England have ‘easy ride’ at World Cup but will not win it, claims Steve Hansen

England should have an “easy ride” at the World Cup in the favourable half of the draw, according to Steve Hansen but despite that advantage Steve Borthwick’s side do not feature on his list of contenders for the Webb Ellis Trophy.

Borthwick’s side are currently ranked sixth in the world and are fifth favourites with the bookmakers after a disappointing Six Nations campaign following the sacking of Eddie Jones. With the top five in the world – Ireland, France, New Zealand, South Africa and Scotland – all in the same half on the draw and three of those teams in the same pool – Hansen believes England, as well as Jones’s Australia, have a significant advantage.

“If you are Australia or England at the moment, you are rubbing your hands, aren’t you? You are going to get an easy ride in if you do things right,” said Hansen, whose World XV take on Jones’s Barbarians side at Twickenham on Sunday.

“I think [Australia] are a big show. I think England are a show for the same reason. They’re on that side of the pool and they’re being left alone while the big guys all knock themselves out. If you ask me who was capable of winning it, I think probably France, Ireland, the All Blacks, and South Africa – one of those four.”

Hansen, who won the World Cup with New Zealand in 2015, pointed to Jones’s formidable record in the tournament – he was a consultant for the victorious Springboks in 2007 and has reached finals with England and Australia – when asked if the Rugby Football Union made a mistake by sacking him nine months before a World Cup. “If I say they shouldn’t have sacked him that’ll be the headline,” he added.

“It’s England business what they did, they decided what they wanted to do and they’ve done it. The consequences,