Rugby World Cup 2023: why are England in such disarray?

Steve Borthwick was appointed England’s head coach in December

(Image credit: David Rogers/Getty Images)

published 7 September 2023

We were promised “ad nauseam” that England under new coach Steve Borthwick would peak at the right time, said Oliver Brown in The Daily Telegraph. “All the low-water marks” of recent times – November’s capitulation to South Africa; March’s record loss to France – were “passed off with the blithe assurance” that things would be better “come the World Cup”. Well it’s here – England play Argentina on Saturday – and the long-heralded improvement has failed to materialise. Instead, England begin their campaign on the back of a 30-22 loss to Fiji – one of their worst-ever defeats. The side’s supporters “could be forgiven for feeling they have been taken for fools”.

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There are many reasons England are in such disarray, said Gerard Meagher in The Guardian. Domestic crises, from the penalties imposed on Saracens in 2019 for breaching the salary cap to the recent “demises of Wasps and Worcester”, have taken their toll. So has the RFU’s shortsightedness in dismantling its once hugely successful “pathway system” for nurturing young talent. The RFU was also “staggeringly misguided” in letting the “capricious” Eddie Jones remain as England’s head coach for so long. Leaving it to last December to sack him gave his successor, Borthwick, just nine months to galvanise his team for the Rugby World Cup in France.

While expectations are understandably low, it would be a mistake to write England off entirely, said Nick Evans in The Guardian. As a territory-driven side that relies heavily on kicking, they may lack creative flair, but they are at least “hard to beat” – a valuable asset at a World Cup. If they defeat Argentina on Saturday, that would give them a big confidence boost – and they could spring some surprises over the remainder of the tournament.