Tuesday 22 September 2015 10:04, UK
Wales have to stand up to their injury problems and produce a spirited display to conquer England in Saturday's World Cup showdown, says Shaun Edwards.
The teams go head-to-head in their Pool A showdown at Twickenham on Saturday evening with the Welsh squad having to deal with a mounting injury list.
Centre Cory Allen is the latest to pull of the competition this week after the hat-trick hero suffered a hamstring injury during the 54-9 victory over Uruguay.
Edwards, assistant to head coach Warren Gatland, cannot wait to face their fierce rivals and told SSNHQ: "It's a game everybody's been looking forward to for two years so bring it on.
"One of the most important things in being a sportsman, particularly at elite level or as a coach, is to be resilient.
"You're going to have setbacks at times and we obviously have had a few setbacks, but we have to be very resilient. We have a competitive edge which we aim to bring out at Twickenham.
"We don't want the players to be pumped up too early though - that will be detrimental to their performance.
"It's a matter of peaking them at the right time. An 8pm kick-off is different to what teams are used to, especially Test matches, but this is something we have to handle and England players have to do the same. It's all about peaking from 8pm."
One bit of positive news to come out of the Wales medical room concerns Dan Lydiate who allayed any fears he may also be on the absence list after suffering a head injury against Uruguay.
The back row forward told SSNHQ: "I'm fine. I was taken off as a precaution with concussion tests. I was actually returning to the field of play but the referee blew up so I was quite gutted.
"I'm all good - I've had one more test this week but I'm fine."
On their depleted squad, the Ospreys flanker added: "There's no good time to have an injury, especially in the World Cup and I'm obviously gutted for the boys.
"We knew we'd pick up injuries along the way, but we didn't think it would be this many. As a squad, we've trained hard all summer and we've had an extended squad so others have come in so it feels natural. We have just got to get on with it."
