While England will be licking their wounds for some time after their defeat in the 2023 World Cup semi-finals to South Africa, the foundations are now in place for the Red Rose to kick on for 2024.
It’s been a tough couple of years for England but, with head coach Steve Borthwick starting to settle into the role, it looks like brighter times could be around the corner for the national side.
England Set The Standard With Semi-Final Display
While the result did not go their way, the manner of much of England’s performance against South Africa in Saint-Denis will be seen as the platform to build on going forward. The Boks, who are even in the Rugby World Cup 2023 bets to win the tournament, were on the back foot for much of the semi-final at the Stade de France. England, who are 6/1 in the rugby odds to win the 2024 Six Nations, put in a rigorous display that seemed to catch South Africa off guard. However, the Boks proved their mettle as a top-ranked side as they came storming back late on to claim a 16-15 win in Saint-Denis.
It was a heartbreaking end for England’s hopes of lifting the Webb Ellis Cup for a second time in their history. A side that was written off before the start of the tournament across the Channel, Borthwick’s team seemed to grow throughout the competition. Finishing top of their pool, England made another significant step with a 30-24 win over Fiji in the quarter-finals. Having lost to the Fijians in a warm-up game before the World Cup at Twickenham, England got their revenge when it mattered against a talented Pacific Islander outfit. In the end, the Red Rose were to fall short against the Springboks but a new standard of performance has been set for this England side.
Ireland And France Still The Ones To Catch
When it comes to the Six Nations scene at present, Ireland and France are streets ahead of the other four countries in the competition. Ireland claimed the Grand Slam this year but France will fancy their chances of a clean sweep in 2024, with the Irish set to travel to Paris for their encounter in the opening game of the competition. Scotland finished best of the rest in the 2023 Six Nations, with England fourth, Wales fifth and Italy bottom of the pile once again.
England have managed just two wins from five games in all of the last three Six Nations Championships and will know their is plenty of room for improvement. Some players will be moved on after the dust settles on the 2023 World Cup but the future is looking brighter for England. Borthwick and his management team have seen what this side can do against South Africa and the challenge ahead will be trying to replicate that performance on a consistent basis. Granted they lost that game to the Boks but that type of display would normally beat most teams in the world and even the South Africans might have count themselves fortunate to reach the final.
England have had a tough time of things of late but there’s certainly growing hope that better times might be just around the corner.
