England have been given a favorable draw for the Rugby World Cup that sees them facing Wales, Tonga and Zimbabwe in pool F. And if they win the group as expected England will only be able to face the Springboks or the All Blacks in the final of the competition. The first games will be on October 1st and the final will be on November 13th where the victor of the 24 teams will hoist the William Webb Ellis cup.
At the end of 2025 England have managed an 11 game winning streak with a grand slam in the Quilter Autumn nations series meaning England have overtaken Ireland as the top ranked northern hemisphere side being ranked third in the world. This improvement in the world rugby standings came after England posted a historic win over the All Blacks 33-19 on November 15th.
This win over New Zealand came in dramatic comeback fashion and was highlighted by monster games from George Ford and Maro Itoje, Both players that will be integral in England’s bid to win the World Cup in two years time. England showed great composure to see out the game against New Zealand completing their first home win against the All Blacks since 2012.
England’s hopes for World Cup glory are buoyed by the additions of young talent into the squad the most notable of whom is Northampton back row player Henry Pollock. Pollock has come off the back of his first British Lions tour and has been a serious impact player for England in the autumn nations series as part of England’s “Pom Squad”. His teammates have been very vocal about the great personality Pollock brings to the squad with Jamie George labeling Pollock as “Unapologetically himself” after the two players stood at either end of England’s response to the Haka.
In the two years until the World Cup in Australia, England will have plenty of time to iron out issues and work at becoming an even better outfit then they already are. In this time they will have a 6 nations to try and win, which off the back of the most recent autumn internationals should be their priority to assert themselves as the best side in the northern hemisphere.
Borthwick will also be pleased as in these two upcoming years his young players will have time to grow and mature into regular starters for England. We could also see younger players like Saracens Noah Caluori break into the senior international squad. Caluori has impressed for England’s ‘A’ side in games against Spain and New Zealand’s ‘A’ side.
With only two years to go will England claim the title of world champions, will New Zealand return to their dominance of the early 2010’s or will South Africa become the first team in history to win three World Cups in a row?
By Lewis Lloyd.
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