As we say goodbye to the 2023 Rugby World Cup, the highly regarded rugby journalist, commentator and ex-England international - Stuart Barnes - has taken a deeper dive into England’s fixtures so we can re-live the edge-of-our seat action!In terms of their final position, England exceeded the expectations of many after the difficult August warm up internationals at the Summer Series. There's no point not pretending England didn't have the extreme luck of the draw but there were concerns that this could be a repeat of the 2015 elimination when they hosted the event and missed out on the knockout stage.
Anything less than a semi-final would be a disappointment, anything more would be success. And how close did England come to a spectacular success, losing 16-15 to the eventual champions, South Africa in the semi-final. England enlisted the aid of the weather and scared the life out of the Springboks. Steve Borthwick produced an almost perfect game plan that kept South Africa pinned in their own half for much of the match.
It took a magnificent 78th minute Handre Pollard penalty to wrest control of the game. It wasn't pretty but as pragmatism goes it was something of a masterpiece. Pragmatic was the key word for an England team that never looked like winning prizes for beauty contests but full marks for the commitment shown from their first pool game against Argentina to the Bronze medal play off against the same opponents.
Paradoxically one of England's highlights was the 27-10 victory against Argentina. The second minute sending off of Tom Curry enabled England to show their collective spirit and avoid using the questionable offensive game. Two men to stand tall in the team. Ben Earl drove Argentinians backwards in the tackle from the first minute onwards. He was one of the leading back row forwards in the tournament; a veritable breakthrough at test level. And then there was George Ford's technical and tactical master stroke as his 3 drop goals caused complete consternation in the Puma ranks.
England gained a late bonus point against Japan but even though Ford was adjudged man of the match, there were signs of limited creativity. It was to haunt England through the competition and is top of the `must do better' list for the 2024 Six Nations.
England fans witnessed a mismatch in the first of their 2 games in the Northern French city of Lille. Chile were game for 20 minutes but with Henry Arundell running in 5 tries, England enjoyed a pressure free romp. If this game was of any real interest, it was the experiment of starting Marcus Smith at full back. That England were prepared to mix and match the Harlequin as a second fly half playing full back was a good future sign. A little more daring wouldn't go amiss but Smith at 15 was encouraging.
A fortnight after the Chile game, England – already qualified for the quarter finals – faced the first of two Pacific Island threats with Samoa producing a performance of broken-field brilliance to frighten England. From a neutral perspective it was great stuff. As was Danny Care's unforgettable late match winning cover tackle.
For England it was a warning ahead of the quarter final against Fiji. England turned the tables on the team that conquered them at Twickenham in the World Cup warm up games. They played with traditional English control but Fiji – who beat Australia with some ease to qualify – struck back. At 24-24 deep into the second half, there were thousands of English breaths being held before Farrell used the drop goal habit and kicked a penalty to see them into the semi-final they couldn't win – but so nearly did. The selection of Joe Marler galvanised the scrum against the mighty Springbok pack. George Martin was another excellent front five selection, using his bulk to free up Maro Itoje to show something near his best against the might of Eben Etzebeth and company. England were in control – not complete – for much of the match. I would have liked to see them kick one of their penalties to the corner, to try for a try and 7 not 3 points; to build a double-digit lead to force the World Champions to change their game on a night when chasing a deficit could have been their undoing. It was a fine effort but a reminder that England could do with being a lot more aggressive as an attacking force at times.
One week later they were back in Paris and beat Argentina in what was a far from convincing display. But Owen Farrell finished up as tournament top points scorer and Courtney Lawes and Jonny May bowed out as England internationals with a couple of brave performances. May chased his scrum halves kicks with great conviction, which is a timely reminder that Alex Mitchell had a strong tournament, going from an outsider in the summer to first choice scrum half as the new season gets into stride.
The England camp can feel rightly proud of their fight back from the stresses and strains of 2023 but that isn't to say that we in the media didn't have a point as team and press struggled to understand one another. Winning was the priority and will be so for the duration of Borthwick's tenure but fans, be they cricket or rugby followers, expect excitement as well as results. Against – admittedly – the softer side of the draw England delivered as many wins as any could expect. That cussed determination is part of his DNA and the team will be none the worse for this aspect of his nature.
But against the best, a few more moments of magic are required to win and get the West Stand off its feet. The Guinness Six Nations is an opportunity for England to push a few boundaries, pick a few younger players without being afraid of the odd defeat. England will expect to beat an improved Wales side at Twickenham but Ireland, who could as easily have won the World Cup as lose on the weekend of two great quarter finals, are a free shot. Defeat would not be a disgrace and victory won't be gained without some of the superb rugby New Zealand produced to beat Andy Farrell's team. The message is clear. Go for it.
The next Rugby World Cup is 4 years away. Now is the time to experiment to find the flair to go with that English ferocity that took them so close to a final. A more balanced team means an England win against one of the big guns will not be a seismic shock in Australia. The building starts now....no, it probably began the day after the 2023 final.
Congratulations to all the 2023 Rugby World Cup teams for their performance. It was a truly spectacular tournament and gave us all an incredible dose of rugby action to carry us through to the 2024 Guinness Six Nations in February. Find out how you can attend another nail-biting event at Twickenham below…
