It was the result that few saw coming before the tournament, and arguably the result few really wanted. The hosts exiting at the pool stages, no matter the circumstances, is usually a body blow to the tournament.
But that is exactly what happened as England crashed out of their own World Cup in devastating fashion as they went down 33-13 against Australia. The fact that the final scoreline flattered the Wallabies will be no consolation to Stuart Lancaster as his side suffered the unenviable feat of being the first host of the tournament to exit at the pool stages.
As the dust settles on this failure, many will call for the head of Lancaster and captain Chris Robshaw. Whether Lancaster loses his job remains to be seen, but for now the inquest into what went wrong will begin immediately. Just what exactly went wrong for a team who many had tipped to lift the Webb Ellis Cup in front of their own fans at Twickenham on Halloween?
Well just how far do you go back? In 2011, Stuart Lancaster was appointed England coach following the mostly off-field humiliation of the last World Cup in New Zealand. Tasked with rebuilding the squad, the former PE Teacher immediately changed things in the squad.
Chris Robshaw, with just one cap to his name, was given the captaincy as England finished second to Wales in the Six Nations. And that Autumn, they did something that England had not done since just before Sir Clive Woodward’s winning World Cup campaign – beat the All Blacks. A year after the debacle of the last World Cup, England were on the up.
But that Autumn series inadvertently brought them their first obstacle. While England looked to be building something, Wales appeared to be stuttering following a World Cup semi-final and Grand Slam. Four defeats meant they dropped out of the top eight in the world rankings, leaving them as third seeds for the World Cup draw.
And somewhat inevitably, the ‘Group of Death’ was drawn. Australia, England and Wales all in the same group. But England, fresh off the back of their victory over New Zealand and as hosts, would still have been confident of progressing.
Fast forward three years and nothing had changed. There were murmurings about England’s inability to win a Six Nation title, finishing second in all four of Lancaster’s campaigns.
But the aim had always been about building towards the World Cup and with George Ford orchestrating a potent backline looking to play expansive rugby, things looked to be in place. Lancaster looked to have the players and gameplan which could win a World Cup. It was all about execution now.
The first hurdle for the coach to navigate was selecting his 31 players for the tournament. Most picked themselves but there were a few selection issues which he, in hindsight, arguably failed.
The first one is, while not entirely Lancaster’s fault, criminal. In Steffon Armitage, England have one of the form opensides in world rugby. Or rather should have. Plying his trade in France, Armitage was not eligible for selection under England’s current policy. Lancaster could have chosen him as an ‘exceptional circumstance’ but decided against it.
Obviously he does not want to go against the policy, but his job is to win the World Cup and Armitage is the only international-class openside they have. Forget the ramifications for English clubs losing players to the likes of Toulon, just pick the best 31 players you have.
Which leads us onto his second selection mistake. Sam Burgess. Now there will be no barrage of criticism against the rugby league convert in the vein of Gordan D’Arcy in this article. When he played, he did his job to a decent standard. His selection in the squad did not cost England. But did he really deserve to be in the squad?
The former South Sydney Rabbitoh had only been playing union for a year yet was fast-tracked into the England set-up. Throw in the fact that he had been playing blindside flanker for his club and you question how he got in the squad other Luther Burrell, a mainstay of the England backline for the previous two years. But Lancaster made the calls and England were still on track for success.
First up in the group stages were Fiji. England were unconvincing at times but got the job done. A bonus point victory from a mixed performance was as much as Lancaster could ask for. There were problems, such as the scrum, but nothing seemingly too serious.
Then came Lancaster’s first test and his first real mistake of the tournament with the pivotal Wales match. Rather than back his first choice fly-half George Ford, he chose Owen Farrell to try to negate the threat of Wales’ defensive system. He also brought in Burgess for the injured Jonathan Joseph, leading many to believe he had sacrificed his plan to stop the Welsh threat.
In England’s biggest game since the 2007 World Cup final, it appeared he had waved the white flag before the match even started. Ultimately the decision nearly payed off, with Farrell near impeccable, but one wonders how things would have panned out with Ford starting. When the Bath pivot has played, England have looked much more fluid as teammates run instinctively onto his passing following 12 months of him being number one.
Chopping and changing the midfield before a big game would have no doubt disrupted the team but to their credit, they still stood on the verge of putting a Wales team decimated by injuries to the sword.
But somehow they conspired to lose. Penalties at the breakdown cost them dearly, while their game management left a lot to be desired. But the key moment was the decision to kick to touch when a relatively simple penalty would have drawn them level late on.
Robshaw, having made the same mistake twice before in his captaincy against Australia and South Africa, chose to be bold once again and it backfired miserably. Their lineout was driven into touch and a make-shift Wales team had won at Twickenham. A draw, while not ideal, would have still given England a fairly good chance of qualifying. But defeat left them firmly in last-chance saloon.
And that brings us to the Australia game. Once again, Lancaster made changes, which were, just like the week before, leaked to the press early. Jonathan Joseph returned from injury and Farrell kept his place at half-back.
The talk from within the England camp was defiant. They defensively swatted away criticism from the likes of ex-captain Will Carling as they prepared for the biggest game of their lives.
Many in the English media felt that the Australia scrum was there for the taking, with England supposedly having dominated Wales just a week ago in that particular facet. But the truth of the matter is that a bang average English scrum effectively used illegal tactics to create a false sense of supremacy against a poor Welsh scrum.
The main offender was Joe Marler who continually angled inwards, failing to scrummage squarely. But against Australia, the Harlequins prop could not put pressure on Australia hooker Stephen Moore as he would have intended as he was one of many Englishmen penalised at scrum-time.
Time and time again, England were driven backwards as the Aussies laid the platform for their running rugby as they raced into a 17-3 lead at halftime. Bernard Foley scored two tries exploiting the fringe defence of England around ruck time and it looked like game over.
The introduction of Ford looked to spark something in the England ranks, as they began to throw the ball about. While they had struggled to build phases in the first half, with the Bath fly-half at the helm, things started to click for England. When Anthony Watson scored, the gap was reduced to ten points and Twickenham began to believe.
A catalogue of errors by Australia gave Owen Farrell the chance to make it just a seven-point deficit and when he made no mistake, the comeback was well and truly on. With 15 minutes remaining, England just had to keep their heads as Australia lost theirs’.
But just like seven days earlier, as the pressure mounted on England, they imploded and discipline went out the window. Owen Farrell sin-binned for an off-the-ball tackle on Matt Giteau and the match was gone.
Two more Foley penalties and a try for Giteau were just a formality from then on. England again failed to deliver when the heat was on. And as such, they were out.
Whether Lancaster sees out his contract to the next World Cup and beyond is a decision that will made somewhere down the line, but England’s failure has arguably been building subliminally for the past four years. It was the murmurings that had been an undercurrent throughout Lancaster’s reign which were magnified in the pressure cooker of a home World Cup.
The scrum which had been shoved backwards in the warm-ups faltered in the tournament. The lack of composure which had seen them continually finish second in the Six Nations cost them in the big matches. The backline which had scored 18 tries in this year’s Six Nations was disrupted by changes and a new face in Burgess. And the captain who many believed was the wrong choice ultimately making the wrong choice.
There were many reasons why England failed and a large percentage of these have been bubbling under for most of Lancaster’s reign. As with England’s failure at the 1999 World Cup, it feels like a case of just too soon for this squad with 24 playing in their first World Cup.
There were errors but there is also potential. One thing Lancaster or anything cannot cheat is time. This squad will come good. There is no doubt of that.
However, whether Lancaster and Robshaw are at the helm following the inquest of this disatrous campaign will seriously be questioned in the coming days and weeks.
