England ready for Rugby World Cup opener says Graham Rowntree

Graham Rowntree says the England players can handle the expectation on them

England coach Graham Rowntree has insisted the pressure will be on Fiji when the teams meet in the opening game of the 2015 World Cup on Friday night.

Rowntree believes the combination of home advantage and England's big-game experience should help relax them and says they should embrace the "time of their lives".

Fiji are the dark horses in Pool A  - a section that also includes Wales and Australia  - meaning England cannot afford a slip-up in their opening game.

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"There's a lot of talk about this word 'upset', but we've prepared well for this game," Rowntree said.

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"For our guys, this is the time of their lives. They are on their own turf, in front of their families and friends, with potentially 15m people watching on TV, and 50m country-wide supporting them.

"The players are aware of that support, so which team is the pressure on? That's my question.

"We've been ready for a couple of weeks. We've trained exceptionally well. It's been a long three months and it's been a tough camp.

"We've had a good work-out against some great nations in France and Ireland in our warm-up games. The lads are fitter than they've ever been. I'm excited for them.

"This match will be very special, the opening night of a World Cup. It will be special for everyone.

"Fiji have challenges across the board. We've done our homework on them, like we would for any opposition, but our guys are a handful as well. They've got to stop us."

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