James Haskell: From man apart to England's heartbeat

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James Haskell feels he was a "little misinterpreted". Misinterpreting the most outspoken – not to say the most loudly spoken – member of the England squad at this World Cup is not an insignificant achievement, for few players of recent red-rose vintage have made themselves more abundantly clear than the back-row forward from Windsor. Yet Haskell is insistent. "There was a bit of spice added to my words," he claims. "Basically, I suggested that when things don't go right people need to put their hands up to mistakes. Unfortunately, it came across I was standing on one side of the fence pointing at everyone else. I'd never do that."

This is where a duff World Cup display against second-tier opponents like Georgia tends to leave a team of England's stature. In the minutes after last weekend's game at Otago Stadium, Haskell publicly stated, in words that might have carried an "avoidance of doubt" label, that the performance had been a long way short of acceptable. Yes, England had won with a bonus, which was the primary point of the exercise, but in spending 80 per cent-plus of the first half struggling to reach the halfway line against a side of such limited international experience, the former world champions had made themselves look just a little daft. Whatever Haskell's precise words, and however they were presented, he said things that needed saying. Both he and his colleagues will be the better for it.

Just possibly, he is emerging as the conscience of the team. Certainly, he is the man bringing some energy to the mix. If he has had a better run of games in an England shirt since Brian Ashton picked him for a Test debut in the Six Nations match against Wales in Cardiff four years ago, Haskell himself cannot remember it. "I'm not the one to say whether I'm playing my best rugby, but I do believe I'm showing some consistency now," he acknowledges. "I feel settled, and that's a big part of it. I feel completely involved."

It is worth mentioning that Haskell remains a filler-in. He played on the open-side flank during the Six Nations because Lewis Moody was injured, and stayed in the breakaway position for the opening tournament match against Argentina for the same reason. Last week, he moved to No 8. Why? Because Nick Easter had a bad back. Tomorrow, he plays at No 8 once more and there is no doubting his ambition. "I've grown up in this team with a lot of senior players and even when you've found your feet, you don't speak out of turn," he says. "But in a World Cup environment, it's so important that people are honest about their performances. We've had two wins from two – a record all teams in this tournament would take – but when things aren't happening on the field the players, myself included, have to look at their games and take responsibility for their mistakes. They have to look their team-mates in the eye and say: 'I did that, it was silly and it won't happen again – or if it does, there'll be a bloody good reason for it.'"