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Cueto revved up for Romania challenge

Saturday 24 September 2011, 12:02AM

By Rugby World Cup 2011

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Mark Cueto is not troubled by his disallowed try in the 2007 RWC final
Mark Cueto is not troubled by his disallowed try in the 2007 RWC final Credit: Rugby World Cup 2011

DUNEDIN

The man who came within millimetres of turning the tide for England in the 2007 final will take to the Rugby World Cup field for the first time since that night in Paris, with the message that the game has changed in the four years since.

Mark Cueto thought he had scored a stunning try when England were 9-3 down against South Africa at the Stade de France.

But the television match official ruled it out after three minutes of replays showed that his boot was marginally out of play.

The left wing said he had long ago brushed off what was a heartbreaking moment for England fans, as he prepares to face Romania in Pool B at Otago Stadium on Saturday.

But as England come under the microscope for their under-par performance against Georgia last week, Cueto said that not taking second-tier teams for granted was no longer mere cliche.

"The biggest thing at this World Cup is that there isn't as big a gap between the top and the bottom teams," he said.

"Even though it's only round the corner, four years ago there was a relatively decent gap between those so-called top nations and lower-tier nations.

Wholesale changes

"Whereas look at Scotland against Romania ... the game is getting a lot tighter and the gap is closing, which is always going to make it more difficult."

Romania have made 11 changes - and 14 positional changes - from their strongest side, which lost 43-8 to Argentina last week.

"We trust this team. We trusted them before the World Cup so we trust them now as well," said Romania coach Romeo Gontineac.

"We want these players to prove that they are good enough to play even against England, which is one of the best teams in the world."

England manager Martin Johnson has himself changed seven players, but with veterans such as RWC 2003 winners Jonny Wilkinson and Mike Tindall back in the starting line-up, it is hardly a weak team.

They will be hoping to convince the doubters with a comprehensive win over the Romanians, but Cueto said England were still happy with their habit of winning ugly.

Paper talk

"Four years ago we struggled against USA, beat them, then got spanked by South Africa," said Cueto, referring to the 36-0 group stage defeat to the Springboks.

"Suddenly there's a crisis meeting and we get to the final.

"The criticism is water off a duck's back. A lot of the guys have been there before, we don't need to read the papers to know what we're doing right or doing wrong, or to get us revved up."

What might be expected to get Cueto revved up is having another shot at the trophy he missed out on four years ago, but he said those were simply memories as he concentrates on performing against Romania.

"It would be nice to get in the same position and finish it off," he said of his close encounter with the touchline in 2007.

"It doesn't play on my mind, it's something that happens every day of the week. Obviously people are going to make the comparison but I'm not fussed about that - '07 was a fantastic memory and a fantastic time, but I'm just raring to go this week."

Moving on

England hope to draw a line under the Georgia performance, but one issue that is not going away easily is the controversy over the players' night out in Queenstown that followed their opening win over Argentina, with Tindall particularly under the microscope.

Tindall was present at England's team announcement press conference on Thursday, but Johnson was less than happy at the media's insistence on wanting answers from the centre.

"We have put it to bed. We have played since then, it's not an issue," Johnson said. "We're looking forward to a big game, we're playing Romania. I said to you last week what happened: the guys went for a drink."

On the field, the focus will again be on the battle between the forwards, with England given another test in the scrum and in the ruck.

Prop David Wilson, hoping to make his first Rugby World Cup appearance after being named on the bench, said it could be the pack's biggest test yet.

"We've looked at their front row and they've got a big, powerful forward pack," he said.

"Their scrum is good, they've got a good driving game and a good tight game as well. So it'll be a good workout for us, even better than the Argies, probably."