SIR CLIVE WOODWARD: England are in the biggest hole they have ever been in. But this is NOT the time to panic. Only one game matters – Steve Borthwick’s side need to focus on their Rugby World Cup opener against Argentina
- England were beaten by Fiji 30-22 in their final Rugby World Cup warm up game
- It is the first time that England have lost to Fiji and their fifth loss in six games
- Steve Borthwick’s play Argentina on September 9 in their first World Cup game
- Latest Rugby World Cup 2023 news, including fixtures, live scores and results
England were outplayed by Fiji, but now is not the time to panic. That’s life, these things happen and only one game matters — the opening World Cup pool match against Argentina.
You could not have planned these four warm-up games to go worse than they have, it’s the poorest build-up England have ever had going into a World Cup.
But now is the time to draw a line in the sand. If England beat Argentina in Marseille a week on Saturday then the whole thing changes. But if they lose to them, they are really in a hole.
If England don’t get out of their pool then the sport of rugby in this country will have taken a backward step.
But these four warm-up games were not World Cup matches and coach Steve Borthwick must tell the squad, beat Argentina and all bets are off.
England were beaten 30-22 by Fiji in their final warm-up match before the Rugby World Cup
Fiji scored three tries in the second half to secure their first win against England at Twickenham, while also ensuring the Red Rose suffered their fifth loss in six games
Jonny May (pictured) scored on his return to the international side with Marcus Smith and Joe Marchant also scoring
England are in amazing side of the draw and if they can get past the Pumas they are on a roll because one game alters everything — it’s sink or swim time.
If I were in charge I would say, ‘We are where we are and this is the biggest hole we have ever been in, but if we beat the Pumas it all kicks off again.
‘We have one game to get the show back on the road. Go and beat Argentina because if we don’t we could lose to Japan and Samoa as well.’
The last month could not have gone worse, but the players have got to hold their hands up and take notice of what everyone is saying. Let’s face it, they have not played well. They have just got to cop it.
I feel for Borthwick in a way. It’s a tough job and he’s having to learn it fast, and that’s not easy.
He’s got to stay calm. At 43, he’s still a young coach and he needs people at Twickenham to get round him. They should be saying, ‘Don’t panic. Beat Argentina and we are away.’
England will take on Argentina in their opening Rugby World Cup match on September 9
England will need to turn things around after their poor form during the warm-ups having lost now to Fiji, Wales and Ireland
He will hand in his final squad list for the World Cup on Monday and he has got to make some big calls for that Argentina game. I can’t think of a bigger match — they can’t afford to lose, not just for the World Cup but for English rugby.
Marcus Smith and George Ford played decently against Fiji, but apart from them I can’t name a single player who put his name in the frame. And any other team that has seen England recently will have noticed they can’t defend off-loads.
Fiji were brilliant and some teams have had brilliant build-ups. South Africa smashed the All Blacks at Twickenham on Friday.
They have an amazing forward pack like they had four years ago, but this time they have got an amazing backline as well. It shows you don’t need to be planning for four years for this. You need good players and a good coach.
I was watching the Springboks thinking, I’ve never seen a team play in such a logical way. Hopefully, England can do something similar in a fortnight.
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