So this is how England’s home World Cup ends; not with a bang, but a whimper.
England have come crashing back to earth after expectations had been set sky-high before the tournament kicked off.
Here are the five things we learned from Australia’s 33-13 demolition of England.
1. England are out of the World Cup, and Lancaster might be out of luck
Stuart Lancaster’s four-year reign looks to be over. Having guided England to four consecutive second-place finishes in the Six Nations, his team has come up just short once more.Expectations were too high for a limited England team, and Lancaster will bear the brunt of some of the poor selection decisions he made.
After inheriting a team in disarray from Martin Johnson, Lancaster did well to steady the ship. Unfortunately for England, he was not the man to take them to the next level. This is hardly surprising, considering he only got the job after impressing as the interim head coach.
The question is now a matter of who will replace Lancaster, with Bath coach Mike Ford looking to be the frontrunner. But perhaps the RFU could go for someone a little less involved in English rugby as a way to spice things up a bit.
2. Australia are the real deal
If you didn’t already know, this Australian team mean business. They swept aside all who came against them in the Rugby Championship, including a 27-19 win over New Zealand on the final day.
Now that they have demolished England in Twickenham – and make no mistake, they absolutely manhandled them – perhaps northern hemisphere fans will start to take them seriously.
Michael Cheika has done incredible work with this Australian side in less than a year at the helm. His decision to play Michael Hooper and David Pocock at the same time may seem obvious now, but it was an incredibly brave and intelligent decision from one of the best coaches in the world.
3. Poor selection choices cost England
Much has been made of the inclusion of Sam Burgess in Stuart Lancaster’s squad, and the gamble to bring someone so inexperienced in the game of rugby union never looked like a calculated one. But it is incredibly surprising how there has not been more made over the refusal to bring Steffon Armitage.
It is baffling how England could go into a World Cup knowing that they would be playing against two teams with two world-class openside flankers each – David Pocock and Michael Hooper of Australia, Sam Warburton and Justin Tipuric of Wales – and not bring Armitage into the squad.
The Toulon openside has been tearing things up in the Top 14 for years, and was even named Eurpean Player of the Year back in the 2013/14 season. Meanwhile, Chris Robshaw was badly exposed against two vastly superior players.
A special exception should have been made as England now face the humiliation of being knocked out of their own World Cup in record time.
4. Wales are into the quarter-finals
England’s loss is Wales’ gain, as Warren Gatland’s men now sit out of reach of their neighbours. Now they must face off against the Wallabies themselves as they look to top the group.
With South Africa seemingly finding form again after thrashing Scotland, Wales need to put up another big performance next Saturday. Still, Wales will believe that they can beat anyone on their day, and will remember that they beat South Africa in their most recent meeting.
While their injury list is long, they will have had some extra rest compared to the Wallabies and will also have the freedom of knowing a loss doesn’t knock them out of the tournament.
5. England must look to the future
England may have exited the World Cup at the pool stages for the first time ever and killed their chances of winning the William Webb Ellis trophy on home soil, but there were some small pockets of sunshine if you knew where to look for them.
Owen Farrell and George Ford are both very young players, and having them compete for the number ten jersey for the next decade can only be good for English rugby.
There is a feeling that this World Cup came four years too soon for the likes of Anthony Watson and Jonathan Joseph, who will undoubtedly be more experience at the 2019 edition in Japan.
