much on his husband’s side.

Whoever Wales pick will have big boots to fill, he added.

“We’re a tight-knit group”.

“We’ve got a massive game now to build to”, said Lancaster.

England absorbed the early charge and had the edge in the scrum and at the hotly-contested breakdown, with Billy Vunipola an ever-present menace to the Welsh.

Coach Stuart Lancaster rated both as “50-50” yesterday but that is likely to prove an optimistic assessment and with Tom Wood facing an anxious wait to see if he will be cited, England have personnel problems up front.

“It is quite a short turnaround to Fiji now, and we will lick our wounds”.

Lancaster said he would announce the team on Thursday to give centre Jonathan Joseph the “best chance” to gain selection after missing the Wales match with a pectoral injury.

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