England hooker Tom Youngs is convinced that they will still reach the quarter-finals of the Rugby World Cup, despite their 28-25 defeat to Wales at Twickenham.
Stuart Lancaster's side led by seven points going into the final 10 minutes, but a Gareth Davies try and Dan Biggar's penalty from halfway gave Wales victory in their Pool A clash.
However, Youngs is adamant that England will still progress to the last eight, while the Leicester Tigers front-rower has suggested that the team will not need to rally around Chris Robshaw after his decision to turn down a kick at goal, which would have tied the scores.
He told reporters: "I'm very convinced (we'll qualify). What gives me that belief is all the hard work we've done over the last 12 to 13 weeks and all the work we've done before that. We're a tight-knit group. It's a challenge and one we'll accept and look forward to.
"It's not about rallying around Chris, it's about rallying around each one and making sure we're going in the right direction.
"That's what we'll do, we'll pull tighter together and make sure we have the gameplan nailed down. We want everything ticked off so that we can go into the Australia game with a clear mind."
England will likely need to beat the Wallabies to stand any chance of making the quarter-finals, although Wales must face both Fiji and Australia in their final pool games.
Chris O'Keefe
