England prop Dan Cole has insisted that Rugby World Cup Pool A rivals Wales and Australia will be "licking their lips" after watching his side struggle to win scrums in their victory over Fiji last night.
The tournament hosts won 35-11 after tries from Jonny May, Mike Brown and Billy Vunipola, but also lost their own scrum on three occasions, and 28-year-old Cole believes that the team must improve before their match against Wales next week.
"We've got to be better mentally because we switched off in an area in which we probably can't afford to," Cole told reporters after the game.
"On the next scrum we pretty much went straight through Fiji, so we put it right. It's not a physical aspect, more of a mental one. We have to understand that five metres out is an area Fiji would go for us and Wales and Australia will now be licking their lips.
"Australia and Wales will look at that and believe they can get a result at our set piece and will go at us hard there. There will be work done. It's still a work in progress, but we understand it's got to be a quick one."
Cole has made 53 international appearances for England since making his debut in 2010.
Stephen Topping
