Armitage raring to go

Last Updated: Sat, 06 Feb 2010 11:02
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England full-back Delon Armitage intends to unlock the Wales defence with a 'golden key' in their opening Six Nations clash.

England begin their assault on the northern hemisphere's premier tournament with a 5pm kick-off against the Welsh, looking to improve on last season's second place, which included three victories and defeats to Ireland and Wales.

Martin Johnson's side suffered disappointing defeats in the autumn internationals and were accused of playing boring, regimented rugby, with no individual attacking flair on show.

And, following discussions between the players and management, there has been a change of direction in terms of playing style, with players now given much more licence to do their own thing.

Armitage feels it is the right way to go and is looking forward to unleashing his talent against Wales at Twickenham this evening.

"Having this freedom is going to be brilliant for us, everyone will be more relaxed and ready to play," he said. "As a back-three player, if you are given a licence to go, any player would tell you that is a golden key and I intend to use it.

"We've been promised good ball from the forwards and if we get that and use our pace then hopefully we can cause the Welsh some problems."

Johnson admitted there had been problems with England's style of play and he now feels it is up to the players to deliver the goods on the pitch after working hard on new things in training.

"We have addressed the issues that we know we have had," he said. "We have been very honest about it as coaches and the players have been very honest about themselves as well.

"It has been good - but ultimately we need to turn that into a performance.

"It is important we understand what we are trying to do but within that we have good players and you have got to let them play with instinct.

"I am massively looking forward to it. This is a big season for us and a big year. We have put a lot of work into this game and we will get better game on game."





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