Crowd can roar England to victory, says Stuart Lancaster
Coach believes Twickenham is bound to inspire hosts as Wales pursue third consecutive title
England coach Stuart Lancaster has urged the Twickenham crowd to find its voice once more when two-time defending Six Nations champions Wales arrive at the London ground on Sunday.
Often derided as lacking passion and intensity compared with other Six Nations venues despite regularly attracting crowds in excess of 80,000, Twickenham was at its most raucous in years as England beat Ireland 13-10 last time out to leave only Wales standing between them and the triple crown.
"It's fantastic going back to Twickenham," Lancaster said at England's Bagshot training base, southwest of London, after naming his side to play Wales.
"It was an unbelievable atmosphere a week and a half ago. Sunday will be right up there as well. The crowd gave the team a huge amount and, hopefully, we can put in a performance like we did against Ireland and give them plenty to shout about."
Lancaster had his players get out of their team bus early so they could "walk through" part of the crowd before the Ireland match; now he is keen to turn Twickenham into something of a fortress.
"Twickenham has always inspired the players, it's always inspired me," he said. "It's a place for us where we are building a real sense of our English identity and what we are about as a team.
"I think [the supporters] respond to the fact they can see a team playing with passion and commitment for England's rose."