Roby: England can bounce back

England flew out of Melbourne on Monday with their tails firmly between their legs - but hooker James Roby sounded a note of defiance as preparations began for their next World Cup match.

Coach Tony Smith has only five days to pick his players up from their humiliating 52-4 defeat by Australia at the Telstra Dome, with New Zealand lying in wait in Newcastle.

But Roby insists all is not lost and said: "We're still in this World Cup. We've another game next week and we've got to be positive."

He added: "No-one likes to concede 50 points. That is a bit of a kick in the guts.

"Personally, I don't think the scoreline reflects the battle we had in the middle. We improved on the wrestle and controlling the ruck and we've got to take positives from that.

"We made a big effort in training this week on how to control the ruck.

"Midway through the first half the momentum was with us for a good 15 or 20 minutes. There was a couple of opportunities we should have taken advantage of but didn't.

"If we had scored a couple of tries, it would have been a different game altogether.

"They are really clinical with their finishing and they scored a couple of breakaway tries."