{"id":294701,"date":"2023-10-29T23:58:29","date_gmt":"2023-10-29T23:58:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportslifetale.com\/?p=294701"},"modified":"2023-10-29T23:58:29","modified_gmt":"2023-10-29T23:58:29","slug":"how-england-can-build-on-their-unexpected-world-cup-success","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportslifetale.com\/rugby-union\/how-england-can-build-on-their-unexpected-world-cup-success\/","title":{"rendered":"How England can build on their unexpected World Cup success"},"content":{"rendered":"<h1>How England can build on their unexpected World Cup success: Thrill the fans, nurture the kids and copy the French revolution!<\/h1>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>England achieved a surprise bronze medal in France but still have work to do<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Steve Borthwick will lead the move forwards with the RFU &#8216;fully supportive&#8217;<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>They also need to replace outgoing players and re-connect with their supporters\u00a0<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>England have returned home from the World Cup with bronze medals after a campaign which went far better than expected.<\/p>\n<p>While they drew criticism for a lack of creative ambition, they won six games out of seven \u2014 and the solitary defeat was by a single point against eventual champions South Africa.<\/p>\n<p>Now, with several veterans retiring and others moving abroad, Steve Borthwick has to oversee a transition.<\/p>\n<p>Despite an honourable third-place finish here, the RFU are aware there is a huge amount of work to do at all levels of the English game, as was apparent when union chief executive Bill Sweeney reflected on the World Cup and what lies ahead\u2026<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/10\/29\/20\/77152815-12686173-image-a-1_1698612593432.jpg\" height=\"409\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>England picked up the bronze medal at the Rugby World Cup &#8211; a greater success than had been expected of them<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/10\/29\/20\/77152817-12686173-image-a-2_1698612596362.jpg\" height=\"395\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>They beat Argentina 26-23 in the bronze medal match on Saturday after losing by a point to winners South Africa in the semi-final<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/10\/29\/20\/77152819-12686173-image-a-3_1698612599058.jpg\" height=\"423\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>There is still a lot to work on at all levels of the English game, and the RFU must plan how to move forwards<\/p>\n<p><span>Borthwick backed<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Having only taken over at the end of last year, Borthwick inherited a mess and \u2014 after a slow start \u2014 instigated a revival. His employers are happy to endorse the head coach and his regime.<\/p>\n<p>Sweeney said: \u2018We\u2019re fully supportive of Steve. We said it was a long-term commitment and he\u2019s done a great job. The meticulous way he goes about preparing the team showed through.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018Coming into the World Cup, there wasn\u2019t a huge amount of optimism. We did a brilliant job of managing expectations! But Steve has been amazingly calm. Even when we lost those warm-ups, he had a very clear trajectory of where he wanted to get to and by when.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018What he did was get the maximum out of that squad. It\u2019s been a very happy camp. The players feel relaxed, but also Steve is a professor when it comes to his analysis of the game. You won\u2019t find anyone who works harder.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018That combination of players feeling comfortable in his set-up, and knowing he\u2019s got a really firm hand on the tiller \u2014 I think he\u2019s had a really positive impact.\u2019<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/10\/29\/20\/77152825-12686173-image-a-4_1698612607432.jpg\" height=\"401\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>The RFU are &#8216;fully supportive&#8217; of head coach Steve Borthwick (right) who inherited a mess when appointed in December 2022<\/p>\n<p><span>World Cup debrief<\/span><\/p>\n<p>So what happens next? First, Borthwick will gather his assistants to reflect on France. Within minutes of the bronze final last Friday night, he was casting his mind ahead.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018I\u2019ve already started looking forward to the Six Nations,\u2019 he said. \u2018That\u2019s started in my planning; the very early stages. I make notes as we go \u2014 the whole time. I\u2019ll compile that in the next two weeks, then I\u2019ll meet the management team to do a review.\u2019<\/p>\n<p>Borthwick will report to his RFU bosses, who will also seek feedback from England players. \u2018We do a review after every competition,\u2019 said Sweeney. \u2018We will do that review before the end of the year. We\u2019ll let the dust settle now. We\u2019ll let them (coaches and players) have some time off.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018There will be a panel, again, who will come in. I know there\u2019s been a lot of criticism of why it is anonymous, but we will have a panel. Players will be interviewed to get their feedback. Then we will present that to the board.\u2019<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/10\/29\/20\/77152851-12686173-image-a-5_1698612656063.jpg\" height=\"423\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>RFU chief executive Bill Sweeney has said the union will conduct a review of the World Cup after the dust has settled<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/10\/29\/20\/77152859-12686173-image-a-6_1698612677425.jpg\" height=\"451\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>Borthwick has said he has already started looking forwards to the Six Nations early next year<\/p>\n<p><span>Improve the pathway<\/span><\/p>\n<p>England have to bring through a new generation of talent to replace the likes of Courtney Lawes, Ben Youngs, Jonny May \u2014 and others reaching the end of their Test careers. That difficult process will shine a harsh light on the issue of player development at domestic level. There is an awareness at the RFU that the system needs to be enhanced.<\/p>\n<p>Sweeney said: \u2018It\u2019s in all of our interests to have a successful international team and to have better quality club players. We\u2019ve got some great talent coming through. If you look at our Under 18 and Under 19 results this year, we beat France 41-0, we beat Wales 60-14 and we beat Ireland 56-14.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018A lot of our young players just aren\u2019t getting enough game-time. One thing we are having positive conversations with PRL (Premiership Rugby) about is that if you have one club with an abundance of hookers, for example, and other clubs who don\u2019t, we have to look at how we can move them around, to get positional strength in depth. It is tricky, but I think we will be able to achieve that.\u2019<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/10\/29\/20\/77146057-12686173-image-m-8_1698612714028.jpg\" height=\"486\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>England have to bring through a new generation of players to replace the likes of Courtney Lawes (left) and Ben Youngs (right), who are retiring from England duty<\/p>\n<p><span>Copy the French!<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Sweeney is prepared to take inspiration from the recent revolution which has taken place on the other side of the Channel.<\/p>\n<p>Not so long ago, Gallic rugby was in a state; struggling and divided, but they have turned a corner and moved on to a golden era at Test and club level. In the corridors of power at Twickenham, they have been taking note. \u2018We\u2019ve seen what has happened in France,\u2019 said the chief executive. \u2018They have built their success on a crop of young players like Antoine Dupont who have come through. They have carefully nurtured those players \u2014 winning Under 20 matches.\u2019<\/p>\n<p>So would the RFU seek advice from exiled former French federation president Bernard Laporte \u2014who masterminded the Gallic transformation? \u2018We\u2019ll talk to anybody,\u2019 said Sweeney. \u2018Conor (O\u2019Shea, RFU director of performance rugby) is coming here to chat about what they have done in Paris; how they have tapped into a different (multi-cultural) athlete pool. We\u2019ve been talking about that for a long time but we haven\u2019t done it, and we need to do things like that to broaden the skill base.\u2019<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/10\/29\/20\/77152879-12686173-image-a-9_1698612766425.jpg\" height=\"423\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>France have shown how to turn around a difficult situation, building their success on a crop of young players like Antoine Dupont (pictured)<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/10\/29\/20\/77152893-12686173-image-a-10_1698612796354.jpg\" height=\"423\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>England should aim to reconnect with the public as they look to move forwards after unrest in recent times<\/p>\n<p><span><span>Re-connect with the public<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p>England have suffered from unrest and apathy in the shires during their recent years of poor results \u2014 and the enthusiasm of fans has not been aided by negative tactics and dour public appearances. Sweeney insisted getting people onside is a priority.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018Winning matters,\u2019 he said. \u2018If you\u2019re winning, it\u2019s easier to forge that bond. The players want a close connection with the fans. It\u2019s clearly high on Steve\u2019s radar as well. We\u2019ll look at any and all ways we can do that.\u2019<\/p>\n<p>What about taking matches away from HQ? \u2018Not hosting games at Twickenham \u2014 when you\u2019ve got an 82,000-seater stadium which is normally full \u2014 is purely a financial concern,\u2019 said Sweeney. \u2018We would take a big financial hit if we did that.\u2019<\/p>\n<p>Source: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailymail.co.uk\/sport\/rugbyunion\/article-12686173\/England-build-unexpected-World-Cup-success.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Read Full Article<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>How England can build on their unexpected World Cup success: Thrill the fans, nurture the kids and copy the French revolution! England achieved a surprise bronze medal in France but still have work to do Steve Borthwick will lead the move forwards with the RFU &#8216;fully supportive&#8217; They also need to replace outgoing players and [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":294700,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v21.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>How England can build on their unexpected World Cup success - Sports Life Tale<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/sportslifetale.com\/rugby-union\/how-england-can-build-on-their-unexpected-world-cup-success\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"How England can build on their unexpected World Cup success - Sports Life Tale\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"How England can build on their unexpected World Cup success: Thrill the fans, nurture the kids and copy the French revolution! 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