Did France buy their way to #RWC2023?

Tom Jordan will go as a utility player. He covers the whole backline. Kinghorn nailed on to start the first test.

England were always going to find some groove at some point, so I don’t buy the line that Borthwick is simply ‘lucky’ anymore than I didn’t buy the line that England were unlucky on tour against the ABs and through the AIs.

With a largely development squad being sent on tour against the Pumas this summer, we’ll have to wait until the AIs in November to see whether the performance against Wales was just an outlier or reflective of a team that are starting to click.

I must say though, that I do ponder on how well England would have done against the Boks, AB’s, or France playing as they have done at the end of the 6 N. I think any of those teams would have almost certainly exposed Earl playing at centre, and they would have been in a different world to Wales as opponents.

My view is that England have had a lot of good fortune in this 6 N. On another day, France would not have dropped so much ball, and would have defended those last two tries way better. Scotland would have beaten England had Russell got any one of three kicks between the posts. I do think that England still don’t fully use the back resources they have, and could be badly exposed by any one of the top three teams in the world, which I would see as the three I named above. Though Ireland still sit third, that is, imo, very tenuous.

And it has been a funny old 6 N this year, with Ireland also having had a fair measure of good fortune. They also could have lost the games against Italy, and Wales too. They have dropped away badly.

What I can say is that it was a very good performance. There was genuine trepidation about a resurgent Wales at home with nothing to lose and England blew them away. England weren't ruthless enough to do the same to Italy the week before. It's a step in the right direction. It would be really cool if we could take some of this innovation and build on it. I'd hate for it to be built on sand and come crashing down the next time a bomb squad trundles across the touchline.