British & Irish Lion Lewis Moody insists England can turn the tables on Australia and end their disappointing season with an unexpected victory Down Under.
Moody and company face the Wallabies at Telstra Dome on Saturday, having been smashed 34-3 in Sydney last weekend.
It will be the final game of a poor campaign that saw England suffer three successive Six Nations Championship defeats, and now find themselves facing a fifth loss in a row against all opponents.
But Leicester flanker Moody, whose 41st cap beckons this weekend, assessed the Wallabies’ challenge by declaring: "We know this team is beatable."
It might represent a bold cry for the majority of England supporters, yet Moody is unmoved as the world champions look to defy mental and physical fatigue following a marathon season by ending it on a high.
"There were opportunities (in the first Test) when we realised we could do a job," said Moody.
"We know this team is beatable, and it is just a matter of getting everything in place. Hopefully, we are going to go out there and give it to them.
"It is about finishing off the opposition, which comes down to the execution from the players on the pitch."
England estimate they created four clear-cut scoring chances in Sydney during the first period alone, but their attacking deficiencies were laid bare as Australia capitalised in ruthless fashion.
England continued their preparations on Tuesday, although six players – skipper Pat Sanderson, scrum-half Peter Richards, lock Alex Brown, flanker Magnus Lund, plus props Graham Rowntree and Julian White – sat out training.
"We think we can put right the things that went wrong last Saturday," said Sanderson.
"You can’t stray away from the fact the scoreline is difficult to swallow, but I don’t think it reflected the effort we put in.
"I don’t think we got the balance quite right, but we are not about to go into ourselves. It is a case of keeping our discipline – we can’t go off the boil at any time.
"As an Englishman, it hurts to lose, The whole squad is hurting – we don’t like to lose to anyone."
Fly-half Olly Barkley believes England can summon up one last effort in an attempt to prevent Australia from regaining the Cook Cup.
"The scoreboard suggested a bit of a drubbing last weekend, and our execution wasn’t at its best. I think we got a bit over-excited with the opportunities we created.
"But there are lessons learnt, and it should be a different story if we can build on that.
"It is hard for any team at the end of a long season, but we are in the same boat as the Australians and New Zealanders when they come over to us in the autumn.
"There is no point in complaining about being tired, we just have to get on with it. Fatigue will always be there after a long season."
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