World champions in 2003, unlikely finalists in 2007, the 6 Nations 2011 winners looked set for great things this tournament. The combination of young stars like Chris Ashton, Ben Foden and Ben Youngs with hardened vets like Jonny Wilkinson, Lewis Moody and the evergreen Simon Shaw seemed to balance wit and wisdom. Unfortunately, England never really got going, and although the intensity of criticism for the team that won by playing ugly rugby was not surprising, the scrutiny of their off-field activities bordered on the petty and spiteful. Nobody likes England and they don’t care, so long as they’re winning. This morning against France, England failed to turn on the style and were left to look a lot like a pub team by a more experienced and versatile opponent. England did not deserve to go further, which doesn’t make their loss easier to take.
Best moment: aside from the thrashings of Georgia and Romania, the games against Argentina and Scotland were classic, vintage England: let the other team tire themselves out while in the lead and spring the trap in the last ten minutes. Of the two, the 16-12 victory against Scotland probably pips the 13-9 win against Argentina for sheer entertainment value.
Worst moment: undoubtedly this morning’s match against France, a 19-12 shuffle out of the World Cup and back home to Blighty with tails well and truly between legs. The silver lining is that there is a core of a really good side here and there is plenty of potential for the future.
Highest points scorer: the excellent Chris Ashton, when not making lewd comments to hotel workers, scored 30 of England’s 144 points and when England left the tournament he was joint top try scorer with 6, tied with France’s Vincent Clerc.
Best player: hard to pick, but probably Toby Flood, who was sharper than Jonny Wilkinson and knew how to get the best out of the backs. Without Flood, England might have lost to Scotland, at the very least.
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