England supporters must feel like Butch Cassidy as they look at their team and wonder, “Who are those guys?” Butch eventually did find out when the pursuing posse closed in while Sundance chided his pal in typically laconic fashion: “That’s your trouble. You’re always thinking”.
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So, who are Steve Borthwick’s guys – the lot who won 12 matches on the spin not so long ago or the mob who flunked the 2026 Six Nations, thumped by Ireland at home and beaten by Italy for the first time ever? Or even the gallant, up-and-at-‘em outfit that did at least close that dreadfully disappointing championship with a gutsy performance against France?
Tricky, isn’t it? Or, a year to the day from the start of the 2027 Rugby World Cup in Australia, are we thinking too much? Can’t we wait and see a teeny bit longer? No, not really. If there is one hallmark of World Cup champion teams it is that they knew what they were about 12 months out from the tournament.
Sir Clive Woodward even set a specific challenge for his team as they approached Australia the last time the event was held there – beat the southern hemisphere big dogs on a consistent basis and bring home the Six Nations title after flopping at the final hurdle on too many occasions.
Tick and tick led to World Cup tick. In 1991 Bob Dwyer blooded newbies such as centres Jason Little and Tim Horan, while John Eales came with a late run and that didn’t turn out too badly did it? The All Blacks knew what they were about in 1995 with Jonah in their ranks only to be undone by Mandela Magic. And so on. Get your ducks in a row – or panic as the Springboks did 18 months out from the 2019 RWC and summon Rassie to the sinking ship – and get settled into proven combinations and productive outcomes.
South Africa are in that good place once again. But are any of the others? New Zealand – flashes of brilliance undermined by fault lines up front. France – seemingly still suffering from the trauma of 2023, feeling as if they ought to be better than they are actually delivering, and there is truth in that. They have the personnel and yearn to be as good as the sum of their talents suggests they ought to be. Ireland – age-old concerns about old age and an out-half who is not Johnny Sexton. Scotland have flattered to deceive too often for comfort and they need a first piece of Six Nations silverware if we are to revise that damning assessment.
Even if Australia were to lose as expected to New Zealand, England will be on their mettle for a potential meeting with the hosts in the quarter-final.
Australia – now here’s a thing, the most tantalising of prospects is in the offing, a genuinely competitive team for the host nation after their crazy 42-38 win over (a much-changed) South Africa at the very stadium where the World Cup kicks off in a year’s time. The Wallabies will have no trouble in delivering another win there as they launch the tournament against Hong Kong China but their recent uptick under Les Kiss indicates that their pool blockbuster against New Zealand is not the one-way street to an All Blacks victory it once looked. That can only be good for the whole event.
A potential Wallabies resurgence would impact on many things – local interest for sure, but also the anticipated plotted routes through the knockout stages. Even if Australia were to lose as expected to New Zealand, England will be on their mettle for a potential meeting with the hosts in the quarter-final.
It has to be said that with an extended format, featuring 24 teams and a Round of 16, there is minimal jeopardy in the pool stages. Spreading the faith is the mission and the likes of Hong Kong China, Zimbabwe, Chile, Uruguay and others deserve the carrot that is being dangled in front of them, albeit with plenty of fingers crossed that the opener in Perth [Australia v Hong Kong China] doesn’t get too messy.
Napoleon Bonaparte reckoned that he’d ‘rather have lucky generals than good ones,’ and by that measure Steve Borthwick has plenty going for him with an extended contract and a decent World Cup draw. Given that South Africa, New Zealand and France are all in the other half of the draw, it is not beyond the realms of possibility to posit a semi-final clash with Ireland as England’s last four knockout routing. From there….
England’s form has been variable if we are to be generous, and dodgy as anything if we’re not.
That assumes pool victory over Wales, not quite the foregone outcome it might have appeared now that we’ve seen at close quarters the impact of PREM imports such as Jac Morgan, Dewi Lake and Aaron Wainwright. A long-awaited Wales resurgence is not as wild a theory as once it might have been. They didn’t do too badly in 2015 as I recall.
England are in a critical phase. Of that there is no question. Their form has been variable if we are to be generous, and dodgy as anything if we’re not. They need a run of results to bolster their own confidence and to settle the nerves of their fans who will view the upcoming November sequence of matches [Australia, Japan, New Zealand] with Butch Cassidy vibes not far from the surface.
If England do manage to hit the groove they were in only 12 months ago, then many of their issues begin to ease, notably discipline. Borthwick may well accuse those who question his side’s discipline with the jibe of being ‘a negativity committee,’ as he did in Argentina in the summer, but it is a reality that cannot be brushed aside as if it were no more than a media invention top-spun into a headline. Fifteen yellow cards and one red is not the return of a champion side, at ease in its own skin, assured of team-mates around them doing the right thing at the right time.
Borthwick also needs to pin his colours to the mast in key positions – notably half-back and centre. They merry-go-round in midfield cannot continue. Fin Smith has to be formally anointed at No.10 and if the chosen pairing outside him is to be Benhard Janse van Rensburg and Tommy Freeman, then that has to be the starting choice (injury excepting) right through to the opening World Cup game against Tonga in Brisbane.
England have one big thing in their favour and that is a decent set of forwards that can scrum and maul with the Springboks, the benchmark for all aspiring sides. Their prospects would be improved immeasurably if the ban on the Willis brothers in exile [Jack at Toulouse, Tom at Bordeaux] were to be lifted but the business-first protectionist edicts look set to prevail. England would have a serious pack if they were available. As it is, their hookers need to go the distance and sluggers such as George Martin need to stay fit.
The permutations for all teams are endlessly fascinating. The World Cup countdown clock is ticking.
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I don’t honestly see how England could win a WC without the Willis boys, and with Borthwick at the helm. Obviously I’d love to be wrong, but I see us getting knocked out in the 1/4s to be honest. Could be wrong of course, but the RFU really have messed up the past 6-7 years I feel.
Borthwicks side has endless potential for years. They have the potential to win a Nations champs, a Six Nations and a RWC in the next 12 months. The real question is not the potential its how to achieve the potential and thats where the Borthwick has fallen terribly short with this team in the past and will likely do the same in the future.
England with a proper world class coach would be a scary prospect
It’s about time Australia beat England at a RWC knockout match. That's preferable to losing to the spuds.