Robinson sets out his tour stall
'This is not a development tour'
England coach Andy Robinson has dismissed the view that he has assembled a development side for the forthcoming tour of Australia and is convinced that his troops can get the better of the Wallabies.
Robinson's squad arrived in Sydney on Thursday ahead of their two-Test series against the Wallabies later this month.
England are without a number of first-choice players through rest or injury but Robinson insists victory is the top priority for the tour.
"We have not brought a development side here. We have brought a team to come to win two Test matches against Australia and that is our whole mindset – this is not a development tour," he said.
"We are looking forward, we're not looking back to what happened in 1998, what happened in 2003, what happened in the Six Nations, we're looking forward and we've brought a side here that is fresh, that is playing well and looking forward to the real challenge of beating Australia in Australia."
England's squad contains a blend of youth and, in the likes of Mike Catt, Ben Kay and Graham Rowntree, experience but it will be an unfamiliar team which takes the field.
Andrew Sheridan, Matt Stevens, Steve Borthwick and Lawrence Dallaglio are all missing through injury and a number of players are also rested with next year's World Cup in mind.
Six Nations captain Martin Corry, Jonny Wilkinson, Josh Lewsey, Mark Cueto, Mike Tindall, Ben Cohen, Charlie Hodgson, Harry Ellis, Steve Thompson and Danny Grewcock were all excused duty.
Pat Sanderson takes over as captain for a tour which offers a chance for forwards Magnus Lund and Louis Deacon and backs Tom Varndell, Mathew Tait and Tom Voyce to shine.
The series brings together two out-of-form teams with England having struggled in this year's Six Nations and Australia losing seven of their last eight internationals.
"In my opinion there's no greater rivalry," said Robinson.
"It's the greatest and toughest test you'll get because of the competitive spirit and as you saw in the World Cup final, the Australians never give up and they'll fight you to the death.
"I think that we have to be able to concentrate and perform for the full 80 minutes and if we can do that I believe we can put in a very good performance."
The first Test between the Wallabies and England takes place on Sunday, June 11 at the Telstra Stadium in Sydney with the second Test to be held at Melbourne's Telstra Dome the following Saturday.
