Boring, confused, toothless England still have hope via soft draw

LONDON : Unless England coach Steve Borthwick, the most pragmatic man in rugby, has somehow spent the summer developing a set of top-secret plays and radical tactics that he will unveil in France, his team go into the World Cup in the most desperate state.

For years under Eddie Jones and, since December, Borthwick, one wretched performance after another was dispatched as a stepping stone towards the World Cup where, however badly they had played, England could cling to the comfort of a dream draw.

Even at their worst it seemed impossible they would fail to get out of a pool containing Argentina, Japan, Samoa and Chile and, given a potential quarter-final with similarly ailing Wales or Australia another semi looked not only possible but probable.

With memories of four years ago, when England ripped through New Zealand at that stage with a performance of the ages, hopeful fans were talking about "one-offs" and "on their days" and a real possibility of a return to the final.

Yet the home defeat by Fiji, who are now in the mix as potential last eight opponents, to round off an absolutely awful series of four warm-ups after yet another dispiriting Six Nations has left even the most optimistic supporters gloomy.

The raw statistics tell the story of England's shocking decline. In 2023 they have lost six of their nine matches, including a record 53-10 thrashing at the hands of France.

Saturday's first-ever defeat by Fiji, when they somehow missed 27 tackles, made it five defeats in their last six.

In their last five games they have scored seven tries and conceded 23. They are now an equal worst-ever eighth in the world rankings, four years after they were top.

DREADFUL PERFORMANCES

As if the defeats were not bad enough, the performances