English rugby needs saving from its bloated self after France horror show

I t is 20 years since England became the first – and still only – northern hemisphere side to win a World Cup and some blunt home truths can no longer be avoided. If their record defeat in 113 years of hosting Test matches at Twickenham symbolised anything it was exactly how far English rugby has now fallen and how much it is going to take to restore the national team to former glories.

Maybe Saturday evening is the rude awakening required to alert the Rugby Football Union to the full extent of the rot that has set in, on and off the field. Because, increasingly, it does not seem to matter who is coaching England, which players they select, how they try and play or even the volume of noise made by their supporters. A bigger picture is now evident: English rugby needs saving from its bloated, short-sighted and underperforming self.

While it is probably the case that anyone would have finished second to a side playing as wonderfully well as France, the final 53-10 scoreline reflected the modern chasm that has opened up between the two nations. The difference in class at lock, No 8, scrum-half and inside centre was particularly stark, as were England’s travails at the breakdown. Fail to improve markedly against a grand slam-chasing Ireland in Dublin on Saturday and another horror show will swiftly unfold.

But make no mistake. The fault lines run significantly deeper than simply the brilliance of Antoine Dupont, Grégory Aldritt, Thibaud Flament, Jonathan Danty and their musketeering confréres. Humility has not always been the primary trait associated with the RFU but bucketloads of it are now required, with English rugby in barely better shape these days than the beleaguered game in Wales. Without reform of the union’s