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World Rugby Rankings: Up-to-date international rugby standings
2022-07-01
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<div><div>
<p>The <strong>World Rugby rankings</strong> determine which international side is considered the world’s best.</p><p>Ireland began the road to reclaiming the top spot they lost during the 2023 World Cup after smashing France to begin their Six Nations campaign, but lost ground with a thrilling one-point loss to England later in the tournament. However, they recovered to claim the championship for the second year in a row.</p><p>Australia, meanwhile, briefly dropped to 10th behind Italy following their upset win over Scotland, but after the Azzurri defeated Wales as well, jumped back to ninth ahead of the latter.</p><h3>Current World Rugby Rankings</h3><div>
<table>
<tbody>
<tr>
<th><strong>Position</strong></th>
<th><strong>Team</strong></th>
<th><strong>Points</strong></th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>1</td>
<td><strong>South Africa</strong></td>
<td>94.54</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>2</td>
<td><strong>Ireland</strong></td>
<td>90.69</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>3</td>
<td><strong>New Zealand</strong></td>
<td>89.80</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>4</td>
<td><strong>France</strong></td>
<td>87.92</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>5</td>
<td><strong>England</strong></td>
<td>85.75</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>6</td>
<td><strong>Scotland</strong></td>
<td>82.82</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>7</td>
<td><strong>Argentina</strong></td>
<td>80.68</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>8</td>
<td><strong>Italy</strong></td>
<td>79.41</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><strong>9</strong></td>
<td><strong>Australia</strong></td>
<td><strong>77.48</strong></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>10</td>
<td><strong>Wales</strong></td>
<td>77.26</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>11</td>
<td><strong>Fiji</strong></td>
<td>76.38</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>12</td>
<td><strong>Japan</strong></td>
<td>74.27</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>13</td>
<td><strong>Georgia</strong></td>
<td>72.68</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>14</td>
<td><strong>Samoa</strong></td>
<td>72.23</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>15</td>
<td><strong>Portugal</strong></td>
<td>71.62</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>16</td>
<td><strong>Tonga</strong></td>
<td>71.57</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>17</td>
<td><strong>USA</strong></td>
<td>67.94</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>18</td>
<td><strong>Uruguay</strong></td>
<td>67.39</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>19</td>
<td><strong>Spain</strong></td>
<td>63.46</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>20</td>
<td><strong>Romania</strong></td>
<td>62.58</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
</div><p><small><em>To see the complete rankings for all 105 international rugby sides, head over to <a href="http://www.worldrugby.org/rankings/mru">World Rugby’s website</a>.</em></small></p><div><figure><figcaption>(Photo by Renee McKay/Getty Images)</figcaption></figure></div><h3>The rankings explained</h3>
<p>The World Rugby Rankings operate using a points exchange system, where two teams will exchange points following a game against each other. That is, the losing team’s points total will be reduced by the same amount that the winning side’s is increased by.</p><p>Each side has a points rating almost always ranging from 0-100, with the no.1 side in the world often ranked between 90-100.</p><p>A range of factors impact the number of points exchanged following each match, including each side’s ranking going into the match, the location of the game – to take into account home ground advantage – and the margin of the result.</p><p>Home ground advantage to is taken into account by ‘handicapping’ the home side – their ranking is given three additional points for the purpose of comparing the relative strength of the two sides.</p><p>If the margin of victory exceeds 15 points, then the points exchanged between the side is multiplied by 1.5.</p><p>All international matches are given the same weighting as each other for ranking purposes – so a Bledisloe Cup game is given no more weighting than a match between Georgia and Italy, for example – so as to not disadvantage those sides who don’t have access to rugby’s biggest tournaments.</p><p>The one exception to this is Rugby World Cup games, for which the points exchange is doubled.</p>
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 World Rugby Rankings: Up-to-date international rugby standings

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 Angus Bell of the Wallabies (Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)

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 The World Rugby rankings determine which international side is considered the world’s best.

 Ireland began the road to reclaiming the top spot they lost during the 2023 World Cup after smashing France to begin their Six Nations campaign, but lost ground with a thrilling one-point loss to England later in the tournament. However, they recovered to claim the championship for the second year in a row.

 Australia, meanwhile, briefly dropped to 10th behind Italy following their upset win over Scotland, but after the Azzurri defeated Wales as well, jumped back to ninth ahead of the latter.

 Current World Rugby Rankings

 Position Team Points
 1 South Africa 94.54 
 2 Ireland 90.69 
 3 New Zealand 89.80 
 4 France 87.92 
 5 England 85.75 
 6 Scotland 82.82 
 7 Argentina 80.68 
 8 Italy 79.41 
 9 Australia 77.48 
 10 Wales 77.26 
 11 Fiji 76.38 
 12 Japan 74.27 
 13 Georgia 72.68 
 14 Samoa 72.23 
 15 Portugal 71.62 
 16 Tonga 71.57 
 17 USA 67.94 
 18 Uruguay 67.39 
 19 Spain 63.46 
 20 Romania 62.58 
 

 To see the complete rankings for all 105 international rugby sides, head over to World Rugby’s website.

 (Photo by Renee McKay/Getty Images)

 The rankings explained

 Advertisement

 The World Rugby Rankings operate using a points exchange system, where two teams will exchange points following a game against each other. That is, the losing team’s points total will be reduced by the same amount that the winning side’s is increased by.

 Each side has a points rating almost always ranging from 0-100, with the no.1 side in the world often ranked between 90-100.

 A range of factors impact the number of points exchanged following each match, including each side’s ranking going into the match, the location of the game – to take into account home ground advantage – and the margin of the result.

 Home ground advantage to is taken into account by ‘handicapping’ the home side – their ranking is given three additional points for the purpose of comparing the relative strength of the two sides.

 If the margin of victory exceeds 15 points, then the points exchanged between the side is multiplied by 1.5.

 All international matches are given the same weighting as each other for ranking purposes – so a Bledisloe Cup game is given no more weighting than a match between Georgia and Italy, for example – so as to not disadvantage those sides who don’t have access to rugby’s biggest tournaments.

 The one exception to this is Rugby World Cup games, for which the points exchange is doubled.

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The World Rugby rankings determine which international side is considered the world’s best. Ireland began the road to reclaiming the top spot they lost during the 2023 World Cup after smashing France to begin their Six Nations campaign, but lost ground with a thrilling one-point loss to England later in the tournament. However, they recovered to claim the championship for the second year in a row. Australia, meanwhile, briefly dropped to 10th behind Italy following their upset win over Scotland, but after the Azzurri defeated Wales as well, jumped back to ninth ahead of the latter. Current World Rugby Rankings 
 Position 
 Team 
 Points 
1
 South Africa 
94.54
2
 Ireland 
90.69
3
 New Zealand 
89.80
4
 France 
87.92
5
 England 
85.75
6
 Scotland 
82.82
7
 Argentina 
80.68
8
 Italy 
79.41
 9 
 Australia 
 77.48 
10
 Wales 
77.26
11
 Fiji 
76.38
12
 Japan 
74.27
13
 Georgia 
72.68
14
 Samoa 
72.23
15
 Portugal 
71.62
16
 Tonga 
71.57
17
 USA 
67.94
18
 Uruguay 
67.39
19
 Spain 
63.46
20
 Romania 
62.58
   To see the complete rankings for all 105 international rugby sides, head over to World Rugby’s website.     (Photo by Renee McKay/Getty Images)   The rankings explained
The World Rugby Rankings operate using a points exchange system, where two teams will exchange points following a game against each other. That is, the losing team’s points total will be reduced by the same amount that the winning side’s is increased by. Each side has a points rating almost always ranging from 0-100, with the no.1 side in the world often ranked between 90-100. A range of factors impact the number of points exchanged following each match, including each side’s ranking going into the match, the location of the game – to take into account home ground advantage – and the margin of the result. Home ground advantage to is taken into account by ‘handicapping’ the home side – their ranking is given three additional points for the purpose of comparing the relative strength of the two sides. If the margin of victory exceeds 15 points, then the points exchanged between the side is multiplied by 1.5. All international matches are given the same weighting as each other for ranking purposes – so a Bledisloe Cup game is given no more weighting than a match between Georgia and Italy, for example – so as to not disadvantage those sides who don’t have access to rugby’s biggest tournaments. The one exception to this is Rugby World Cup games, for which the points exchange is doubled.
World Rugby Rankings: Up-to-date international rugby standings
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News
  Blitzboks want to show what they are capable of  As the curtain comes down on the 2023 HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series at the iconic Twickenham Stadium in London this weekend, the Springbok Sevens team will be keen to show what they can do as they still hope to gain automatic qualification for next year’s Olympic Games in Paris.
 
    
 May 18, 2023
 
 
 
 
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  The 2023 Currie Cup Bulletin #21  Four titanic battles that will shape the final Currie Cup Premier Division standings will be staged this weekend, while the scramble for play-off spots in the First Division and Mzansi Challenge continues at a rapid pace with two crucial encounters in Kempton Park and Porterville, while there is also action in Nairobi and Mdantsane.
 
    
 May 18, 2023
 
 
 
 
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  Kolbe stands in the way of Franco Smith’s dream  Glasgow Warriors have their first chance to create history and win a European Cup title for Scotland on Friday, but only if they can tame the chaos that is normally created by Springbok speedster Cheslin Kolbe.
 
    
 May 18, 2023
 
 
 
 
 News
  Academy squad conclude successful northern tour  The SA Rugby Academy squad’s tour of Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal ended on Thursday as the bulk of the players returned to their respective homes for a short break before they will shift gear as the World Rugby Under-20 Championship moves into view.
 
    
 May 18, 2023
 
 
 
 
 News
  SA Rugby appoints new administrator to WPRFU  SA Rugby on Thursday announced the appointment of experienced sport and government executive, Mr Max Fuzani, as the new administrator of the Western Province Rugby Football Union (WPRFU). He succeeds Rian Oberholzer, who was appointed interim CEO of SA Rugby in March, having held the position of administrator at WPRFU since October 2021.
 
    
 May 18, 2023
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 <a href="https://www.allblacks.com/news/do-or-die-time-for-highlanders-in-dunedin/">
 <div>
 <p>Do-or-die time for Highlanders in Dunedin</p>
 <p>It's do-or-die time for the Highlanders in DHL Super Rugby Pacific, and they go into their game against the Rebels in Dunedin on Saturday knowing they must win to keep their playoff hopes alive.</p>
 </div>
 </a>
 </div>
 
 <div>
 <a href="https://www.allblacks.com/news/anton-lienert-brown-ready-to-take-game-to-next-level/">
 <div>
 <p>Anton Lienert-Brown ready to take game to next level</p>
 <p>Chiefs and All Blacks midfield back Anton Lienert-Brown was motivated to continue his quest to see how far he could take his game when re-signing with New Zealand Rugby until 2026.</p>
 </div>
 </a>
 </div>
 
 <div>
 <a href="https://www.allblacks.com/news/black-ferns-sevens-dominate-end-of-season-awards/">
 <div>
 <p>Black Ferns Sevens dominate end-of-season awards</p>
 <p>New Zealand's Black Ferns Sevens dominated World Rugby's end-of-season awards that were presented at a function in Toulouse after completing their HSBC World Series.</p>
 </div>
 </a>
 </div>
 
 <div>
 <a href="https://www.allblacks.com/news/fan-hot-takes-mounga-the-goat/">
 <div>
 <p>Fan hot takes: Mo’unga the GOAT? </p>
 <p>We asked fans for their hot takes on DHL Super Rugby Pacific and they delivered.</p>
 </div>
 </a>
 </div>
 
 <div>
 <a href="https://www.allblacks.com/news/anton-lienert-brown-commits-to-nzr-until-2026/">
 <div>
 <p>Anton Lienert-Brown commits to NZR until 2026</p>
 <p>All Blacks midfielder Anton Lienert-Brown said there was a sense of unfinished business when he put pen to paper on a deal that will keep him with New Zealand Rugby (NZR) until the end of 2026.</p>
 </div>
 </a>
 </div>
 
 <div>
 <a href="https://www.allblacks.com/news/chiefs-not-panicking-after-reds-loss/">
 <div>
 <p>Chiefs not panicking after Reds loss</p>
 <p>Losing 22-25 to the Reds may have been a surprise, but earlier success meant the Chiefs still have a buffer at the top of the DHL Super Rugby Pacific competition heading into their last three regular season games.</p>
 </div>
 </a>
 </div>
 
 <div>
 <a href="https://www.allblacks.com/news/blackwash-in-toulouse/">
 <div>
 <p>Blackwash In Toulouse</p>
 <p>It was a black out in Toulouse with both the All Blacks Sevens and Black Ferns Sevens taking out their respective tournaments.</p>
 </div>
 </a>
 </div>
 
 <div>
 <a href="https://www.allblacks.com/news/round-12-wrap-australian-teams-make-moves/">
 <div>
 <p>Round 12 Wrap: Australian teams make moves</p>
 <p>A first loss for the Chiefs at the hands of the Queensland Reds and a win to the Crusaders over the Blues has resulted in four teams each from New Zealand and Australia making the top eight with three rounds before the playoffs of DHL Super Rugby Pacific.</p>
 </div>
 </a>
 </div>
 
 <div>
 <a href="https://www.allblacks.com/news/all-black-sevens-one-win-away-from-world-series-title/">
 <div>
 <p>All Black Sevens one win away from World Series Title</p>
 <p>The All Blacks Sevens are one win away from winning the HSBC World Sevens series for the 14th time after reaching the semi-finals of the Toulouse Sevens. </p>
 </div>
 </a>
 </div>
 
 <div>
 <a href="https://www.allblacks.com/news/remembering-bruce-roberston/">
 <div>
 <p>Remembering the 'Prince of Centres' Bruce Robertson</p>
 <p>Bruce Robertson, who died on Friday, May 12, aged 71, was one of the finest centres to have played for the All Blacks.</p>
 </div>
 </a>
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 Chiefs and Hurricanes ready to entertain in Hamilton

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 Chiefs named for Canes clash
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 Remembering the 'Prince of Centres' Bruce Robertson
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Home
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/England_national_rugby_union_team
England national rugby union team - Wikipedia
2004-05-30
None
<div><div>
<table><caption>England</caption><tbody><tr><td><a href="/wiki/File:England_national_rugby_team_logo.svg"></a></td></tr><tr><th>Emblem</th><td>Red <a href="/wiki/Rose">Rose</a></td></tr><tr><th>Union</th><td><a href="/wiki/Rugby_Football_Union">Rugby Football Union</a></td></tr><tr><th>Head coach</th><td><a href="/wiki/Steve_Borthwick">Steve Borthwick</a></td></tr><tr><th>Captain</th><td><a href="/wiki/Owen_Farrell">Owen Farrell</a></td></tr><tr><th>Most <a href="/wiki/Cap_(sport)">caps</a></th><td><a href="/wiki/Ben_Youngs">Ben Youngs</a> (121)</td></tr><tr><th>Top scorer</th><td><a href="/wiki/Jonny_Wilkinson">Jonny Wilkinson</a> (1,179)</td></tr><tr><th>Top try scorer</th><td><a href="/wiki/Rory_Underwood">Rory Underwood</a> (49)</td></tr><tr><th>Home stadium</th><td><a href="/wiki/Twickenham_Stadium">Twickenham Stadium</a></td></tr><tr><td></td></tr><tr><td>
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<div><p><b>First <a href="/wiki/Kit_(rugby_football)">colours</a></b></p></div>
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</tbody></table></td></tr><tr><th><a href="/wiki/World_Rugby_Rankings">World Rugby ranking</a></th></tr><tr><th>Current</th><td>6 (as of 6 February 2023)</td></tr><tr><th>Highest</th><td>1 (2003, 2019)</td></tr><tr><th>Lowest</th><td>8 (2009, 2015)</td></tr><tr><th>First international</th></tr><tr><td> <a href="/wiki/Scotland_national_rugby_union_team">Scotland</a> <a href="/wiki/1871_Scotland_versus_England_rugby_union_match">1–0</a> <b>England</b> <br />(<a href="/wiki/Edinburgh">Edinburgh</a>, <a href="/wiki/Scotland">Scotland</a>; 27 March 1871)</td></tr><tr><th>Biggest win</th></tr><tr><td> <b>England</b> 134–0 <a href="/wiki/Romania_national_rugby_union_team">Romania</a> <br />(<a href="/wiki/London">London</a>, England; 17 November 2001)</td></tr><tr><th>Biggest defeat</th></tr><tr><td> <a href="/wiki/Australia_national_rugby_union_team">Australia</a> 76–0 <b>England</b> <br />(<a href="/wiki/Brisbane">Brisbane</a>, <a href="/wiki/Australia">Australia</a>; 6 June 1998)</td></tr><tr><th><a href="/wiki/Rugby_World_Cup">World Cup</a></th></tr><tr><th>Appearances</th><td>9 (<i>First in <a href="/wiki/1987_Rugby_World_Cup">1987</a></i>)</td></tr><tr><th>Best result</th><td><i>Champions🥇</i> (<a href="/wiki/2003_Rugby_World_Cup">2003</a>)</td></tr><tr><th>Website</th><td><a href="https://www.englandrugby.com/england/senior-men">englandrugby.com</a></td></tr></tbody></table>
<p>The <b>England national rugby union team</b> represents <a href="/wiki/England">England</a> in men's international <a href="/wiki/Rugby_union">rugby union</a>. They compete in the annual <a href="/wiki/Six_Nations_Championship">Six Nations Championship</a> with <a href="/wiki/France_national_rugby_union_team">France</a>, <a href="/wiki/Ireland_national_rugby_union_team">Ireland</a>, <a href="/wiki/Italy_national_rugby_union_team">Italy</a>, <a href="/wiki/Scotland_national_rugby_union_team">Scotland</a> and <a href="/wiki/Wales_national_rugby_union_team">Wales</a>. England have won the championship on 29 occasions (as well as sharing 10 victories) – winning the <a href="/wiki/Grand_Slam_(rugby_union)">Grand Slam</a> 13 times and the <a href="/wiki/Triple_Crown_(rugby_union)">Triple Crown</a> 26 times – making them the most successful outright winners in the tournament's history. They are currently the only team from the <a href="/wiki/Northern_Hemisphere">Northern Hemisphere</a> to win the <a href="/wiki/Rugby_World_Cup">Rugby World Cup</a>, having won the tournament in <a href="/wiki/2003_Rugby_World_Cup">2003</a>, and have been runners-up on three other occasions.
</p><p>The history of the team extends back to 1871 when the English rugby team played <a href="/wiki/1871_Scotland_versus_England_rugby_union_match">their first official</a> <a href="/wiki/Test_match_(rugby_union)">test match</a>, losing 1–0 to Scotland. England dominated the early Home Nations Championship (now the <a href="/wiki/Six_Nations_Championship">Six Nations</a>) which started in 1883. Following the <a href="/wiki/History_of_rugby_league#The_schism_in_England">schism</a> of rugby football in 1895 into union and league, England did not win the Championship again until 1910. They first played against <a href="/wiki/New_Zealand_national_rugby_union_team">New Zealand</a> in 1905, <a href="/wiki/South_Africa_national_rugby_union_team">South Africa</a> in 1906, and <a href="/wiki/Australia_national_rugby_union_team">Australia</a> in 1909. England was one of the teams invited to take part in the inaugural Rugby World Cup in <a href="/wiki/1987_Rugby_World_Cup">1987</a> and progressed to the final in the second tournament in <a href="/wiki/1991_Rugby_World_Cup">1991</a>, losing 12–6 to Australia. Following their Grand Slam in <a href="/wiki/2003_Six_Nations_Championship">2003</a>, England went on to win the <a href="/wiki/2003_Rugby_World_Cup">2003 Rugby World Cup</a>, defeating Australia 20–17 in extra time. They contested the final again in <a href="/wiki/2007_Rugby_World_Cup">2007</a> in defence of their title, losing 15–6 to South Africa, and reached the final for the fourth time in <a href="/wiki/2019_Rugby_World_Cup">2019</a>, once again losing to South Africa, 32–12.
</p><p>England players traditionally wear a white shirt with a rose embroidered on the chest, white shorts, and navy blue socks with a white trim. England's home ground is <a href="/wiki/Twickenham_Stadium">Twickenham Stadium</a> where they first played in 1910. The team is administered by the <a href="/wiki/Rugby_Football_Union">Rugby Football Union</a> (RFU). Four former players have been inducted into the <a href="/wiki/International_Rugby_Hall_of_Fame">International Rugby Hall of Fame</a>; one of these is also a member of the <a href="/wiki/IRB_Hall_of_Fame">IRB Hall of Fame</a>. Seven other former players are members of the IRB Hall – four solely for their accomplishments as players, two solely for their achievements in other roles in the sport, and one for achievements both as a player and administrator.
</p>
<h2>History[<a href="/w/index.php?title=England_national_rugby_union_team&amp;action=edit&amp;section=1">edit</a>]</h2>
<h3>Early years[<a href="/w/index.php?title=England_national_rugby_union_team&amp;action=edit&amp;section=2">edit</a>]</h3>
<div><p><a href="/wiki/File:England_1871_first.jpg"></a></p></div>
<p>The expansion of rugby in the first half of the 19th century was driven by former pupils from many of England's <a href="/wiki/Public_school_(United_Kingdom)">public schools</a>, especially <a href="/wiki/Rugby_School">Rugby</a>, who, upon finishing school, took the game with them to universities, to London, and to the counties.<sup><a href="#cite_note-OriginsoRugby-1">[1]</a></sup> <a href="/wiki/1871_Scotland_versus_England_rugby_union_match">England's first international match</a> was against <a href="/wiki/Scotland_national_rugby_union_team">Scotland</a> on 27 March 1871; not only was this England's first match, but it is also noted as being the first rugby union international.<sup><a href="#cite_note-ShortHist-2">[2]</a></sup> Scotland won the match by one goal and a try to England's one unconverted try,<sup><a href="#cite_note-3">[3]</a></sup><sup><a href="#cite_note-Lewis-4">[4]</a></sup> in front of a crowd of 4,000 people at <a href="/wiki/Raeburn_Place">Raeburn Place</a>, Edinburgh.<sup><a href="#cite_note-Rugby1870s-5">[5]</a></sup> A subsequent international took place at <a href="/wiki/The_Oval">the Oval</a> in London on 5 February 1872, when England defeated Scotland by a goal, a <a href="/wiki/Drop_goal">drop goal</a> and two tries to Scotland's one drop goal.<sup><a href="#cite_note-First3Games-6">[6]</a></sup><sup><a href="#cite_note-5Feb1872-7">[7]</a></sup> The early matches did not use a structured points system; this would not be introduced until after 1890 when a suitable format for the scoring system had been devised.<sup><a href="#cite_note-Lewis-4">[4]</a></sup> Up until 1875, international rugby matches were decided by the number of goals scored (conversions and dropped goals), but from 1876 the number of tries scored could be used to decide a match if the teams were level on goals.<sup><a href="#cite_note-8">[8]</a></sup>
</p><p>In 1875, England played their first game against <a href="/wiki/Ireland_national_rugby_union_team">Ireland</a> at the Oval, winning by one goal, one drop goal and one try to nil;<sup><a href="#cite_note-Lewis-4">[4]</a></sup> this was Ireland's first test match.<sup><a href="#cite_note-15feb1875-9">[9]</a></sup><sup><a href="#cite_note-IreFirstGames-10">[10]</a></sup> England defeated Scotland in 1880 to become the first winners of the <a href="/wiki/Calcutta_Cup">Calcutta Cup</a>.<sup><a href="#cite_note-28Feb1880-11">[11]</a></sup><sup><a href="#cite_note-Timelines1880s-12">[12]</a></sup> Their first match against <a href="/wiki/Wales_national_rugby_union_team">Wales</a> was played on 19 February 1881 at Richardson's Field in <a href="/wiki/Blackheath,_London">Blackheath</a>,<sup><a href="#cite_note-Timelines1880s-12">[12]</a></sup><sup><a href="#cite_note-19Feb1881-13">[13]</a></sup> where England recorded their largest victory, winning by seven goals, six tries, and one drop goal to nil,<sup><a href="#cite_note-Lewis-4">[4]</a></sup> and scoring 13 tries in the process.<sup><a href="#cite_note-19Feb1881-13">[13]</a></sup> The subsequent meeting the following year at <a href="/wiki/St._Helen%27s_Rugby_and_Cricket_Ground">St. Helen's</a> in Swansea was a closer contest, with England defeating Wales by two goals and four tries to nil.<sup><a href="#cite_note-Lewis-4">[4]</a></sup><sup><a href="#cite_note-16Dec1882-14">[14]</a></sup> Two years later, England emerged as the inaugural winners at the first <a href="/wiki/Six_Nations_Championship">Home Nations championship</a>.<sup><a href="#cite_note-SixNationsWinners-15">[15]</a></sup> In 1889, they played their first match against a non-home nations team when they defeated the <a href="/wiki/1888%E2%80%9389_New_Zealand_Native_football_team">New Zealand Natives</a> at Rectory Field in Blackheath<sup><a href="#cite_note-NativeTour1888-16">[16]</a></sup><sup><a href="#cite_note-NZNativesMatches-17">[17]</a></sup> by one goal and four tries to nil.<sup><a href="#cite_note-Lewis-4">[4]</a></sup> England shared the Home Nations trophy with Scotland in 1890.<sup><a href="#cite_note-RugbyHist6N-18">[18]</a></sup>
</p><p>England first played <a href="/wiki/New_Zealand_national_rugby_union_team">New Zealand</a> (known as the "All Blacks") in 1905 at <a href="/wiki/Crystal_Palace_National_Sports_Centre">Crystal Palace</a> in London. New Zealand scored five tries, worth three points at the time, to win 15–0.<sup><a href="#cite_note-ABGame79-19">[19]</a></sup> England played <a href="/wiki/France_national_rugby_union_team">France</a> for the first time in March 1906 in Paris, winning 35–8, and later that year they first faced <a href="/wiki/South_Africa_national_rugby_union_team">South Africa</a> (known as the "Springboks"), again at Crystal Palace. <a href="/wiki/James_Peters_(rugby_player)">James Peters</a> was withdrawn from the England squad when the South Africans refused to play against a black player;<sup><a href="#cite_note-Darkie_Peters-20">[20]</a></sup> the match was drawn 3–3. England first played <a href="/wiki/Australia_national_rugby_union_team">Australia</a> (known as the "Wallabies") in January 1909 at Blackheath's Rectory Field, where they were defeated 9–3.<sup><a href="#cite_note-1900s-21">[21]</a></sup>
</p>
<div><p><a href="/wiki/File:England_vs_allblacks_Gillett_1905.jpg"></a></p></div> 
<p>The year 1909 saw the opening of <a href="/wiki/Twickenham_Stadium">Twickenham Stadium</a> as the RFU's new home, heralding a golden era for English rugby union. England's first international at Twickenham in 1910 brought them victory over Wales on their way to winning the <a href="/wiki/Six_Nations_Championship">International Championship</a> (known from then as the Five Nations) for the first time since <a href="/wiki/1892_Home_Nations_Championship">1892</a>. Although England did not retain the Five Nations title in 1911, they did share it (with Ireland) in 1912. England then achieved their first Five Nations <a href="/wiki/Grand_Slam_(rugby_union)">Grand Slam</a> in 1913, another in 1914, and a third in 1921 after the First World War. A further two consecutive Grand Slams followed for the England team in 1924 and 1925,<sup><a href="#cite_note-SNHiistory-22">[22]</a></sup> this despite having started 1925 with an 17–11 loss to the "<a href="/wiki/The_Invincibles_(rugby_union)">Invincibles</a>" in front of 60,000 fans at Twickenham.<sup><a href="#cite_note-Invincibles-23">[23]</a></sup>
</p><p>After winning a sixth Grand Slam in 1928, England were subjected to a <a href="/wiki/1931%E2%80%9332_South_Africa_rugby_union_tour_of_Britain_and_Ireland">7–0 defeat by the Springboks</a> in front of 70,000 spectators at Twickenham in January 1932. Following the expulsion of France from the International Championship in 1931 due to professionalism, which reverted the Five Nations tournament back to the Home Nations,<sup><a href="#cite_note-SNHisBBC-24">[24]</a></sup> England proceeded to win the 1934 and 1937 championships with a <a href="/wiki/Triple_Crown_(rugby_union)">Triple Crown</a>, and achieved <a href="/wiki/1935%E2%80%9336_New_Zealand_rugby_union_tour_of_Britain,_Ireland_and_Canada">their first victory over the All Blacks</a> at Twickenham in January 1936.<sup><a href="#cite_note-ABGame311-25">[25]</a></sup><sup><a href="#cite_note-Polanski38-19-26">[26]</a></sup>
</p><p>When the Five Nations resumed with the readmission of France in 1947 after the Second World War, England shared the championship with Wales. The early Five Nations competitions of the 1950s were unsuccessful for England, winning one match in the 1950 and 1951 championships.<sup><a href="#cite_note-SNHiistory-22">[22]</a></sup> England won the 1953 Five Nations, and followed this up with a Grand Slam in 1957, and win in 1958. England broke France's four-championship streak by winning the 1963 Championship.<sup><a href="#cite_note-SNHiistory-22">[22]</a></sup> After this victory, England played three Tests in the Southern Hemisphere and lost all three: 21–11 and 9–6 against the All Blacks, and 18–9 against Australia.<sup><a href="#cite_note-RugbyData22-27">[27]</a></sup> England did not win a single match in 1966, and managed only a draw with Ireland. They did not win another Championship that decade.
</p><p><a href="/wiki/Don_White_(footballer)">Don White</a> was appointed as England's first coach in 1969. According to former Northampton player <a href="/wiki/Bob_Taylor_(rugby_union,_born_1942)">Bob Taylor</a>, "Don was chosen because he was the most forward-thinking coach in England".<sup><a href="#cite_note-GuardianObit-28">[28]</a></sup> His first match in charge was an 11–8 victory over South Africa at <a href="/wiki/Twickenham_Stadium">Twickenham</a> in 1969.<sup>[<i><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed">citation needed</a></i>]</sup> Of the eleven games England played with White in charge they won three, and drew one and lost seven. He resigned as England coach in 1971.<sup>[<i><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed">citation needed</a></i>]</sup>
</p><p>England had wins against Southern Hemisphere teams in the 1970s; with victories over South Africa in 1972, New Zealand in 1973 and Australia in 1973 and 1976. The <a href="/wiki/1972_Five_Nations_Championship">1972 Five Nations Championship</a> was not completed due to <a href="/wiki/The_Troubles">the Troubles</a> in Northern Ireland when Scotland and Wales refused to play their Five Nations away fixtures in Ireland. England played in Dublin in 1973 and were given a standing ovation lasting five minutes. After losing 18–9 at <a href="/wiki/Lansdowne_Road">Lansdowne Road</a>, the England captain, <a href="/wiki/John_Pullin">John Pullin</a> famously stated, "We might not be very good but at least we turned up."<sup><a href="#cite_note-TurnedUp-29">[29]</a></sup>
</p><p>England started the following decade with a Grand Slam victory in the 1980 Five Nations – their first for 23 years.<sup><a href="#cite_note-1980GS-30">[30]</a></sup> However in the <a href="/wiki/1983_Five_Nations_Championship">1983 Five Nations Championship</a>, England failed to win a game and picked up the <a href="/wiki/Wooden_spoon_(award)">wooden spoon</a>.<sup><a href="#cite_note-WoodenSpoon-31">[31]</a></sup> In the first <a href="/wiki/1987_Rugby_World_Cup">Rugby World Cup</a> in New Zealand and Australia, England were grouped in <a href="/wiki/Group_stage">pool</a> A alongside Australia, <a href="/wiki/Japan_national_rugby_union_team">Japan</a> and the <a href="/wiki/United_States_national_rugby_union_team">United States</a>. England lost their first game 19–6 against Australia. They went on to defeat Japan and the United States, and met Wales in their quarter-final, losing the match 16–3.<sup><a href="#cite_note-1987RWC-32">[32]</a></sup>
</p><p>In 1989, England won matches against <a href="/wiki/Romania_national_rugby_union_team">Romania</a> and <a href="/wiki/Fiji_national_rugby_union_team">Fiji</a>, followed by victories in their first three Five Nations games of 1990. They lost to Scotland in their last game however, giving Scotland a Grand Slam. England recovered in the following year by winning their first Grand Slam since 1980. England hosted the <a href="/wiki/1991_Rugby_World_Cup">1991 World Cup</a> and were in pool A, along with the All Blacks, <a href="/wiki/Italy_national_rugby_union_team">Italy</a> and the United States. Although they lost to the All Blacks in pool play, they qualified for a quarter-final going on to defeat France 19–10. England then defeated Scotland 9–6 to secure a place in the final against Australia which they lost 12–6.<sup><a href="#cite_note-1991RWC-33">[33]</a></sup>
</p><p>The next year, England completed another Grand Slam and did not lose that year, including a victory over the Springboks. In the lead up to the <a href="/wiki/1995_Rugby_World_Cup">1995 World Cup</a> in South Africa, England completed another Grand Slam – their third in five years. In the World Cup, England defeated <a href="/wiki/Argentina_national_rugby_union_team">Argentina</a>, Italy and <a href="/wiki/Samoa_national_rugby_union_team">Samoa</a> in pool play and then defeated Australia 25–22 in their quarter-final. England's semi-final was dominated by the All Blacks and featured four tries, now worth five points each, by <a href="/wiki/Jonah_Lomu">Jonah Lomu</a>; England lost 45–29.<sup><a href="#cite_note-ABGame992-34">[34]</a></sup> They then lost the third-place play-off match against France.<sup><a href="#cite_note-autogenerated1-35">[35]</a></sup>
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<h3>Professional era[<a href="/w/index.php?title=England_national_rugby_union_team&amp;action=edit&amp;section=3">edit</a>]</h3>
<p>England won their 20th Triple Crown title in 1997, but came second in the <a href="/wiki/1997_Five_Nations_Championship">championship</a> after a narrow 23–20 defeat against France at <a href="/wiki/Twickenham_Stadium">Twickenham</a>. Sir <a href="/wiki/Clive_Woodward">Clive Woodward</a> replaced <a href="/wiki/Jack_Rowell">Jack Rowell</a> as the England head coach later that year. On 6 December 1997, England drew 26–26 with New Zealand at Twickenham, after being <a href="/wiki/1997_South_Africa_rugby_union_tour_of_Europe">heavily defeated (29–11)</a> by <a href="/wiki/South_Africa_national_rugby_union_team">South Africa</a> at the same venue the week before and by <a href="/wiki/1997_New_Zealand_rugby_union_tour_of_Britain_and_Ireland">New Zealand (25–8)</a> in Manchester two weeks previously. In 1998, <a href="/wiki/1998_England_rugby_union_tour_of_Australasia_and_South_Africa">England toured Australia, New Zealand and South Africa</a>; many of the experienced players were unavailable for what was to become nicknamed the "Tour from Hell" during which England lost all of their matches including a punishing 76–0 defeat by the Wallabies.<sup><a href="#cite_note-Times_TFH-36">[36]</a></sup><sup><a href="#cite_note-BBC_TFH-37">[37]</a></sup> In the last Five Nations match on 11 April 1999, with England poised to win the championship, Welsh centre <a href="/wiki/Scott_Gibbs">Scott Gibbs</a> sliced through six English tackles to score a try in the last minute, and the ensuing conversion by <a href="/wiki/Neil_Jenkins">Neil Jenkins</a> handed the final <a href="/wiki/1999_Five_Nations_Championship">Five Nations title</a> to Scotland.<sup>[<i><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed">citation needed</a></i>]</sup>
</p>
<div><p><a href="/wiki/File:England_world_cup.jpg"></a></p></div>
<p>England commenced the new millennium by winning the inaugural <a href="/wiki/2000_Six_Nations_Championship">Six Nations Championship</a>, although they lost their last match to Scotland.<sup><a href="#cite_note-2000SN-38">[38]</a></sup> They successfully defended their title <a href="/wiki/2001_Six_Nations_Championship">the following year</a>, but missed out on the Grand Slam by losing 20–14 to Ireland in a postponed match at Lansdowne Road.<sup><a href="#cite_note-2001SN-39">[39]</a></sup> Although France won the <a href="/wiki/2002_Six_Nations_Championship">2002 Six Nations Championship</a>, England defeated the other Home Nations teams to win the Triple Crown.<sup><a href="#cite_note-2002SN-40">[40]</a></sup> In 2002, England <a href="/wiki/2002_England_rugby_union_tour_of_Argentina">beat Argentina</a> 26–18 in Buenos Aires,<sup><a href="#cite_note-Argentina2002-41">[41]</a></sup> and in the <a href="/wiki/2002_end-of-year_rugby_union_internationals">Autumn internationals</a> they defeated New Zealand 31–28,<sup><a href="#cite_note-42">[42]</a></sup> Australia 32–31,<sup><a href="#cite_note-Aust2002-43">[43]</a></sup> and South Africa 53–3 at Twickenham.<sup><a href="#cite_note-SA2002-44">[44]</a></sup> At the <a href="/wiki/2003_Six_Nations_Championship">2003 Six Nations Championship</a>, England won the Grand Slam for the first time since 1995,<sup>[<i><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed">citation needed</a></i>]</sup> followed by wins over Australia and the All Blacks on their <a href="/wiki/2003_England_rugby_union_tour_of_Australasia">June summer tour</a>.<sup>[<i><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed">citation needed</a></i>]</sup>
</p><p>Going into the <a href="/wiki/2003_Rugby_World_Cup">2003 World Cup</a> as one of the tournament favourites,<sup><a href="#cite_note-RWC03Favourites-45">[45]</a></sup> England reached the <a href="/wiki/2003_Rugby_World_Cup_Final">final</a> on 22 November 2003 against host Australia. The game went into extra time with the score tied at 14–14; after one penalty apiece and with just seconds to spare, a match-winning drop goal by fly-half <a href="/wiki/Jonny_Wilkinson">Jonny Wilkinson</a> brought the final score to 20–17, making England rugby world champions for the first time. Not only was this England's first Rugby World Cup victory, but it was the nation's first world cup since the <a href="/wiki/England_national_football_team">England national football team</a> won the <a href="/wiki/1966_FIFA_World_Cup">1966 FIFA World Cup</a>. On 8 December, the England team were greeted by 750,000 supporters on a victory parade through London before meeting Queen <a href="/wiki/Elizabeth_II">Elizabeth II</a> at <a href="/wiki/Buckingham_Palace">Buckingham Palace</a>.<sup><a href="#cite_note-bigcrowd-46">[46]</a></sup>
</p>
<div><p><a href="/wiki/File:England_rugby_training_at_bath_arp.jpg"></a></p><div><p>The England national squad training for the 2007 Rugby World Cup at the <a href="/wiki/University_of_Bath">University of Bath</a></p></div></div>
<p>England finished third in the <a href="/wiki/2004_Six_Nations_Championship">2004 Six Nations Championship</a> after losing their matches to both France and Ireland.<sup><a href="#cite_note-2004SN-47">[47]</a></sup> Clive Woodward resigned as head coach on 2 September and <a href="/wiki/Andy_Robinson">Andy Robinson</a> was appointed to replace him.<sup><a href="#cite_note-WoodResign-48">[48]</a></sup> Robinson's first <a href="/wiki/2005_Six_Nations_Championship">Six Nations campaign in 2005</a> resulted in fourth place for England,<sup><a href="#cite_note-2005SNTables-49">[49]</a></sup> and although they defeated Australia 26–16 at Twickenham in the <a href="/wiki/2005_end-of-year_rugby_union_internationals">Autumn internationals</a>,<sup><a href="#cite_note-AustEng051112-50">[50]</a></sup> this was followed by a 23–19 loss to the All Blacks.<sup><a href="#cite_note-ABEng051119-51">[51]</a></sup>
</p><p>A 25–14 loss to South Africa in the <a href="/wiki/2006_end-of-year_rugby_union_internationals">2006 Autumn internationals</a><sup><a href="#cite_note-52">[52]</a></sup> was England's eighth defeat in nine test matches, their worst losing streak. Andy Robinson resigned as head coach after this run, and attack coach <a href="/wiki/Brian_Ashton_(rugby_player)">Brian Ashton</a> was appointed as his replacement in December.<sup><a href="#cite_note-AshtonCoach-53">[53]</a></sup> England started the <a href="/wiki/2007_Six_Nations_Championship">2007 Six Nations Championship</a> with a Calcutta Cup victory over Scotland.<sup><a href="#cite_note-EngSco1-07-54">[54]</a></sup> That year's championship included a historic match at <a href="/wiki/Croke_Park">Croke Park</a> which England lost 43–13, their heaviest defeat against Ireland.<sup><a href="#cite_note-RecordIreLoss-55">[55]</a></sup>
</p><p>At the <a href="/wiki/2007_Rugby_World_Cup">2007 World Cup</a>, England were grouped in Pool A with Samoa, <a href="/wiki/Tonga_national_rugby_union_team">Tonga</a>, South Africa, and the United States. They progressed to the knockout stage despite a heavy 36–0 loss to South Africa, and narrowly defeated Australia 12–10 in the quarter-finals. England then faced hosts France in the semi-finals and triumphed 14–9 to qualify for the final, where they were subjected to a second defeat by the Springboks at this World Cup, losing the match 15–6. England followed up their World Cup disappointment with two consecutive second-place finishes in the Six Nations Championship, behind Wales (<a href="/wiki/2008_Six_Nations_Championship">2008</a>) and Ireland (<a href="/wiki/2009_Six_Nations_Championship">2009</a>). Former England team captain <a href="/wiki/Martin_Johnson_(rugby_union)">Martin Johnson</a> took up the job of head coach in July 2008 but, unable to replicate his on-field success in the management role, he resigned in November 2011 following a miserable <a href="/wiki/2011_Rugby_World_Cup">Rugby World Cup</a> which featured a series of on- and off-field controversies and ended in quarter-final defeat by France.<sup>[<i><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed">citation needed</a></i>]</sup>
</p><p>In March 2012, the <a href="/wiki/Rugby_Football_Union">Rugby Football Union</a> appointed <a href="/wiki/Stuart_Lancaster_(rugby_union)">Stuart Lancaster</a>, the former Elite Rugby Director at <a href="/wiki/Leeds_Tykes">Leeds Carnegie</a>, as England's head coach.<sup><a href="#cite_note-56">[56]</a></sup> He had previously been employed in the position on a short-term basis, assisted by existing forwards coach <a href="/wiki/Graham_Rowntree">Graham Rowntree</a>, and <a href="/wiki/Andy_Farrell">Andy Farrell</a>. Lancaster was considered a success in his first campaign as head coach: defending champions England took second place in the <a href="/wiki/2012_Six_Nations_Championship">2012 Six Nations Championship</a> after losing 19–12 to Wales at Twickenham, but successfully defended the Calcutta Cup by defeating Scotland 13–6 at <a href="/wiki/Murrayfield">Murrayfield</a>. England finished the year on a high when they beat World Cup holders New Zealand 38–21 at Twickenham in the <a href="/wiki/2012_end-of-year_rugby_union_internationals">Autumn internationals</a>; the England team dominated the match and completely outplayed the All Blacks, who had been unbeaten in 20 matches.<sup><a href="#cite_note-57">[57]</a></sup>
</p><p>At the <a href="/wiki/2013_Six_Nations_Championship">2013 Six Nations Championship</a>, England again finished in second place behind Wales, and were deprived of the opportunity to win the Grand Slam for the first time since 2003 when defeated by Wales in Cardiff 30–3. It was the first time since 1974 that every team in the Six Nations managed to win at least three competition points (the equivalent of a win and a draw, or three draws). However, England retained the Calcutta Cup by defeating Scotland 38–18 at Twickenham. Lancaster took an experimental side on a <a href="/wiki/2013_England_rugby_union_tour_of_Argentina">summer tour of Argentina in 2013</a>; after beating a <a href="/wiki/South_American_XV">South American select XV</a> on 2 June, England achieved a 2–0 series victory over Argentina, their first away series win against <i>the Pumas</i> for 32 years.<sup><a href="#cite_note-58">[58]</a></sup>
</p><p>In 2015, England hosted the <a href="/wiki/2015_Rugby_World_Cup">Rugby World Cup</a>, but were eliminated in the pool stage.<sup><a href="#cite_note-59">[59]</a></sup> Despite this setback, and following the appointment of new head coach <a href="/wiki/Eddie_Jones_(rugby_union)">Eddie Jones</a>, England won the Grand Slam in the <a href="/wiki/2016_Six_Nations_Championship">2016 Six Nations Championship</a>, and remained unbeaten for the whole of 2016, including a series whitewash of Australia in Sydney. They went on to equal the world record of 18 consecutive test wins with an impressive 61–21 victory over Scotland in securing the <a href="/wiki/2017_Six_Nations_Championship">2017 Six Nations Championship</a>.<sup>[<i><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed">citation needed</a></i>]</sup>
</p><p>2018 began well for England, seeing off a spirited challenge from Italy 46–15, and winning a tight contest against Wales 12–6 in the first two rounds of the <a href="/wiki/2018_Six_Nations_Championship">Six Nations</a>. However, it wasn't until June before England recorded another win, as the team lost their remaining games against Scotland (25–13), France (22–16) and eventual Grand Slam winners Ireland (24–15) at home at Twickenham. A non-test loss against the <a href="/wiki/Barbarian_F.C.">Barbarians</a> (63–45) followed.<sup><a href="#cite_note-60">[60]</a></sup>
</p><p>On their <a href="/wiki/2018_England_rugby_union_tour_of_South_Africa">summer tour of South Africa</a>, England lost the first two matches 42–39 and 23–12, after leading both early in the first half, before winning the third test 25–10 against a mostly second-string Springbok side. That autumn, after adding former New Zealand and United States coach <a href="/wiki/John_Mitchell_(rugby_union)">John Mitchell</a> to the coaching setup, England won the return match against South Africa by a single point at 12–11, and lost an equally close contest with New Zealand 16–15, both in controversial circumstances.<sup><a href="#cite_note-61">[61]</a></sup><sup><a href="#cite_note-62">[62]</a></sup> England rounded out the year with wins over Japan (35–15) and Australia (37–18). The win over Australia continued an unbroken run of victories over the Wallabies under former Australia coach Eddie Jones.<sup>[<i><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed">citation needed</a></i>]</sup>
</p><p>England finished second in the <a href="/wiki/2019_Six_Nations_Championship">2019 Six Nations Championship</a> having lost to Wales in Cardiff and drawn 38-38 with Scotland at Twickenham after leading 31-0. In the <a href="/wiki/2019_Rugby_World_Cup_warm-up_matches">2019 Rugby World Cup warm-up matches</a> they defeated Wales 33-19 at Twickenham before losing 13-6 in Cardiff. They then recorded their largest win over Ireland with a 57-15 victory at Twickenham before defeating Italy 37-0 at <a href="/wiki/St_James%27_Park">St James' Park</a>. In the <a href="/wiki/2019_Rugby_World_Cup">2019 Rugby World Cup</a>, England became the first team to qualify for the quarter-finals following a 39-10 win over Argentina in <a href="/wiki/Ch%C5%8Dfu">Chōfu</a>. After their final match was cancelled due to <a href="/wiki/Typhoon_Hagibis">Typhoon Hagibis</a>, England topped <a href="/wiki/2019_Rugby_World_Cup_Pool_C">Pool C</a> and faced Australia in the quarter-finals. England won the quarter-final 40-16, recording a seventh successive victory over Australia in the Wallabies' largest-ever Rugby World Cup defeat. England then defeated New Zealand in the semi-final, equalling their largest Rugby World Cup defeat with a 19-7 victory in which the All Blacks were kept scoreless for 57 minutes. On 2 November 2019, England were defeated 12-32 by South Africa in the <a href="/wiki/2019_Rugby_World_Cup_Final">2019 Rugby World Cup Final</a>.
</p><p>In the <a href="/wiki/2020_Six_Nations_Championship">2020 Six Nations Championship</a>, England were defeated 24-17 in their opening game against France in Paris before recording victories against Scotland at Murrayfield and Ireland and Wales at Twickenham. The tournament was then halted due to the <a href="/wiki/COVID-19_pandemic">COVID-19 pandemic</a> and resumed with the matches played in empty stadia in October. In the postponed matches, England recorded a bonus point win over Italy in Rome before France's defeat of Ireland by eight points meant that England won the championship on points difference. Due to the pandemic, the scheduled 2020 Autumn Internationals were replaced by the <a href="/wiki/Autumn_Nations_Cup">Autumn Nations Cup</a>. England defeated <a href="/wiki/Georgia_national_rugby_union_team">Georgia</a>, Wales and Ireland before facing France in the final match, winning 22-19 after extra time at Twickenham to secure the tournament.
</p><p>England finished fifth in the <a href="/wiki/2021_Six_Nations_Championship">2021 Six Nations Championship</a>, beating France and Italy but losing to all three home nations for the first time since 1976 and conceding defeat to Scotland at Twickenham for the first time since 1983. In the <a href="/wiki/2021_end-of-year_rugby_union_internationals">2021 autumn internationals</a> England played three matches at Twickenham. They secured a 69-3 victory over Tonga, recorded their eighth successive victory against Australia and defeated world champions South Africa 27-26.
</p><p>England finished third in the <a href="/wiki/2022_Six_Nations_Championship">2022 Six Nations Championship</a> after defeating Italy and Wales but losing to Ireland, France and Scotland. 
</p>
<h2>Home stadium[<a href="/w/index.php?title=England_national_rugby_union_team&amp;action=edit&amp;section=4">edit</a>]</h2>
<div><p><a href="/wiki/File:Stade_de_Twickenham_%C3%A0_Londres.jpg"></a></p><div><p>Aerial view of Twickenham Stadium</p></div></div>
<div><p><a href="/wiki/File:Twickenham_Rugby_Pitch_-_England_vs_Australia.png"></a></p><div><p>Twickenham before a match in November 2012</p></div></div>
<p>Twickenham is the largest dedicated rugby stadium in the world. In the early years, the English rugby team used a number of venues in several different locations around England before settling at Twickenham Stadium in 1910. After sell-out matches at <a href="/wiki/Crystal_Palace_National_Sports_Centre">Crystal Palace</a> against New Zealand in 1905 and South Africa in 1906, the <a href="/wiki/Rugby_Football_Union">Rugby Football Union</a> (RFU) decided to invest in their own ground and arranged for sportsman and entrepreneur <a href="/wiki/Billy_Williams_(cricketer,_born_1861)">Billy Williams</a> to find a home ground for English Rugby. The land for the ground was purchased in 1907 for <a href="/wiki/Pound_sterling">£</a>5,572 12<a href="/wiki/Shilling">s</a> and 6<a href="/wiki/Old_penny_sterling">d</a>, and construction began the following year.<sup><a href="#cite_note-Twickenhamhist-63">[63]</a></sup>
</p><p>The first international match at Twickenham took place on 15 January 1910 between England and Wales. The home team ran out winners 11–6, beating Wales for the first time since 1898.<sup><a href="#cite_note-FirstTest-64">[64]</a></sup> The stadium was expanded in 1927 and again in 1932, but there were no further upgrades until the 1990s when new North, East and West stands were built;<sup><a href="#cite_note-Twickenhamhist-63">[63]</a></sup> a South stand was erected in 2005 and 2006 to make the stadium into a complete bowl. England played their first test match at the redeveloped Twickenham on 5 November 2006 against the All Blacks,<sup><a href="#cite_note-CeleMatch-65">[65]</a></sup> who won the match 41–20, dominating the England team in front of a record crowd of 82,076.<sup><a href="#cite_note-RuthlessABs-66">[66]</a></sup>
</p><p>The pitch at Twickenham was replaced in June 2012 with a hybrid 'Desso' type, which uses artificial fibres entwined with real grass. This type of pitch surface is particularly hard wearing in wet conditions.<sup><a href="#cite_note-67">[67]</a></sup>
</p>
<h3>England home matches outside Twickenham[<a href="/w/index.php?title=England_national_rugby_union_team&amp;action=edit&amp;section=5">edit</a>]</h3>
<p>Although England have played home matches almost exclusively at Twickenham since 1910, they have occasionally used alternative English venues. England home matches have been hosted at Leicester's <a href="/wiki/Welford_Road_Stadium">Welford Road</a> (1923), London's <a href="/wiki/Wembley_Stadium_(1923)">Wembley Stadium</a> (1992), Manchester's <a href="/wiki/Old_Trafford">Old Trafford</a> (1997 and 2009), Huddersfield's <a href="/wiki/McAlpine_Stadium">McAlpine Stadium</a> (twice in 1998),<sup><a href="#cite_note-Huddersfield-68">[68]</a></sup> Manchester's <a href="/wiki/City_of_Manchester_Stadium">Etihad Stadium</a> (2015), and <a href="/wiki/St_James%27_Park">St James' Park</a> in Newcastle upon Tyne (2019).
</p>
<table>
<tbody><tr>
<th>Date</th>
<th>Team</th>
<th>Result</th>
<th>Venue</th>
<th>Ref.
</th></tr>
<tr>
<td>10 February 1923
</td>
<td> <a href="/wiki/Ireland_national_rugby_union_team">Ireland</a>
</td>
<td>23–5
</td>
<td><a href="/wiki/Welford_Road_Stadium">Welford Road</a>, Leicester
</td>
<td><sup><a href="#cite_note-rugbydataWelfordRoad-69">[69]</a></sup>
</td></tr>
<tr>
<td>17 October 1992
</td>
<td> <a href="/wiki/Canada_national_rugby_union_team">Canada</a>
</td>
<td>26–13
</td>
<td><a href="/wiki/Wembley_Stadium_(1923)">Wembley Stadium</a>, London
</td>
<td><sup><a href="#cite_note-rugbydataWembleyStadium-70">[70]</a></sup>
</td></tr>
<tr>
<td>22 November 1997
</td>
<td> <a href="/wiki/New_Zealand_national_rugby_union_team">New Zealand</a>
</td>
<td>8–25
</td>
<td><a href="/wiki/Old_Trafford">Old Trafford</a>, Manchester
</td>
<td><sup><a href="#cite_note-rugbydataOldTrafford-71">[71]</a></sup>
</td></tr>
<tr>
<td>14 November 1998
</td>
<td> <a href="/wiki/Netherlands_national_rugby_union_team">Netherlands</a>
</td>
<td>110–0
</td>
<td><a href="/wiki/Kirklees_Stadium">McAlpine Stadium</a>, Huddersfield
</td>
<td><sup><a href="#cite_note-rugbydataMcAlpineStadium-72">[72]</a></sup>
</td></tr>
<tr>
<td>22 November 1998
</td>
<td> <a href="/wiki/Italy_national_rugby_union_team">Italy</a>
</td>
<td>23–15
</td>
<td><a href="/wiki/Kirklees_Stadium">McAlpine Stadium</a>, Huddersfield
</td>
<td><sup><a href="#cite_note-rugbydataMcAlpineStadium-72">[72]</a></sup>
</td></tr>
<tr>
<td>6 June 2009
</td>
<td> <a href="/wiki/Argentina_national_rugby_union_team">Argentina</a>
</td>
<td>37–15
</td>
<td><a href="/wiki/Old_Trafford">Old Trafford</a>, Manchester<sup><a href="#endnote_a">[a]</a></sup>
</td>
<td><sup><a href="#cite_note-rugbydataOldTrafford-71">[71]</a></sup>
</td></tr>
<tr>
<td>10 October 2015
</td>
<td> <a href="/wiki/Uruguay_national_rugby_union_team">Uruguay</a>
</td>
<td>60–3
</td>
<td><a href="/wiki/City_of_Manchester_Stadium">Etihad Stadium</a>, Manchester<sup><a href="#endnote_b">[b]</a></sup>
</td>
<td><sup><a href="#cite_note-73">[73]</a></sup>
</td></tr>
<tr>
<td>6 September 2019
</td>
<td> <a href="/wiki/Italy_national_rugby_union_team">Italy</a>
</td>
<td>37–0
</td>
<td><a href="/wiki/St_James%27_Park">St James' Park</a>, Newcastle upon Tyne
</td>
<td><sup><a href="#cite_note-74">[74]</a></sup>
</td></tr></tbody></table>
<p><sup>a</sup> The first of a two-test series, this match was originally scheduled to be held in Argentina but moved by the <a href="/wiki/Argentine_Rugby_Union">Argentine Rugby Union</a> for financial reasons.<sup><a href="#cite_note-75">[75]</a></sup><br />
<sup>b</sup> This was a Pool A match at the <a href="/wiki/2015_Rugby_World_Cup">2015 Rugby World Cup</a>.
</p><p>England also played a Five Nations match against Wales at Wembley Stadium on 11 April 1999. Wales was the "home team" on this occasion because Wembley was being used as a temporary base while their <a href="/wiki/Millennium_Stadium">new stadium</a> in Cardiff was being constructed. Wales won the match 32–31.<sup><a href="#cite_note-76">[76]</a></sup><sup><a href="#cite_note-77">[77]</a></sup>
</p>
<h3>"Swing Low, Sweet Chariot"[<a href="/w/index.php?title=England_national_rugby_union_team&amp;action=edit&amp;section=6">edit</a>]</h3>
<p>"Swing Low, Sweet Chariot" is commonly sung at England fixtures – especially at Twickenham. In the last match of the 1988 season, against Ireland, three of England's tries were scored by <a href="/wiki/Chris_Oti">Chris Oti</a>. A group of boys from the Benedictine school <a href="/wiki/Douai_School">Douai</a>, following a tradition at their school games, sang the song on his final try, and other spectators around the ground joined in.<sup><a href="#cite_note-78">[78]</a></sup><sup><a href="#cite_note-SwingLow2-79">[79]</a></sup> Since then "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot" became a song to sing at England home games.<sup><a href="#cite_note-80">[80]</a></sup> In 1991, the RFU marketing director Mike Coley for the team to launch a song leading up to that year's Rugby World Cup. He had wanted to use "<a href="/wiki/And_did_those_feet_in_ancient_time">Jerusalem</a>", but it was used in the <a href="/wiki/1990%E2%80%9391_Challenge_Cup">Rugby League Challenge Cup</a> final that year, so the song was changed at short notice to "Swing Low".<sup>[<i><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed">citation needed</a></i>]</sup> There were a number of versions recorded and the version released did reach the top 40 in the <a href="/wiki/UK_Singles_Chart">UK Singles Chart</a> during the competition.<sup><a href="#cite_note-81">[81]</a></sup>
</p>
<h2>Strip[<a href="/w/index.php?title=England_national_rugby_union_team&amp;action=edit&amp;section=7">edit</a>]</h2>
<div><p><a href="/wiki/File:Tom_Palmer_2011_cropped.jpg"></a></p></div>
<p>England rugby union players typically wear all-white jerseys and white shorts, with predominantly navy blue socks. The emblem on the jerseys is a red <a href="/wiki/Rose">rose</a>. As of 1 September 2020, the strip is manufactured by <a href="/wiki/Umbro">Umbro</a> and the shirt sponsor is <a href="/wiki/O2_(brand)">O<sub>2</sub></a>. The <a href="/wiki/Away_colours">away strip</a> is usually red or dark grey (described as "anthracite"); prior to the introduction of the grey strip, red was the traditional change colour. Navy blue has also been used in the past and was reintroduced for the 2016–17 and 2020–21 seasons.<sup>[<i><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed">citation needed</a></i>]</sup> Purple was used during the 2009 autumn internationals, reflecting the traditional colour of the original England <a href="/wiki/Tracksuit">tracksuits</a> from the 1960s until the 1980s.<sup>[<i><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed">citation needed</a></i>]</sup> The away strip was black for the first time during the <a href="/wiki/2011_Rugby_World_Cup">2011 Rugby World Cup</a>.<sup>[<i><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed">citation needed</a></i>]</sup>
</p>
<div><p><a href="/wiki/File:England_rugby_shirt_rose_1871.svg"></a></p><div><p>The red rose has been the emblem of England since the first international v Scotland in 1871</p></div></div>
<p>The <a href="/wiki/Rugby_Football_Union">Rugby Football Union</a> (RFU) had created the national side's emblem prior to an English team being sent to <a href="/wiki/Edinburgh">Edinburgh</a> to play a Scottish side. A red rose was chosen to be the side's emblem.<sup><a href="#cite_note-rose-82">[82]</a></sup> The white kit worn by the national team was taken from the kit used at <a href="/wiki/Rugby_School">Rugby School</a>.<sup><a href="#cite_note-rose-82">[82]</a></sup> Alfred Wright, an employee of the Rugby Football Union, is credited with the standardisation and new design of the rose, which up until 1920 had undergone many variations in its depiction.<sup><a href="#cite_note-rose-82">[82]</a></sup> The Wright design is thought to have been used without minor alteration until the late 1990s.<sup><a href="#cite_note-rose-82">[82]</a></sup> It was not until 1997 that the rose was modernised,<sup><a href="#cite_note-83">[83]</a></sup> when Nike became the official strip supplier (with the stem section of the rose being green rather than brown as previously).<sup>[<i><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed">citation needed</a></i>]</sup>
</p><p>In 2003, England first used a skin-tight strip. This was intended to make it more difficult for the opposition to grasp the shirt when tackling.<sup><a href="#cite_note-TightStrip-84">[84]</a></sup>
</p><p>The current England strip for 2020–21 is made by Umbro. It features plain white shorts and a plain white jersey with red seams on the neck and sleeves. The current alternative kit is blue and features the same red seams. Shorts are also blue. Home socks are blue with a white top, alternative socks are plain blue.<sup><a href="#cite_note-85">[85]</a></sup>
</p>
<h3>Kit providers[<a href="/w/index.php?title=England_national_rugby_union_team&amp;action=edit&amp;section=8">edit</a>]</h3>
<table>
<tbody><tr>
<th>Year</th>
<th>Kit manufacturer</th>
<th>Main shirt sponsor
</th></tr>
<tr>
<td>1960s</td>
<td><a href="/wiki/England"></a> <a href="/wiki/Lillywhites">Lillywhites</a><sup><a href="#cite_note-86">[86]</a></sup></td>
<td>
</td></tr>
<tr>
<td>1970s—1983</td>
<td><a href="/wiki/England"></a> <a href="/wiki/Umbro">Umbro</a><sup><a href="#cite_note-87">[87]</a></sup></td>
<td>
</td></tr>
<tr>
<td>1984—1990</td>
<td><a href="/wiki/England"></a> <a href="/wiki/Bukta">Bukta</a></td>
<td>
</td></tr>
<tr>
<td>1991–1997</td>
<td><a href="/wiki/England"></a> <a href="/wiki/Cotton_Traders">Cotton Traders</a></td>
<td><a href="/wiki/BT_Cellnet">BT Cellnet</a> (1996-Jun 2002)
</td></tr>
<tr>
<td>1997–2012</td>
<td><a href="/wiki/United_States"></a> <a href="/wiki/Nike,_Inc.">Nike</a></td>
<td><a href="/wiki/O2_(brand)">O2</a> (Jun 2002-present)
</td></tr>
<tr>
<td>2012–2020</td>
<td><a href="/wiki/New_Zealand"></a> <a href="/wiki/Canterbury_of_New_Zealand">Canterbury</a><sup><a href="#cite_note-88">[88]</a></sup>
</td></tr>
<tr>
<td>2020–present</td>
<td><a href="/wiki/England"></a> <a href="/wiki/Umbro">Umbro</a><sup><a href="#cite_note-89">[89]</a></sup><sup><a href="#cite_note-90">[90]</a></sup>
</td></tr></tbody></table>
<h2>Record[<a href="/w/index.php?title=England_national_rugby_union_team&amp;action=edit&amp;section=9">edit</a>]</h2>
<h3>Six Nations[<a href="/w/index.php?title=England_national_rugby_union_team&amp;action=edit&amp;section=10">edit</a>]</h3>
<p>England competes annually in the <a href="/wiki/Six_Nations_Championship">Six Nations Championship</a>, which is played against five other European nations: France, Ireland, Italy, Scotland, and Wales. The Six Nations started out as the Home Nations Championship in 1883 which England won with a <a href="/wiki/Triple_Crown_(rugby_union)">Triple Crown</a>. England have won the title outright 29 times (a record for the tournament) and shared victory ten times. Their longest wait between championships was 18 years (1892–1910). During the Six Nations, England also contests the <a href="/wiki/Calcutta_Cup">Calcutta Cup</a> with Scotland (which England first won in 1880) and the <a href="/wiki/Millennium_Trophy">Millennium Trophy</a> with Ireland (which England first won in 1988). The matches between England and France are traditionally known as "<a href="/wiki/Le_Crunch">Le Crunch</a>".
</p>
<table>
<tbody><tr>
<th> 
</th>
<th><br /><a>England</a>
</th>
<th><br /><a href="/wiki/France_national_rugby_union_team">France</a>
</th>
<th><br /><a href="/wiki/Ireland_national_rugby_union_team">Ireland</a>
</th>
<th><br /><a href="/wiki/Italy_national_rugby_union_team">Italy</a>
</th>
<th><br /><a href="/wiki/Scotland_national_rugby_union_team">Scotland</a>
</th>
<th><br /><a href="/wiki/Wales_national_rugby_union_team">Wales</a>
</th></tr>
<tr>
<td><b>Tournaments</b></td>
<td>125</td>
<td>92</td>
<td>127</td>
<td>22</td>
<td>127</td>
<td>127
</td></tr>
<tr>
<td><b>Outright wins (shared wins)</b>
</td></tr>
<tr>
<td>Home Nations</td>
<td>5 (4)</td>
<td>—</td>
<td>4 (3)</td>
<td>—</td>
<td>9 (2)</td>
<td>7 (3)
</td></tr>
<tr>
<td>Five Nations</td>
<td>17 (6)</td>
<td>12 (8)</td>
<td>6 (5)</td>
<td>—</td>
<td>5 (6)</td>
<td>15 (8)
</td></tr>
<tr>
<td>Six Nations</td>
<td>7</td>
<td>6</td>
<td>4</td>
<td>0</td>
<td>0</td>
<td>6
</td></tr>
<tr>
<td><b>Overall</b></td>
<td><b>29</b> (10)</td>
<td><b>18</b> (8)</td>
<td><b>14</b> (8)</td>
<td><b>0</b> (0)</td>
<td><b>14</b> (8)</td>
<td><b>28</b> (11)
</td></tr>
<tr>
<td><b><a href="/wiki/Grand_Slam_(rugby_union)">Grand Slams</a></b>
</td></tr>
<tr>
<td>Home Nations</td>
<td>0</td>
<td>—</td>
<td>0</td>
<td>—</td>
<td>0</td>
<td>2
</td></tr>
<tr>
<td>Five Nations</td>
<td>11</td>
<td>6</td>
<td>1</td>
<td>—</td>
<td>3</td>
<td>6
</td></tr>
<tr>
<td>Six Nations</td>
<td>2</td>
<td>4</td>
<td>2</td>
<td>0</td>
<td>0</td>
<td>4
</td></tr>
<tr>
<td><b>Overall</b></td>
<td><b>13</b></td>
<td><b>10</b></td>
<td><b>3</b></td>
<td><b>0</b></td>
<td><b>3</b></td>
<td><b>12</b>
</td></tr>
<tr>
<td><b><a href="/wiki/Triple_Crown_(rugby_union)">Triple Crowns</a></b>
</td></tr>
<tr>
<td>Home Nations</td>
<td>5</td>
<td>—</td>
<td>2</td>
<td>—</td>
<td>7</td>
<td>6
</td></tr>
<tr>
<td>Five Nations</td>
<td>16</td>
<td>—</td>
<td>4</td>
<td>—</td>
<td>3</td>
<td>11
</td></tr>
<tr>
<td>Six Nations</td>
<td>5</td>
<td>—</td>
<td>6</td>
<td>—</td>
<td>0</td>
<td>5
</td></tr>
<tr>
<td><b>Overall</b></td>
<td><b>26</b></td>
<td>—</td>
<td><b>12</b></td>
<td>—</td>
<td><b>10</b></td>
<td><b>22</b>
</td></tr>
<tr>
<td><b><a href="/wiki/Wooden_spoon_(award)#Rugby_union">Wooden Spoons</a></b>
</td></tr>
<tr>
<td>Home Nations</td>
<td>7</td>
<td>—</td>
<td>10</td>
<td>—</td>
<td>5</td>
<td>2
</td></tr>
<tr>
<td>Five Nations</td>
<td>10</td>
<td>9</td>
<td>15</td>
<td>—</td>
<td>15</td>
<td>6
</td></tr>
<tr>
<td>Six Nations</td>
<td>0</td>
<td>1</td>
<td>0</td>
<td>17</td>
<td>4</td>
<td>1
</td></tr>
<tr>
<td><b>Overall</b></td>
<td><b>17</b></td>
<td><b>10</b></td>
<td><b>25</b></td>
<td><b>17</b></td>
<td><b>24</b></td>
<td><b>9</b>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<p><b>Note:</b> England are the only team to have won more than two successive grand slams, doing so in 1913–1914, 1923–1924 and 1991–1992; while Wales and France the only other teams to have done so twice, in 1908–1909 for Wales and 1997–1998 for France.
</p>
<h3>Rugby World Cup[<a href="/w/index.php?title=England_national_rugby_union_team&amp;action=edit&amp;section=11">edit</a>]</h3>
<table>
<tbody><tr>
<th><a href="/wiki/Rugby_World_Cup">Rugby World Cup</a>
</th>
<th>
</th>
<th><a href="/wiki/Rugby_World_Cup_qualification">Qualification</a>
</th></tr>
<tr>
<th>Year
</th>
<th>Round
</th>
<th><abbr>Pld</abbr>
</th>
<th><abbr>W</abbr>
</th>
<th><abbr>D</abbr>
</th>
<th><abbr>L</abbr>
</th>
<th><abbr>PF</abbr>
</th>
<th><abbr>PA</abbr>
</th>
<th>Squad
</th>
<th><abbr>Pos</abbr>
</th>
<th><abbr>Pld</abbr>
</th>
<th><abbr>W</abbr>
</th>
<th><abbr>D</abbr>
</th>
<th><abbr>L</abbr>
</th>
<th><abbr>PF</abbr>
</th>
<th><abbr>PA</abbr>
</th></tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="/wiki/New_Zealand"></a> <a href="/wiki/Australia"></a> <a href="/wiki/1987_Rugby_World_Cup">1987</a>
</td>
<td>Quarter-finals
</td>
<td>4
</td>
<td>2
</td>
<td>0
</td>
<td>2
</td>
<td>103
</td>
<td>48
</td>
<td><a href="/wiki/1987_Rugby_World_Cup_squads#England">Squad</a>
</td>
<td><i>Invited</i>
</td></tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="/wiki/England"></a> <a href="/wiki/France"></a> <a href="/wiki/Ireland"></a> <a href="/wiki/Scotland"></a> <a href="/wiki/Wales"></a> <a href="/wiki/1991_Rugby_World_Cup">1991</a>
</td>
<td><b><a href="/wiki/1991_Rugby_World_Cup_Final">Runners-up</a></b>
</td>
<td><b>6</b>
</td>
<td><b>4</b>
</td>
<td><b>0</b>
</td>
<td><b>2</b>
</td>
<td><b>119</b>
</td>
<td><b>61</b>
</td>
<td><b><a href="/wiki/1991_Rugby_World_Cup_squads#England">Squad</a></b>
</td>
<td><i>Automatically qualified</i>
</td></tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="/wiki/South_Africa"></a> <a href="/wiki/1995_Rugby_World_Cup">1995</a>
</td>
<td><b><a href="/wiki/1995_Rugby_World_Cup#Third-place_play-off">Fourth Place</a></b>
</td>
<td><b>6</b>
</td>
<td><b>4</b>
</td>
<td><b>0</b>
</td>
<td><b>2</b>
</td>
<td><b>158</b>
</td>
<td><b>146</b>
</td>
<td><b><a href="/wiki/1995_Rugby_World_Cup_squads#England">Squad</a></b>
</td>
<td><i>Automatically qualified</i>
</td></tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="/wiki/Wales"></a> <a href="/wiki/1999_Rugby_World_Cup">1999</a>
</td>
<td>Quarter-finals
</td>
<td>5
</td>
<td>3
</td>
<td>0
</td>
<td>2
</td>
<td>250
</td>
<td>115
</td>
<td><a href="/wiki/1999_Rugby_World_Cup_squads#England">Squad</a>
</td>
<td>1st
</td>
<td>2
</td>
<td>2
</td>
<td>0
</td>
<td>0
</td>
<td>133
</td>
<td>15
</td></tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="/wiki/Australia"></a> <a href="/wiki/2003_Rugby_World_Cup">2003</a>
</td>
<td><b><a href="/wiki/2003_Rugby_World_Cup_Final">Champions</a></b>
</td>
<td><b>7</b>
</td>
<td><b>7</b>
</td>
<td><b>0</b>
</td>
<td><b>0</b>
</td>
<td><b>327</b>
</td>
<td><b>88</b>
</td>
<td><b><a href="/wiki/2003_Rugby_World_Cup_squads#England">Squad</a></b>
</td>
<td><i>Automatically qualified</i>
</td></tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="/wiki/France"></a> <a href="/wiki/2007_Rugby_World_Cup">2007</a>
</td>
<td><b><a href="/wiki/2007_Rugby_World_Cup_Final">Runners-up</a></b>
</td>
<td><b>7</b>
</td>
<td><b>5</b>
</td>
<td><b>0</b>
</td>
<td><b>2</b>
</td>
<td><b>140</b>
</td>
<td><b>122</b>
</td>
<td><b><a href="/wiki/2007_Rugby_World_Cup_squads#England">Squad</a></b>
</td>
<td><i>Automatically qualified</i>
</td></tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="/wiki/New_Zealand"></a> <a href="/wiki/2011_Rugby_World_Cup">2011</a>
</td>
<td>Quarter-finals
</td>
<td>5
</td>
<td>4
</td>
<td>0
</td>
<td>1
</td>
<td>149
</td>
<td>53
</td>
<td><a href="/wiki/2011_Rugby_World_Cup_squads#England">Squad</a>
</td>
<td><i>Automatically qualified</i>
</td></tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="/wiki/England"></a> <a href="/wiki/2015_Rugby_World_Cup">2015</a>
</td>
<td>Pool Stage
</td>
<td>4
</td>
<td>2
</td>
<td>0
</td>
<td>2
</td>
<td>133
</td>
<td>75
</td>
<td><a href="/wiki/2015_Rugby_World_Cup_squads#England">Squad</a>
</td>
<td><i>Automatically qualified</i>
</td></tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="/wiki/Japan"></a> <a href="/wiki/2019_Rugby_World_Cup">2019</a>
</td>
<td><b><a href="/wiki/2019_Rugby_World_Cup_Final">Runners-up</a></b>
</td>
<td>6
</td>
<td>5
</td>
<td>0
</td>
<td>1
</td>
<td>190
</td>
<td>75
</td>
<td><b><a href="/wiki/2019_Rugby_World_Cup_squads#England">Squad</a></b>
</td>
<td><i>Automatically qualified</i>
</td></tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="/wiki/France"></a> <a href="/wiki/2023_Rugby_World_Cup">2023</a>
</td>
<td>
</td>
<td>
</td>
<td>
</td>
<td>
</td>
<td>
</td>
<td>
</td>
<td>
</td>
<td>
</td>
<td><i>Automatically qualified</i>
</td></tr>
<tr>
<th>Total
</th>
<th>Champions
</th>
<th>50
</th>
<th>36
</th>
<th>0
</th>
<th>14
</th>
<th>1569
</th>
<th>783
</th>
<th>
</th>
<th>
</th>
<th>2
</th>
<th>2
</th>
<th>0
</th>
<th>0
</th>
<th>133
</th>
<th>15
</th></tr>
<tr>
<td><div><ul><li>  <b>Champions</b></li><li>  Runners-up</li><li>  Third place</li><li>  Fourth place</li><li>  Home venue</li></ul></div>
</td></tr></tbody></table>
<p>England have contested every <a href="/wiki/Rugby_World_Cup">Rugby World Cup</a> since the tournament began in 1987, reaching the final four times and winning the title in <a href="/wiki/2003_Rugby_World_Cup">2003</a>.
</p><p>In the <a href="/wiki/1987_Rugby_World_Cup">inaugural tournament</a>, England finished second in their pool before losing to Wales in the quarter-finals. They again finished pool runners-up in <a href="/wiki/1991_Rugby_World_Cup">1991</a> but recovered to beat France in the quarter-finals, and then Scotland in the semi-finals, en route to a 12–6 final defeat to Australia at Twickenham on 2 November 1991.
</p><p>In <a href="/wiki/1995_Rugby_World_Cup">1995</a>, England topped their pool and defeated Australia 25–22 at the quarter-final stage before being beaten by the All Blacks in the semi-final. Their <a href="/wiki/1995_Rugby_World_Cup#Third-place_play-off">third-place play-off</a> match against France was lost 19–9.
</p><p>In the <a href="/wiki/1999_Rugby_World_Cup">1999 tournament</a>, England again finished second in their pool. Although they proceeded to win a play-off game against Fiji, they went out of the tournament in the quarter-finals, losing 44–21 to South Africa.
</p><p>England came top of their pool in <a href="/wiki/2003_Rugby_World_Cup">2003</a> and progressed to the final, beating Wales and France in the quarter- and semi-finals. With a drop goal in the last minute of extra time, England won the final 20–17 against Australia in Sydney on 22 November 2003.
</p><p>England made a poor start to their defence of the World Cup in <a href="/wiki/2007_Rugby_World_Cup">2007</a>, with a below par victory over the United States and a heavy 36–0 defeat to South Africa, leaving the title holders on the brink of elimination at the pool stage. Improved performances against Samoa and Tonga ensured that England again reached the knockout stage as pool runners-up, before a surprise 12–10 defeat of Australia in the quarter-finals followed by a narrow 14–9 victory over the host nation carried England to a second successive final appearance. In the final, held in Paris on 20 October, England lost 15–6 to South Africa, their second defeat by the Springboks during the 2007 tournament.
</p><p>England reached the quarter-final stage in <a href="/wiki/2011_Rugby_World_Cup">2011</a>, losing 19–12 to France.
</p><p>In <a href="/wiki/2015_Rugby_World_Cup">2015</a>, England became the first sole host nation to fail to qualify for the knockout stage, after losing to Wales and Australia in the pool stage.
</p><p>In <a href="/wiki/2019_Rugby_World_Cup">2019</a>, England finished top of their pool before defeating Australia and New Zealand in the knockout stage. On 2 November 2019, they suffered a 32–12 final defeat to South Africa in Yokohama, becoming World Cup runners-up for the third time.
</p><p>England's <a href="/wiki/Jonny_Wilkinson">Jonny Wilkinson</a> is the highest points scorer in the Rugby World Cup, having scored 277 points between 1999 and 2011. England have the fourth most points and the fourth most tries scored in the Rugby World Cup.
</p>
<h3>Overall[<a href="/w/index.php?title=England_national_rugby_union_team&amp;action=edit&amp;section=12">edit</a>]</h3>
<table>
<tbody><tr>
<th><div><p>Men's <a href="/wiki/World_Rugby_Rankings">World Rugby Rankings</a></p><div><ul><li><a href="/wiki/Template:World_Rugby_Rankings"><abbr>v</abbr></a></li><li><a href="/wiki/Template_talk:World_Rugby_Rankings"><abbr>t</abbr></a></li><li><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Template:World_Rugby_Rankings&amp;action=edit"><abbr>e</abbr></a></li></ul></div></div> Top 20 as of 16 January 2023<sup><a href="#cite_note-runion_rankings-91">[91]</a></sup>
</th></tr>
<tr>
<th>Rank</th>
<th>Change*</th>
<th>Team</th>
<th>Points
</th></tr>
<tr>
<th>1
</th>
<td></td>
<td> <a href="/wiki/Ireland_national_rugby_union_team">Ireland</a></td>
<td>090.63
</td></tr>
<tr>
<th>2
</th>
<td></td>
<td> <a href="/wiki/France_national_rugby_union_team">France</a></td>
<td>090.01
</td></tr>
<tr>
<th>3
</th>
<td></td>
<td> <a href="/wiki/New_Zealand_national_rugby_union_team">New Zealand</a></td>
<td>088.98
</td></tr>
<tr>
<th>4
</th>
<td></td>
<td> <a href="/wiki/South_Africa_national_rugby_union_team">South Africa</a></td>
<td>088.97
</td></tr>
<tr>
<th>5
</th>
<td></td>
<td> <a>England</a></td>
<td>083.66
</td></tr>
<tr>
<th>6
</th>
<td>3</td>
<td> <a href="/wiki/Australia_national_rugby_union_team">Australia</a></td>
<td>081.80
</td></tr>
<tr>
<th>7
</th>
<td>1</td>
<td> <a href="/wiki/Scotland_national_rugby_union_team">Scotland</a></td>
<td>081.55
</td></tr>
<tr>
<th>8
</th>
<td>1</td>
<td> <a href="/wiki/Argentina_national_rugby_union_team">Argentina</a></td>
<td>080.72
</td></tr>
<tr>
<th>9
</th>
<td></td>
<td> <a href="/wiki/Wales_national_rugby_union_team">Wales</a></td>
<td>078.09
</td></tr>
<tr>
<th>10
</th>
<td></td>
<td> <a href="/wiki/Japan_national_rugby_union_team">Japan</a></td>
<td>077.39
</td></tr>
<tr>
<th>11
</th>
<td></td>
<td> <a href="/wiki/Samoa_national_rugby_union_team">Samoa</a></td>
<td>076.03
</td></tr>
<tr>
<th>12
</th>
<td></td>
<td> <a href="/wiki/Italy_national_rugby_union_team">Italy</a></td>
<td>075.95
</td></tr>
<tr>
<th>13
</th>
<td></td>
<td> <a href="/wiki/Georgia_national_rugby_union_team">Georgia</a></td>
<td>075.19
</td></tr>
<tr>
<th>14
</th>
<td></td>
<td> <a href="/wiki/Fiji_national_rugby_union_team">Fiji</a></td>
<td>074.84
</td></tr>
<tr>
<th>15
</th>
<td></td>
<td> <a href="/wiki/Tonga_national_rugby_union_team">Tonga</a></td>
<td>071.21
</td></tr>
<tr>
<th>16
</th>
<td></td>
<td> <a href="/wiki/Spain_national_rugby_union_team">Spain</a></td>
<td>067.17
</td></tr>
<tr>
<th>17
</th>
<td></td>
<td> <a href="/wiki/Uruguay_national_rugby_union_team">Uruguay</a></td>
<td>066.24
</td></tr>
<tr>
<th>18
</th>
<td></td>
<td> <a href="/wiki/Portugal_national_rugby_union_team">Portugal</a></td>
<td>065.97
</td></tr>
<tr>
<th>19
</th>
<td></td>
<td> <a href="/wiki/United_States_national_rugby_union_team">United States</a></td>
<td>065.92
</td></tr>
<tr>
<th>20
</th>
<td></td>
<td> <a href="/wiki/Romania_national_rugby_union_team">Romania</a></td>
<td>064.79
</td></tr>
<tr>
<th><small>* Change from the previous week</small>
</th></tr>
<tr>
<td><b>England's historical rankings</b>
</td></tr>
<tr>
<td><div><p><small>
See or edit <a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Data:Men%27s_World_Rugby_rankings.tab">source data</a>.</small></p></div>
</td></tr>
<tr>
<td><small><i>Source: <a href="/wiki/World_Rugby">World Rugby</a><sup><a href="#cite_note-runion_rankings-91">[91]</a></sup><br />Graph updated to 16 January 2023</i></small>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<p>When the <a href="/wiki/World_Rugby_Rankings">World Rugby Rankings</a> were first introduced in early September 2003, England were ranked 1st; they fell to 2nd for a week in November 2003 before regaining 1st place. They again dropped to 2nd in the rankings, and then to 3rd, from mid-June 2004. Following the <a href="/wiki/2005_Six_Nations_Championship">2005 Six Nations Championship</a>, they fell to 6th in the world rankings, where they remained until moving up to 5th place in December of that year. After a decline in form in 2006, England finished the year ranked 7th; however, they bounced back to 3rd in 2007 due to their good run in that year's <a href="/wiki/2007_Rugby_World_Cup">World Cup</a>, where they finished runners-up.
</p><p>Their ranking slipped again in 2008 and during the <a href="/wiki/2009_Six_Nations_Championship">2009 Six Nations Championship</a> they dropped to their lowest ranking of 8th, where they remained for the duration of the <a href="/wiki/2009_end_of_year_rugby_tests">2009 Autumn internationals</a>. After a brief resurgence that saw them rise to a ranking of 4th in the world, England again slipped following a poor showing at the <a href="/wiki/2011_Rugby_World_Cup">2011 Rugby World Cup</a> and were ranked 6th in February 2012. The team entered the <a href="/wiki/2015_Rugby_World_Cup">2015 Rugby World Cup</a> ranked 4th, but after failing to progress beyond the pool stage, England again sank to 8th in the world in November 2015. In March 2016, after securing the Grand Slam in the <a href="/wiki/2016_Six_Nations_Championship">2016 Six Nations Championship</a>, England rose to second place, where they remained the following year after winning the <a href="/wiki/2017_Six_Nations_Championship">2017 Six Nations Championship</a>. A poor fifth-place performance in the <a href="/wiki/2018_Six_Nations_Championship">2018 Six Nations Championship</a> saw them fall to sixth place.
</p><p>In October 2019, England defeated New Zealand in the semi-final of the <a href="/wiki/2019_Rugby_World_Cup">2019 Rugby World Cup</a> to top the World Rugby Rankings for the first time since 2004.<sup><a href="#cite_note-92">[92]</a></sup> After losing the final to South Africa, England were ranked third. In November 2020, they regained second place following New Zealand's loss to Argentina.
</p><p>During the 2021 Six Nations, a fifth place finish saw England fall from second to third after defeats to Scotland, Wales and Ireland. After Australia won 5 matches in a row during the 2021 Rugby Championship, England fell to fourth until defeats of Australia and South Africa in the 2021 Autumn Nations Series saw them regain third place.
</p><p>During the 2022 Six Nations, England again suffered three defeats to Scotland, Ireland and France and fell from third to fifth.
</p><p>England have won 430 of their 772 <a href="/wiki/Test_match_(rugby_union)">test matches</a>; a winning record of 59.11%.<sup><a href="#cite_note-EnglandStats1-93">[93]</a></sup> Below is a summary table of capped England matches up to 26 November 2022. Only fixtures recognised as test matches by the RFU are included.
</p>
<table>
<tbody><tr>
<th>Opponent
</th>
<th><abbr>Pld</abbr>
</th>
<th><abbr>W</abbr>
</th>
<th><abbr>D</abbr>
</th>
<th><abbr>L</abbr>
</th>
<th><abbr>W%</abbr>
</th>
<th><abbr>PF</abbr>
</th>
<th><abbr>PA</abbr>
</th>
<th><abbr>PD</abbr>
</th></tr>
<tr>
<td> <a href="/wiki/Argentina_national_rugby_union_team">Argentina</a>
</td>
<td><a href="/wiki/History_of_rugby_union_matches_between_Argentina_and_England">25</a>
</td>
<td>19
</td>
<td>1
</td>
<td>5
</td>
<td>79.14%
</td>
<td>677
</td>
<td>403
</td>
<td>275
</td></tr>
<tr>
<td> <a href="/wiki/Australia_national_rugby_union_team">Australia</a>
</td>
<td><a href="/wiki/History_of_rugby_union_matches_between_Australia_and_England">55</a>
</td>
<td>28
</td>
<td>1
</td>
<td>26
</td>
<td>51.04%
</td>
<td>1034
</td>
<td>1,155
</td>
<td>−152
</td></tr>
<tr>
<td> <a href="/wiki/Canada_national_rugby_union_team">Canada</a>
</td>
<td>7
</td>
<td>7
</td>
<td>0
</td>
<td>0
</td>
<td>100.00%
</td>
<td>343
</td>
<td>87
</td>
<td>256
</td></tr>
<tr>
<td> <a href="/wiki/Fiji_national_rugby_union_team">Fiji</a>
</td>
<td>7
</td>
<td>7
</td>
<td>0
</td>
<td>0
</td>
<td>100.00%
</td>
<td>303
</td>
<td>109
</td>
<td>194
</td></tr>
<tr>
<td> <a href="/wiki/France_national_rugby_union_team">France</a>
</td>
<td><a href="/wiki/History_of_rugby_union_matches_between_England_and_France">109</a>
</td>
<td>60
</td>
<td>7
</td>
<td>42
</td>
<td>58.26%
</td>
<td>1,777
</td>
<td>1,424
</td>
<td>365
</td></tr>
<tr>
<td> <a href="/wiki/Georgia_national_rugby_union_team">Georgia</a>
</td>
<td>3
</td>
<td>3
</td>
<td>0
</td>
<td>0
</td>
<td>100.00%
</td>
<td>165
</td>
<td>16
</td>
<td>149
</td></tr>
<tr>
<td> <a href="/wiki/Ireland_national_rugby_union_team">Ireland</a>
</td>
<td><a href="/wiki/History_of_rugby_union_matches_between_England_and_Ireland">139</a>
</td>
<td>80
</td>
<td>8
</td>
<td>51
</td>
<td>60.43%
</td>
<td>1,714
</td>
<td>1,234
</td>
<td>497
</td></tr>
<tr>
<td> <a href="/wiki/Italy_national_rugby_union_team">Italy</a>
</td>
<td><a href="/wiki/History_of_rugby_union_matches_between_England_and_Italy">29</a>
</td>
<td>29
</td>
<td>0
</td>
<td>0
</td>
<td>100.00%
</td>
<td>1,166
</td>
<td>342
</td>
<td>824
</td></tr>
<tr>
<td> <a href="/wiki/Japan_national_rugby_union_team">Japan</a>
</td>
<td>3
</td>
<td>3
</td>
<td>0
</td>
<td>0
</td>
<td>100.00%
</td>
<td>147
</td>
<td>35
</td>
<td>112
</td></tr>
<tr>
<td> <a href="/wiki/Netherlands_national_rugby_union_team">Netherlands</a>
</td>
<td>1
</td>
<td>1
</td>
<td>0
</td>
<td>0
</td>
<td>100.00%
</td>
<td>110
</td>
<td>0
</td>
<td>110
</td></tr>
<tr>
<td> <a href="/wiki/New_Zealand_national_rugby_union_team">New Zealand</a>
</td>
<td><a href="/wiki/History_of_rugby_union_matches_between_England_and_New_Zealand">43</a>
</td>
<td>8
</td>
<td>2
</td>
<td>33
</td>
<td>19.00%
</td>
<td>619
</td>
<td>1017
</td>
<td>−398
</td></tr>
<tr>
<td> <a href="/wiki/1888%E2%80%9389_New_Zealand_Native_football_team">New Zealand Natives</a>
</td>
<td>1
</td>
<td>1
</td>
<td>0
</td>
<td>0
</td>
<td>100.00%
</td>
<td>7
</td>
<td>0
</td>
<td>7
</td></tr>
<tr>
<td> <a href="/wiki/Pacific_Islanders_rugby_union_team">Pacific Islanders</a>
</td>
<td>1
</td>
<td>1
</td>
<td>0
</td>
<td>0
</td>
<td>100.00%
</td>
<td>39
</td>
<td>13
</td>
<td>26
</td></tr>
<tr>
<td> <a href="/wiki/President%27s_Overseas_XV">Presidents XV</a>
</td>
<td>1
</td>
<td>0
</td>
<td>0
</td>
<td>1
</td>
<td>0.00%
</td>
<td>11
</td>
<td>28
</td>
<td>−17
</td></tr>
<tr>
<td> <a href="/wiki/Romania_national_rugby_union_team">Romania</a>
</td>
<td>5
</td>
<td>5
</td>
<td>0
</td>
<td>0
</td>
<td>100.00%
</td>
<td>335
</td>
<td>24
</td>
<td>311
</td></tr>
<tr>
<td> <a href="/wiki/Samoa_national_rugby_union_team">Samoa</a>
</td>
<td>8
</td>
<td>8
</td>
<td>0
</td>
<td>0
</td>
<td>100.00%
</td>
<td>292
</td>
<td>114
</td>
<td>178
</td></tr>
<tr>
<td> <a href="/wiki/Scotland_national_rugby_union_team">Scotland</a>
</td>
<td><a href="/wiki/History_of_rugby_union_matches_between_England_and_Scotland">140</a>
</td>
<td>76
</td>
<td>19
</td>
<td>45
</td>
<td>61.07%
</td>
<td>1,710
</td>
<td>1,262
</td>
<td>451
</td></tr>
<tr>
<td> <a href="/wiki/South_Africa_national_rugby_union_team">South Africa</a>
</td>
<td><a href="/wiki/History_of_rugby_union_matches_between_England_and_South_Africa">45</a>
</td>
<td>16
</td>
<td>2
</td>
<td>27
</td>
<td>38.60%
</td>
<td>769
</td>
<td>972
</td>
<td>−204
</td></tr>
<tr>
<td> <a href="/wiki/Tonga_national_rugby_union_team">Tonga</a>
</td>
<td>3
</td>
<td>3
</td>
<td>0
</td>
<td>0
</td>
<td>100.00%
</td>
<td>241
</td>
<td>99
</td>
<td>205
</td></tr>
<tr>
<td> <a href="/wiki/United_States_national_rugby_union_team">United States</a>
</td>
<td>7
</td>
<td>7
</td>
<td>0
</td>
<td>0
</td>
<td>100.00%
</td>
<td>341
</td>
<td>88
</td>
<td>253
</td></tr>
<tr>
<td> <a href="/wiki/Uruguay_national_rugby_union_team">Uruguay</a>
</td>
<td>2
</td>
<td>2
</td>
<td>0
</td>
<td>0
</td>
<td>100.00%
</td>
<td>171
</td>
<td>16
</td>
<td>155
</td></tr>
<tr>
<td> <a href="/wiki/Wales_national_rugby_union_team">Wales</a>
</td>
<td><a href="/wiki/History_of_rugby_union_matches_between_England_and_Wales">138</a>
</td>
<td>66
</td>
<td>12
</td>
<td>60
</td>
<td>52.17%
</td>
<td>1,862
</td>
<td>1,695
</td>
<td>167
</td></tr>
<tr>
<th>Total
</th>
<th>772
</th>
<th>430
</th>
<th>52
</th>
<th>290
</th>
<th>59.11%
</th>
<th>13,833
</th>
<th>10,133
</th>
<th>4,535
</th></tr>
</tbody></table>
<h2>Players[<a href="/w/index.php?title=England_national_rugby_union_team&amp;action=edit&amp;section=13">edit</a>]</h2>
<h3>Current squad[<a href="/w/index.php?title=England_national_rugby_union_team&amp;action=edit&amp;section=14">edit</a>]</h3>
<p>On 19 December 2022, former England captain and <a href="/wiki/Leicester_Tigers">Leicester Tigers</a> head coach <a href="/wiki/Steve_Borthwick">Steve Borthwick</a> was appointed as England head coach by the <a href="/wiki/Rugby_Football_Union">RFU</a>.<sup><a href="#cite_note-94">[94]</a></sup> He replaced <a href="/wiki/Eddie_Jones_(rugby_union)">Eddie Jones</a>, who was sacked from the role on 6 December 2022.<sup><a href="#cite_note-95">[95]</a></sup>
</p><p>On 16 January 2023, Borthwick named a 36-player England squad for the <a href="/wiki/2023_Six_Nations_Championship">2023 Six Nations Championship</a>.<sup><a href="#cite_note-96">[96]</a></sup>
</p>
<p><small><b>Caps and clubs updated to:</b> 5 February 2023</small>
</p>
<table>
<tbody><tr>
<th>Player
</th>
<th><a href="/wiki/Rugby_union_positions">Position</a>
</th>
<th>Date of birth (age)
</th>
<th>Caps
</th>
<th>Club/province
</th></tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="/wiki/Jamie_George">Jamie George</a>
</td>
<td><a href="/wiki/Hooker_(rugby_union)">Hooker</a>
</td>
<td>20 October 1990 (age 32)
</td>
<td>73
</td>
<td><a href="/wiki/England"></a> <a href="/wiki/Saracens_F.C.">Saracens</a>
</td></tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="/wiki/George_McGuigan">George McGuigan</a>
</td>
<td><a href="/wiki/Hooker_(rugby_union)">Hooker</a>
</td>
<td>30 March 1993 (age 29)
</td>
<td>0
</td>
<td><a href="/wiki/England"></a> <a href="/wiki/Gloucester_Rugby">Gloucester</a>
</td></tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="/wiki/Jack_Walker_(rugby_union)">Jack Walker</a>
</td>
<td><a href="/wiki/Hooker_(rugby_union)">Hooker</a>
</td>
<td>6 May 1996 (age 26)
</td>
<td>0
</td>
<td><a href="/wiki/England"></a> <a href="/wiki/Harlequin_F.C.">Harlequins</a>
</td></tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="/wiki/Dan_Cole_(rugby_union)">Dan Cole</a>
</td>
<td><a href="/wiki/Prop_(rugby_union)">Prop</a>
</td>
<td>9 May 1987 (age 35)
</td>
<td>96
</td>
<td><a href="/wiki/England"></a> <a href="/wiki/Leicester_Tigers">Leicester Tigers</a>
</td></tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="/wiki/Ellis_Genge">Ellis Genge</a>
</td>
<td><a href="/wiki/Prop_(rugby_union)">Prop</a>
</td>
<td>16 February 1995 (age 27)
</td>
<td>44
</td>
<td><a href="/wiki/England"></a> <a href="/wiki/Bristol_Bears">Bristol Bears</a>
</td></tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="/wiki/Joe_Heyes">Joe Heyes</a>
</td>
<td><a href="/wiki/Prop_(rugby_union)">Prop</a>
</td>
<td>13 April 1999 (age 23)
</td>
<td>7
</td>
<td><a href="/wiki/England"></a> <a href="/wiki/Leicester_Tigers">Leicester Tigers</a>
</td></tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="/wiki/Bevan_Rodd">Bevan Rodd</a>
</td>
<td><a href="/wiki/Prop_(rugby_union)">Prop</a>
</td>
<td>26 August 2000 (age 22)
</td>
<td>2
</td>
<td><a href="/wiki/England"></a> <a href="/wiki/Sale_Sharks">Sale Sharks</a>
</td></tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="/wiki/Kyle_Sinckler">Kyle Sinckler</a>
</td>
<td><a href="/wiki/Prop_(rugby_union)">Prop</a>
</td>
<td>30 March 1993 (age 29)
</td>
<td>57
</td>
<td><a href="/wiki/England"></a> <a href="/wiki/Bristol_Bears">Bristol Bears</a>
</td></tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="/wiki/Mako_Vunipola">Mako Vunipola</a>
</td>
<td><a href="/wiki/Prop_(rugby_union)">Prop</a>
</td>
<td>14 January 1991 (age 32)
</td>
<td>75
</td>
<td><a href="/wiki/England"></a> <a href="/wiki/Saracens_F.C.">Saracens</a>
</td></tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="/wiki/Ollie_Chessum">Ollie Chessum</a>
</td>
<td><a href="/wiki/Lock_(rugby_union)">Lock</a>
</td>
<td>6 September 2000 (age 22)
</td>
<td>6
</td>
<td><a href="/wiki/England"></a> <a href="/wiki/Leicester_Tigers">Leicester Tigers</a>
</td></tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="/wiki/Jonny_Hill_(rugby_union)">Jonny Hill</a>
</td>
<td><a href="/wiki/Lock_(rugby_union)">Lock</a>
</td>
<td>8 June 1994 (age 28)
</td>
<td>19
</td>
<td><a href="/wiki/England"></a> <a href="/wiki/Sale_Sharks">Sale Sharks</a>
</td></tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="/wiki/Nick_Isiekwe">Nick Isiekwe</a>
</td>
<td><a href="/wiki/Lock_(rugby_union)">Lock</a>
</td>
<td>20 April 1998 (age 24)
</td>
<td>9
</td>
<td><a href="/wiki/England"></a> <a href="/wiki/Saracens_F.C.">Saracens</a>
</td></tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="/wiki/Maro_Itoje">Maro Itoje</a>
</td>
<td><a href="/wiki/Lock_(rugby_union)">Lock</a>
</td>
<td>28 October 1994 (age 28)
</td>
<td>63
</td>
<td><a href="/wiki/England"></a> <a href="/wiki/Saracens_F.C.">Saracens</a>
</td></tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="/wiki/Ben_Curry">Ben Curry</a>
</td>
<td><a href="/wiki/Flanker_(rugby_union)">Flanker</a>
</td>
<td>15 June 1998 (age 24)
</td>
<td>2
</td>
<td><a href="/wiki/England"></a> <a href="/wiki/Sale_Sharks">Sale Sharks</a>
</td></tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="/wiki/Ben_Earl">Ben Earl</a>
</td>
<td><a href="/wiki/Flanker_(rugby_union)">Flanker</a>
</td>
<td>7 January 1998 (age 25)
</td>
<td>14
</td>
<td><a href="/wiki/England"></a> <a href="/wiki/Saracens_F.C.">Saracens</a>
</td></tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="/wiki/Courtney_Lawes">Courtney Lawes</a>
</td>
<td><a href="/wiki/Flanker_(rugby_union)">Flanker</a>
</td>
<td>23 February 1989 (age 33)
</td>
<td>96
</td>
<td><a href="/wiki/England"></a> <a href="/wiki/Northampton_Saints">Northampton Saints</a>
</td></tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="/wiki/Lewis_Ludlam">Lewis Ludlam</a>
</td>
<td><a href="/wiki/Flanker_(rugby_union)">Flanker</a>
</td>
<td>8 December 1995 (age 27)
</td>
<td>15
</td>
<td><a href="/wiki/England"></a> <a href="/wiki/Northampton_Saints">Northampton Saints</a>
</td></tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="/wiki/Jack_Willis_(rugby_union)">Jack Willis</a>
</td>
<td><a href="/wiki/Flanker_(rugby_union)">Flanker</a>
</td>
<td>24 December 1996 (age 26)
</td>
<td>6
</td>
<td><a href="/wiki/France"></a> <a href="/wiki/Stade_Toulousain">Toulouse</a>
</td></tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="/wiki/Alex_Dombrandt">Alex Dombrandt</a>
</td>
<td><a href="/wiki/Number_eight_(rugby_union)">Number 8</a>
</td>
<td>29 April 1997 (age 25)
</td>
<td>8
</td>
<td><a href="/wiki/England"></a> <a href="/wiki/Harlequin_F.C.">Harlequins</a>
</td></tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="/wiki/Sam_Simmonds_(rugby_union)">Sam Simmonds</a>
</td>
<td><a href="/wiki/Number_eight_(rugby_union)">Number 8</a>
</td>
<td>10 November 1994 (age 28)
</td>
<td>18
</td>
<td><a href="/wiki/England"></a> <a href="/wiki/Exeter_Chiefs">Exeter Chiefs</a>
</td></tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="/wiki/Alex_Mitchell_(rugby_union)">Alex Mitchell</a>
</td>
<td><a href="/wiki/Scrum-half_(rugby_union)">Scrum-half</a>
</td>
<td>25 May 1997 (age 25)
</td>
<td>1
</td>
<td><a href="/wiki/England"></a> <a href="/wiki/Northampton_Saints">Northampton Saints</a>
</td></tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="/wiki/Jack_van_Poortvliet">Jack van Poortvliet</a>
</td>
<td><a href="/wiki/Scrum-half_(rugby_union)">Scrum-half</a>
</td>
<td>15 May 2001 (age 21)
</td>
<td>8
</td>
<td><a href="/wiki/England"></a> <a href="/wiki/Leicester_Tigers">Leicester Tigers</a>
</td></tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="/wiki/Ben_Youngs">Ben Youngs</a>
</td>
<td><a href="/wiki/Scrum-half_(rugby_union)">Scrum-half</a>
</td>
<td>5 September 1989 (age 33)
</td>
<td>122
</td>
<td><a href="/wiki/England"></a> <a href="/wiki/Leicester_Tigers">Leicester Tigers</a>
</td></tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="/wiki/Owen_Farrell">Owen Farrell</a>
</td>
<td><a href="/wiki/Fly-half_(rugby_union)">Fly-half</a>
</td>
<td>24 September 1991 (age 31)
</td>
<td>102
</td>
<td><a href="/wiki/England"></a> <a href="/wiki/Saracens_F.C.">Saracens</a>
</td></tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="/wiki/Fin_Smith">Fin Smith</a>
</td>
<td><a href="/wiki/Fly-half_(rugby_union)">Fly-half</a>
</td>
<td>11 May 2002 (age 20)
</td>
<td>0
</td>
<td><a href="/wiki/England"></a> <a href="/wiki/Northampton_Saints">Northampton Saints</a>
</td></tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="/wiki/Marcus_Smith_(rugby_union)">Marcus Smith</a>
</td>
<td><a href="/wiki/Fly-half_(rugby_union)">Fly-half</a>
</td>
<td>14 February 1999 (age 23)
</td>
<td>18
</td>
<td><a href="/wiki/England"></a> <a href="/wiki/Harlequin_F.C.">Harlequins</a>
</td></tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="/wiki/Elliot_Daly">Elliot Daly</a>
</td>
<td><a href="/wiki/Centre_(rugby_union)">Centre</a>
</td>
<td>8 October 1992 (age 30)
</td>
<td>57
</td>
<td><a href="/wiki/England"></a> <a href="/wiki/Saracens_F.C.">Saracens</a>
</td></tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="/wiki/Dan_Kelly_(rugby_union)">Dan Kelly</a>
</td>
<td><a href="/wiki/Centre_(rugby_union)">Centre</a>
</td>
<td>16 June 2001 (age 21)
</td>
<td>1
</td>
<td><a href="/wiki/England"></a> <a href="/wiki/Leicester_Tigers">Leicester Tigers</a>
</td></tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="/wiki/Joe_Marchant_(rugby_union)">Joe Marchant</a>
</td>
<td><a href="/wiki/Centre_(rugby_union)">Centre</a>
</td>
<td>16 July 1996 (age 26)
</td>
<td>14
</td>
<td><a href="/wiki/England"></a> <a href="/wiki/Harlequin_F.C.">Harlequins</a>
</td></tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="/wiki/Henry_Slade_(rugby_union)">Henry Slade</a>
</td>
<td><a href="/wiki/Centre_(rugby_union)">Centre</a>
</td>
<td>19 March 1993 (age 29)
</td>
<td>52
</td>
<td><a href="/wiki/England"></a> <a href="/wiki/Exeter_Chiefs">Exeter Chiefs</a>
</td></tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="/wiki/Manu_Tuilagi">Manu Tuilagi</a>
</td>
<td><a href="/wiki/Centre_(rugby_union)">Centre</a>
</td>
<td>18 May 1991 (age 31)
</td>
<td>50
</td>
<td><a href="/wiki/England"></a> <a href="/wiki/Sale_Sharks">Sale Sharks</a>
</td></tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="/wiki/Ollie_Hassell-Collins">Ollie Hassell-Collins</a>
</td>
<td><a href="/wiki/Wing_(rugby_union)">Wing</a>
</td>
<td>17 January 1999 (age 24)
</td>
<td>1
</td>
<td><a href="/wiki/England"></a> <a href="/wiki/London_Irish">London Irish</a>
</td></tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="/wiki/Max_Malins">Max Malins</a>
</td>
<td><a href="/wiki/Wing_(rugby_union)">Wing</a>
</td>
<td>7 January 1997 (age 26)
</td>
<td>15
</td>
<td><a href="/wiki/England"></a> <a href="/wiki/Saracens_F.C.">Saracens</a>
</td></tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="/wiki/Cadan_Murley">Cadan Murley</a>
</td>
<td><a href="/wiki/Wing_(rugby_union)">Wing</a>
</td>
<td>31 July 1999 (age 23)
</td>
<td>0
</td>
<td><a href="/wiki/England"></a> <a href="/wiki/Harlequin_F.C.">Harlequins</a>
</td></tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="/wiki/Tommy_Freeman_(rugby_union)">Tommy Freeman</a>
</td>
<td><a href="/wiki/Fullback_(rugby_union)">Fullback</a>
</td>
<td>5 March 2001 (age 21)
</td>
<td>3
</td>
<td><a href="/wiki/England"></a> <a href="/wiki/Northampton_Saints">Northampton Saints</a>
</td></tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="/wiki/Freddie_Steward">Freddie Steward</a>
</td>
<td><a href="/wiki/Fullback_(rugby_union)">Fullback</a>
</td>
<td>5 December 2000 (age 22)
</td>
<td>18
</td>
<td><a href="/wiki/England"></a> <a href="/wiki/Leicester_Tigers">Leicester Tigers</a>
</td></tr></tbody></table>
<p>On 29 January 2023, Borthwick named an updated 36-player squad, ahead of the opening fixture against <a href="/wiki/Scotland_national_rugby_union_team">Scotland</a> on 4 February 2023, which added several players to the original squad, following injuries to <a href="/wiki/Elliot_Daly">Elliot Daly</a>, <a href="/wiki/Dan_Kelly_(rugby_union)">Dan Kelly</a>, <a href="/wiki/Courtney_Lawes">Courtney Lawes</a>, <a href="/wiki/George_McGuigan">George McGuigan</a> and <a href="/wiki/Henry_Slade_(rugby_union)">Henry Slade</a>.<sup><a href="#cite_note-101">[101]</a></sup>
</p>
<table>
<tbody><tr>
<th>Player
</th>
<th><a href="/wiki/Rugby_union_positions">Position</a>
</th>
<th>Date of birth (age)
</th>
<th>Caps
</th>
<th>Club/province
</th></tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="/wiki/Tom_Dunn_(rugby_union)">Tom Dunn</a>
</td>
<td><a href="/wiki/Hooker_(rugby_union)">Hooker</a>
</td>
<td>12 November 1992 (age 30)
</td>
<td>3
</td>
<td><a href="/wiki/England"></a> <a href="/wiki/Bath_Rugby">Bath</a>
</td></tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="/wiki/David_Ribbans">David Ribbans</a>
</td>
<td><a href="/wiki/Lock_(rugby_union)">Lock</a>
</td>
<td>29 August 1995 (age 27)
</td>
<td>3
</td>
<td><a href="/wiki/England"></a> <a href="/wiki/Northampton_Saints">Northampton Saints</a>
</td></tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="/wiki/Ollie_Lawrence">Ollie Lawrence</a>
</td>
<td><a href="/wiki/Centre_(rugby_union)">Centre</a>
</td>
<td>18 September 1999 (age 23)
</td>
<td>7
</td>
<td><a href="/wiki/England"></a> <a href="/wiki/Bath_Rugby">Bath</a>
</td></tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="/wiki/Guy_Porter_(rugby_union)">Guy Porter</a>
</td>
<td><a href="/wiki/Centre_(rugby_union)">Centre</a>
</td>
<td>23 January 1997 (age 26)
</td>
<td>4
</td>
<td><a href="/wiki/England"></a> <a href="/wiki/Leicester_Tigers">Leicester Tigers</a>
</td></tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="/wiki/Anthony_Watson_(rugby_union)">Anthony Watson</a>
</td>
<td><a href="/wiki/Wing_(rugby_union)">Wing</a>
</td>
<td>26 February 1994 (age 28)
</td>
<td>52
</td>
<td><a href="/wiki/England"></a> <a href="/wiki/Leicester_Tigers">Leicester Tigers</a>
</td></tr></tbody></table>
<h3>Notable players[<a href="/w/index.php?title=England_national_rugby_union_team&amp;action=edit&amp;section=15">edit</a>]</h3>
<p>Four former England representatives have been inducted into the <a href="/wiki/International_Rugby_Hall_of_Fame">International Rugby Hall of Fame</a>: <a href="/wiki/Bill_Beaumont">Bill Beaumont</a>, <a href="/wiki/Martin_Johnson_(rugby_union)">Martin Johnson</a>, <a href="/wiki/Jason_Leonard">Jason Leonard</a> and <a href="/wiki/Wavell_Wakefield">Wavell Wakefield</a>.<sup><a href="#cite_note-IRHFList-102">[102]</a></sup><sup><a href="#cite_note-IRHF2007-103">[103]</a></sup>
</p><p>Seven former England internationals are also members of the <a href="/wiki/IRB_Hall_of_Fame">IRB Hall of Fame</a>. Four of them – Johnson,<sup><a href="#cite_note-IRB_Hall_October_2011-104">[104]</a></sup> <a href="/wiki/Alan_Rotherham">Alan Rotherham</a>, <a href="/wiki/Harry_Vassall">Harry Vassall</a><sup><a href="#cite_note-Rotherham-Vassall-105">[105]</a></sup> and <a href="/wiki/Robert_Seddon">Robert Seddon</a><sup><a href="#cite_note-2013_IRB_HOF-106">[106]</a></sup> – were inducted for their accomplishments as players. Two other former England players, <a href="/wiki/John_Kendall-Carpenter">John Kendall-Carpenter</a> and <a href="/wiki/Clive_Woodward">Clive Woodward</a>, were inducted into the IRB Hall for non-playing accomplishments in the sport.<sup><a href="#cite_note-IRB_Hall_October_2011-104">[104]</a></sup> Another former England player, <a href="/wiki/Alfred_St._George_Hamersley">Alfred St. George Hamersley</a>, was inducted for achievements as both a player and a rugby administrator.<sup><a href="#cite_note-Hamersley-107">[107]</a></sup>
</p><p>Wavell Wakefield represented England in 31 Tests between 1920 and 1927, including 13 Tests as captain. He was involved in three Five Nations Grand Slams in 1921, 1923 and 1924. Playing as <a href="/wiki/Flanker_(rugby_union)">flanker</a>, Wakefield introduced new elements to back row tactics which beforehand concentrated on the set piece. He became a <a href="/wiki/Member_of_Parliament_(UK)">Member of Parliament</a> in 1935, and was knighted in 1944. He became the RFU President in 1950 and following his retirement from politics was awarded the title the first <a href="/wiki/Peerage">Baron</a> Wakefield of Kendal.<sup><a href="#cite_note-WakefieldIRHF-108">[108]</a></sup>
</p><p>Between 1975 and 1982, <a href="/wiki/Bill_Beaumont">Bill Beaumont</a> represented England in 34 Tests. Playing at <a href="/wiki/Lock_(rugby_union)">lock</a>, he was captain between 1978 and 1982 in 21 Tests including the 1980 Grand Slam – England's first since 1957. Later that year, he captained the <a href="/wiki/British_and_Irish_Lions">British Lions</a> to <a href="/wiki/1980_British_Lions_tour_to_South_Africa">South Africa</a> – the first time an Englishman had captained the Lions since 1930. Furthermore, Beaumont represented the <a href="/wiki/Barbarian_F.C.">Barbarians FC</a> on fifteen occasions.<sup><a href="#cite_note-BeaumontIRHF-109">[109]</a></sup>
</p><p>At 22 the youngest England captain of modern times was <a href="/wiki/Will_Carling">Will Carling</a> who represented England in 72 Tests, and as captain 59 times between 1988 and 1996. He was best known as a superlative leader, motivating England to a remarkable three Grand Slams in five years, including back to back slams in 1991 and 1992. He also led England to the final of the 1991 World Cup, and captained the <a href="/wiki/Barbarian_F.C.">Barbarians FC</a>. His playing talents were not as flamboyant as some of his colleagues, but his effectiveness cemented him as a first choice at <a href="/wiki/Centre_(rugby_union)">centre</a>. It is possible he would already be in the Hall of Fame were it not for outspoken tendencies with respect to the English RFU committee ("Old Farts"), who may, as a result, be reluctant to acknowledge his achievements. He was made an <a href="/wiki/OBE">OBE</a> in 1991. Carling is not, however, the youngest England captain of all time; that honour goes to Frederic Stokes, who captained England against Scotland on 27 March 1871 aged just 20 years and 258 days.<sup><a href="#cite_note-EnglandStats2-110">[110]</a></sup>
</p><p>Described as arguably "the greatest forward" to play for England,<sup><a href="#cite_note-JohnsonIRHF-111">[111]</a></sup> <a href="/wiki/Martin_Johnson_(rugby_union)">Martin Johnson</a> played 84 Tests for England, and 8 Tests for the British and Irish Lions.<sup><a href="#cite_note-JohnsonLions-112">[112]</a></sup> He first represented England in 1993, and later that year the Lions. He captained the Lions to <a href="/wiki/1997_British_Lions_tour_to_South_Africa">South Africa</a> in 1997, and in 1999 was appointed captain of England. He became England's most successful ever captain. He became the first player to captain two Lions tours when he captained them in <a href="/wiki/2001_British_Lions_tour_to_Australia">Australia</a> in 2001.<sup><a href="#cite_note-113">[113]</a></sup> He retired from Test rugby after he led England to a Six Nations Grand Slam and <a href="/wiki/2003_Rugby_World_Cup">World Cup</a> victory in 2003 and has since become the team Manager.<sup><a href="#cite_note-JohnsonIRHF-111">[111]</a></sup> At the 2011 <a href="/wiki/IRB_Awards">IRB Awards</a> ceremony in Auckland on 24 October 2011, the night after the <a href="/wiki/2011_Rugby_World_Cup_Final">World Cup Final</a>, Johnson was inducted into the IRB Hall of Fame alongside all other World Cup-winning captains from 1987 through 2007 (minus the previously inducted Australian <a href="/wiki/John_Eales">John Eales</a>).<sup><a href="#cite_note-IRB_Hall_October_2011-104">[104]</a></sup>
</p><p><a href="/wiki/Jason_Leonard">Jason Leonard</a>, also known as "The Fun Bus",<sup><a href="#cite_note-FunBus-114">[114]</a></sup> appeared 114 times for England at prop, which was the world record for international appearances for a national team until 2005, when it was surpassed by Australia scrum-half <a href="/wiki/George_Gregan">George Gregan</a>.<sup><a href="#cite_note-LeonardIRHF-115">[115]</a></sup> He was on the England team that finished runners up to Australia in the <a href="/wiki/1991_Rugby_World_Cup">1991 Rugby World Cup</a> final, but avenged this 12 years later, coming on as a substitute for <a href="/wiki/Phil_Vickery_(rugby_union)">Phil Vickery</a> in England's victorious <a href="/wiki/2003_Rugby_World_Cup">2003 Rugby World Cup</a> final appearance. He also went on three British and Irish Lions tours where he was capped five times.<sup><a href="#cite_note-LeonardIRHF-115">[115]</a></sup>
</p><p><a href="/wiki/Alan_Rotherham">Alan Rotherham</a> and <a href="/wiki/Harry_Vassall">Harry Vassall</a>, both 19th-century greats for <a href="/wiki/Oxford_University_RFC">Oxford</a> and England, were inducted into the IRB Hall in April 2011. The IRB recognised them for "their unique contribution to the way that Rugby was played", specifically stating that they "are credited with pioneering the passing game and the three-man backline, which became widespread during the 1880s".<sup><a href="#cite_note-Rotherham-Vassall-105">[105]</a></sup>
</p><p>Two other England internationals, <a href="/wiki/John_Kendall-Carpenter">John Kendall-Carpenter</a> and <a href="/wiki/Clive_Woodward">Clive Woodward</a>, were inducted into the IRB Hall alongside Johnson at the 2011 IRB Awards. Although both had notable careers for England, they were recognised for accomplishments in other roles in the sport. Kendall-Carpenter was cited as one of four key figures in the creation of the Rugby World Cup, whilst Woodward was inducted as coach of the 2003 World Cup winners, alongside all other World Cup-winning coaches from 1987 to 2007.<sup><a href="#cite_note-IRB_Hall_October_2011-104">[104]</a></sup>
</p><p>England's most recent inductees into the IRB Hall are 19th-century internationals <a href="/wiki/Alfred_St._George_Hamersley">Alfred St. George Hamersley</a> and <a href="/wiki/Robert_Seddon">Robert Seddon</a>, both inducted in 2013. Hamersley played for England in the first rugby union international against Scotland in 1871, and captained England in the last of his four appearances in 1874. He went on to play significant roles in the early development of the sport in both New Zealand and Canada.<sup><a href="#cite_note-Hamersley-107">[107]</a></sup> Seddon, capped three times for England in 1887, was most notable as the captain of the unofficial British side that <a href="/wiki/1888_British_Lions_tour_to_New_Zealand_and_Australia">toured Australia and New Zealand in 1888</a>; he died in a boating accident during the tour. This venture proved to be the genesis of the modern British and Irish Lions. The touring team was also inducted alongside Seddon.<sup><a href="#cite_note-2013_IRB_HOF-106">[106]</a></sup>
</p>
<h3>Individual records[<a href="/w/index.php?title=England_national_rugby_union_team&amp;action=edit&amp;section=16">edit</a>]</h3>
<p><a href="/wiki/Ben_Youngs">Ben Youngs</a> holds the record for most appearances for England with 122. <a href="/wiki/Jonny_Wilkinson">Jonny Wilkinson</a> holds the England record for most points with 1,179, placing him <a href="/wiki/List_of_leading_rugby_union_test_point_scorers">second all-time</a> in international rugby. <a href="/wiki/Rory_Underwood">Rory Underwood</a> scored 49 tries - placing him <a href="/wiki/List_of_leading_rugby_union_test_try_scorers">sixth all-time</a> in international rugby.
</p>
<h2>Training[<a href="/w/index.php?title=England_national_rugby_union_team&amp;action=edit&amp;section=17">edit</a>]</h2>
<p><a href="/wiki/Pennyhill_Park_Hotel">Pennyhill Park Hotel</a> in <a href="/wiki/Bagshot">Bagshot</a>, <a href="/wiki/Surrey">Surrey</a>, is the chosen training base for the team in the <a href="/wiki/2015_Rugby_World_Cup">2015 Rugby World Cup</a>. <a href="/wiki/Loughborough_University">Loughborough University</a>, <a href="/wiki/Bisham_Abbey">Bisham Abbey</a> and the <a href="/wiki/University_of_Bath">University of Bath</a> grounds served as training bases prior to this agreement. <a href="/wiki/Martin_Johnson_(rugby_union)">Martin Johnson</a> noted the hotel's facilities and its proximity to Twickenham and Heathrow as deciding factors in this decision.<sup><a href="#cite_note-116">[116]</a></sup> The team had their own pitchside gym and fitness rooms constructed on the hotel premises at the start of the long-term arrangement. Since its completion in 2010 the team also regularly use <a href="/wiki/Surrey_Sports_Park">Surrey Sports Park</a> at the <a href="/wiki/University_of_Surrey">University of Surrey</a> in nearby <a href="/wiki/Guildford">Guildford</a> for much of their training.<sup><a href="#cite_note-117">[117]</a></sup>
</p>
<h3>Club versus country[<a href="/w/index.php?title=England_national_rugby_union_team&amp;action=edit&amp;section=18">edit</a>]</h3>
<div><p><a href="/wiki/File:All_Blacks_England.jpg"></a></p></div>
<p>Although the England team is governed by the <a href="/wiki/Rugby_Football_Union">Rugby Football Union</a> (RFU), players have been contracted to their clubs since the advent of professionalism in late 1995. Since then, players have often been caught in a "power struggle" between their clubs and the RFU; this is commonly referred to as a "club versus country" conflict.<sup><a href="#cite_note-Tuck195-118">[118]</a></sup> The first major dispute between England's top clubs (who play in the <a href="/wiki/English_Premiership_(rugby_union)">English Premiership</a>) and the RFU occurred in 1998, when some of the clubs refused to release players to tour Australia, New Zealand and South Africa.<sup><a href="#cite_note-NonRelease98-119">[119]</a></sup> The tour became known as the "Tour from hell" after an England squad of second-string players were defeated in all four Tests, including a 76–0 defeat by Australia.<sup><a href="#cite_note-Burnt-120">[120]</a></sup> The clubs also withdrew from the <a href="/wiki/1998%E2%80%9399_Heineken_Cup">1998–99 Heineken Cup</a>.<sup><a href="#cite_note-Morgan56-121">[121]</a></sup>
</p><p>In 2001, the top clubs and the RFU formed "England Rugby" to help govern the club and international game. The parties agreed to restrict the number of matches at club and international level that elite players (a group of 50 or 60 players selected by the RFU) could play in order to reduce player burnout and injuries.<sup><a href="#cite_note-EnglandRugby2001-122">[122]</a></sup> In return for releasing players from club commitments, the clubs were to receive compensation from the RFU. This agreement was considered central to the England victory in the <a href="/wiki/2003_Rugby_World_Cup">2003 World Cup</a>. Clive Woodward, England coach from November 1997, resigned in 2004 because he was unable to get the access to the players that he wanted: "I wanted more from the union – more training days with the players, more influence over the way they were treated – and ended up with less."<sup><a href="#cite_note-Woodwardquits-123">[123]</a></sup> <a href="/wiki/Andy_Robinson">Andy Robinson</a>, Woodward's successor, blamed the lack of control over players for his team's unsuccessful record.<sup><a href="#cite_note-AndyInterview-124">[124]</a></sup> <a href="/wiki/Brian_Ashton_(rugby_player)">Brian Ashton</a>, who took over from Robinson, intentionally named his playing squad for Six Nations matches in 2007 early in the hope that their clubs would not play them in the weekend prior to a Test.<sup><a href="#cite_note-SquadsEarly-125">[125]</a></sup> The RFU and the Premiership clubs are negotiating a similar deal to the one in 2001 that will enable international players to be released into the England squad prior to international matches.<sup><a href="#cite_note-NewDeal-126">[126]</a></sup>
</p>
<h3>Coaches[<a href="/w/index.php?title=England_national_rugby_union_team&amp;action=edit&amp;section=19">edit</a>]</h3>
<p>The following is a list of all England coaches. The first appointed coach was <a href="/wiki/Don_White_(footballer)">Don White</a> in 1969. The most recent former coach was <a href="/wiki/Eddie_Jones_(rugby_union)">Eddie Jones</a>.<sup><a href="#cite_note-127">[127]</a></sup> Jones took over from <a href="/wiki/Stuart_Lancaster_(rugby_union)">Stuart Lancaster</a> a week after the latter's resignation, and he became the first foreigner to coach the English national side.
</p><p><b>Updated</b>: 19 December 2022
</p>
<table>
<tbody><tr>
<th>Name
</th>
<th>Tenure
</th>
<th>Tests
</th>
<th>Won
</th>
<th>Drew
</th>
<th>Lost
</th>
<th>Win Percent
</th></tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="/wiki/England"></a> <a href="/wiki/Don_White_(rugby_union)">Don White</a><sup><a href="#cite_note-GuardianObit-28">[28]</a></sup>
</td>
<td>20 December 1969 – 17 April 1971
</td>
<td>11
</td>
<td>3
</td>
<td>1
</td>
<td>7
</td>
<td>027.3
</td></tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="/wiki/England"></a> <a href="/wiki/John_Elders">John Elders</a>
</td>
<td>18 October 1971 – 16 March 1974<sup><a href="#cite_note-Elders_Appointed-128">[128]</a></sup>
</td>
<td>16
</td>
<td>6
</td>
<td>1
</td>
<td>9
</td>
<td>037.5
</td></tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="/wiki/England"></a> <a href="/wiki/John_Burgess_(rugby_union_coach)">John Burgess</a>
</td>
<td>18 January 1975 – 31 May 1975
</td>
<td>6
</td>
<td>1
</td>
<td>0
</td>
<td>5
</td>
<td>016.7
</td></tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="/wiki/England"></a> Peter Colston
</td>
<td>3 January 1976 – 17 March 1979
</td>
<td>18
</td>
<td>6
</td>
<td>1
</td>
<td>11
</td>
<td>033.3
</td></tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="/wiki/England"></a> <a href="/wiki/Mike_Davis_(rugby_union)">Mike Davis</a>
</td>
<td>24 November 1979 – 6 March 1982
</td>
<td>16
</td>
<td>10
</td>
<td>2
</td>
<td>4
</td>
<td>062.5
</td></tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="/wiki/England"></a> <a href="/wiki/Dick_Greenwood">Dick Greenwood</a>
</td>
<td>15 January 1983 – 20 April 1985
</td>
<td>17
</td>
<td>4
</td>
<td>2
</td>
<td>11
</td>
<td>023.5
</td></tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="/wiki/England"></a> Martin Green
</td>
<td>1 June 1985 – 8 June 1987
</td>
<td>14
</td>
<td>5
</td>
<td>0
</td>
<td>9
</td>
<td>035.7
</td></tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="/wiki/England"></a> <a href="/wiki/Geoff_Cooke_(rugby_union)">Geoff Cooke</a>
</td>
<td>16 January 1988 – 19 March 1994
</td>
<td>50
</td>
<td>36
</td>
<td>1
</td>
<td>13
</td>
<td>072.0
</td></tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="/wiki/England"></a> <a href="/wiki/Jack_Rowell">Jack Rowell</a>
</td>
<td>4 June 1994 – 12 July 1997
</td>
<td>29
</td>
<td>21
</td>
<td>0
</td>
<td>8
</td>
<td>072.4
</td></tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="/wiki/England"></a> <a href="/wiki/Clive_Woodward">Sir Clive Woodward</a>
</td>
<td>15 November 1997 – 2 September 2004<sup><a href="#cite_note-WoodwardTenure-129">[129]</a></sup>
</td>
<td>83
</td>
<td>59
</td>
<td>2
</td>
<td>22
</td>
<td>071.1
</td></tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="/wiki/England"></a> <a href="/wiki/Andy_Robinson">Andy Robinson</a>
</td>
<td>15 October 2004 – 29 November 2006<sup><a href="#cite_note-RobinsonAppointed-130">[130]</a></sup><sup><a href="#cite_note-RobinsonResigned-131">[131]</a></sup>
</td>
<td>22
</td>
<td>9
</td>
<td>0
</td>
<td>13
</td>
<td>040.9
</td></tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="/wiki/England"></a> <a href="/wiki/Brian_Ashton_(rugby_union)">Brian Ashton</a>
</td>
<td>20 December 2006 – 1 June 2008<sup><a href="#cite_note-Ashton_Appointed-132">[132]</a></sup>
</td>
<td>22
</td>
<td>12
</td>
<td>0
</td>
<td>10
</td>
<td>054.5
</td></tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="/wiki/England"></a> <a href="/wiki/Rob_Andrew">Rob Andrew</a><sup><a href="#endnote_a">[a]</a></sup>
</td>
<td>1 June 2008 – 30 June 2008<sup><a href="#cite_note-Johnson_Appointed-133">[133]</a></sup>
</td>
<td>2
</td>
<td>0
</td>
<td>0
</td>
<td>2
</td>
<td>000.0
</td></tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="/wiki/England"></a> <a href="/wiki/Martin_Johnson_(rugby_union)">Martin Johnson</a>
</td>
<td>1 July 2008<sup><a href="#cite_note-Johnson_Appointed-133">[133]</a></sup> – 16 November 2011
</td>
<td>38
</td>
<td>21
</td>
<td>1
</td>
<td>16
</td>
<td>055.3
</td></tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="/wiki/England"></a> <a href="/wiki/Stuart_Lancaster_(rugby_union)">Stuart Lancaster</a>
</td>
<td>8 December 2011 – 11 November 2015
</td>
<td>46
</td>
<td>28
</td>
<td>1
</td>
<td>17
</td>
<td>060.9
</td></tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="/wiki/Australia"></a> <a href="/wiki/Eddie_Jones_(rugby_union)">Eddie Jones</a>
</td>
<td>20 November 2015 – 6 December 2022<sup><a href="#cite_note-134">[134]</a></sup>
</td>
<td>81
</td>
<td>59
</td>
<td>2
</td>
<td>20
</td>
<td>072.8
</td></tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="/wiki/England"></a> <a href="/wiki/Steve_Borthwick">Steve Borthwick</a>
</td>
<td>19 December 2022 – Present
</td>
<td>0
</td>
<td>0
</td>
<td>0
</td>
<td>0
</td>
<td>—
</td></tr></tbody></table>
<p><sup>a</sup> Rob Andrew coached the team for the <a href="/wiki/2008_mid-year_rugby_test_series">2008 summer tests</a> in New Zealand in Martin Johnson's absence.
</p><p><a href="/wiki/Richard_Cockerill">Richard Cockerill</a> served briefly as interim head coach following the dismissal of Jones until the appointment of Borthwick. No tests were played during his tenure.
</p><p>Between September 2015 and March 2017, England won 18 test matches in a row – equalling the record for a top tier nation – 17 of which were under Eddie Jones.
</p>
<h2>Media coverage[<a href="/w/index.php?title=England_national_rugby_union_team&amp;action=edit&amp;section=20">edit</a>]</h2>
<p>England's <a href="/wiki/Autumn_rugby_union_internationals">autumn internationals</a> are televised live by <a href="/wiki/Prime_Video">Prime Video</a>. Highlights of the autumn tests are broadcast by the <a href="/wiki/BBC_Sport">BBC</a>. As of 2016, all Six Nations games are broadcast free-to-air on the BBC and <a href="/wiki/ITV_Sport">ITV</a>.
</p>
<h2>See also[<a href="/w/index.php?title=England_national_rugby_union_team&amp;action=edit&amp;section=21">edit</a>]</h2>
<ul><li><a href="/wiki/England_national_under-20_rugby_union_team">England national under-20 rugby union team</a></li>
<li><a href="/wiki/England_national_rugby_sevens_team">England national rugby sevens team</a></li>
<li><a href="/wiki/England_Saxons">England Saxons</a></li>
<li><a href="/wiki/England_women%27s_national_rugby_union_team">England women's national rugby union team</a></li>
<li><a href="/wiki/Rugby_union_in_England">Rugby union in England</a></li></ul>
<h2>Bibliography[<a href="/w/index.php?title=England_national_rugby_union_team&amp;action=edit&amp;section=22">edit</a>]</h2>
<ul><li><cite>Bowker, Barry (1978). <i>England Rugby</i>. Cassell. <a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0-304-30214-7"><bdi>978-0-304-30214-7</bdi></a>.</cite></li>
<li><cite>Collins, Tony (2009). <i>A Social History of English Rugby Union</i>. Routledge. <a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0-415-47660-7"><bdi>978-0-415-47660-7</bdi></a>.</cite></li>
<li><cite>Farmer, Stuart (2006). <i>The Official England Rugby Miscellany</i>. Vision Sports Publishing. <a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-1-905326-12-9"><bdi>978-1-905326-12-9</bdi></a>.</cite></li>
<li><cite>Morgan, Michael (2002). "Optimizing the structure of elite competitions in professional sport – lessons from Rugby Union". <i>Managing Leisure</i>. <b>7</b>: 41–60. <a href="/wiki/Doi_(identifier)">doi</a>:<a href="https://doi.org/10.1080%2F13606710110117023">10.1080/13606710110117023</a>. <a href="/wiki/S2CID_(identifier)">S2CID</a> <a href="https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:153521834">153521834</a>.</cite></li>
<li><cite>Palenski, Ron (2003). <i>Century in Black – 100 Years of All Black Test Rugby</i>. Hodder Moa Beckett Publishers. <a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-1-86958-937-0"><bdi>978-1-86958-937-0</bdi></a>.</cite></li>
<li><cite>Tuck, Jason (2003). "The Men in White: Reflections on Rugby Union, the Media and Englishness". <i><a href="/wiki/International_Review_for_the_Sociology_of_Sport">International Review for the Sociology of Sport</a></i>. <b>38</b> (2): 177–199. <a href="/wiki/Doi_(identifier)">doi</a>:<a href="https://doi.org/10.1177%2F1012690203038002003">10.1177/1012690203038002003</a>. <a href="/wiki/S2CID_(identifier)">S2CID</a> <a href="https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:143294820">143294820</a>.</cite></li></ul>
<h2>References[<a href="/w/index.php?title=England_national_rugby_union_team&amp;action=edit&amp;section=23">edit</a>]</h2>
<div><ol>
<li><b><a href="#cite_ref-OriginsoRugby_1-0">^</a></b> <cite><a href="http://www.rugbyfootballhistory.com/originsofrugby.htm">"Origins of Rugby"</a>. rugbyfootballhistory.com. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20170525155221/http://www.rugbyfootballhistory.com/originsofrugby.htm">Archived</a> from the original on 25 May 2017. Retrieved 16 February 2007.</cite>
</li>
<li><b><a href="#cite_ref-ShortHist_2-0">^</a></b> <cite><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130603122715/http://www.rfu.com/twickenhamstadium/worldrugbymuseum/rugbyhistory/worldrugbychron/1871-1888.aspx">"World Rugby 1871–1888"</a>. <i>rfu.com</i>. <a href="/wiki/Rugby_Football_Union">Rugby Football Union</a>. Archived from <a href="http://www.rfu.com/TwickenhamStadium/WorldRugbyMuseum/RugbyHistory/WorldRugbyChron/1871-1888.aspx">the original</a> on 3 June 2013. Retrieved 16 February 2012.</cite>
</li>
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</li>
<li><b><a href="#cite_ref-101">^</a></b> <cite><a href="https://www.englandrugby.com/news/article/england-mens-squad-for-scotland-opener">"England men's squad for Scotland opener"</a>. <i>England Rugby</i>. 29 January 2023. Retrieved 30 January 2023.</cite>
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<li><b><a href="#cite_ref-IRHFList_102-0">^</a></b> <cite>Gallagher, Brendan (17 November 2005). <a href="https://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/columnists/brendangallagher/2368372/Joining-the-legends-an-added-bonus-for-Wood.html">"Joining the legends an added bonus for Wood"</a>. <i>The Daily Telegraph</i>. London. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20090126204155/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/columnists/brendangallagher/2368372/Joining-the-legends-an-added-bonus-for-Wood.html">Archived</a> from the original on 26 January 2009. Retrieved 6 September 2007.</cite>
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<li><b><a href="#cite_ref-IRHF2007_103-0">^</a></b> <cite><a href="https://archive.today/20120629140140/http://www.rugbyhalloffame.com/pages/2007dinner.htm">"Sixth Induction Dinner – 2007"</a>. International Rugby Hall of Fame. Archived from <a href="http://www.rugbyhalloffame.com/pages/2007dinner.htm">the original</a> on 29 June 2012. Retrieved 3 October 2007.</cite>
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<li>^ <a href="#cite_ref-IRB_Hall_October_2011_104-0"><sup><i><b>a</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-IRB_Hall_October_2011_104-1"><sup><i><b>b</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-IRB_Hall_October_2011_104-2"><sup><i><b>c</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-IRB_Hall_October_2011_104-3"><sup><i><b>d</b></i></sup></a> <cite><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20111027230745/http://www.irb.com/history/halloffame/newsid%3D2060049.html">"RWC legends inducted into IRB Hall of Fame"</a> (Press release). International Rugby Board. 26 October 2011. Archived from <a href="http://www.irb.com/history/halloffame/newsid=2060049.html">the original</a> on 27 October 2011. Retrieved 26 October 2011.</cite>
</li>
<li>^ <a href="#cite_ref-Rotherham-Vassall_105-0"><sup><i><b>a</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-Rotherham-Vassall_105-1"><sup><i><b>b</b></i></sup></a> <cite><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20110509234411/http://www.irb.com/history/halloffame/newsid%3D2042507.html">"Hancock and Cardiff inducted to Hall of Fame"</a> (Press release). International Rugby Board. 6 May 2011. Archived from <a href="http://www.irb.com/history/halloffame/newsid=2042507.html">the original</a> on 9 May 2011. Retrieved 7 May 2011.</cite>
</li>
<li>^ <a href="#cite_ref-2013_IRB_HOF_106-0"><sup><i><b>a</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-2013_IRB_HOF_106-1"><sup><i><b>b</b></i></sup></a> <cite><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20131203011455/http://www.irb.com/history/halloffame/newsid%3D2069489.html">"Legends inducted into IRB Hall of Fame"</a> (Press release). International Rugby Board. 18 November 2013. Archived from <a href="http://www.irb.com/history/halloffame/newsid=2069489.html">the original</a> on 3 December 2013. Retrieved 1 December 2013.</cite>
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<li>^ <a href="#cite_ref-Hamersley_107-0"><sup><i><b>a</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-Hamersley_107-1"><sup><i><b>b</b></i></sup></a> <cite><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130123095919/http://www.irb.com/history/halloffame/newsid%3D2064884.html">"Hamersley inducted into IRB Hall of Fame"</a> (Press release). International Rugby Board. 10 January 2013. Archived from <a href="http://www.irb.com/history/halloffame/newsid=2064884.html">the original</a> on 23 January 2013. Retrieved 24 February 2013.</cite>
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<li><b><a href="#cite_ref-WakefieldIRHF_108-0">^</a></b> <cite><a href="https://archive.today/20120914081010/http://www.rugbyhalloffame.com/pages/wakefield1999.htm">"Wavell Wakefield"</a>. rugbyhalloffame.com. Archived from <a href="http://www.rugbyhalloffame.com/pages/wakefield1999.htm">the original</a> on 14 September 2012. Retrieved 14 July 2007.</cite>
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<li><b><a href="#cite_ref-BeaumontIRHF_109-0">^</a></b> <cite><a href="https://archive.today/20120908101919/http://www.rugbyhalloffame.com/pages/beaumont2003.htm">"Bill Beaumont"</a>. rugbyhalloffame.com. Archived from <a href="http://www.rugbyhalloffame.com/pages/beaumont2003.htm">the original</a> on 8 September 2012. Retrieved 14 July 2007.</cite>
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<li><b><a href="#cite_ref-EnglandStats2_110-0">^</a></b> <cite><a href="http://stats.espnscrum.com/scrum/rugby/records/player/youngest_appearance_captain.html?id=1;type=team">"International Rugby Union Team Records: Youngest appearance as England captain"</a>. <i><a href="/wiki/ESPNscrum">ESPNscrum</a></i>. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20200809021504/http://stats.espnscrum.com/scrum/rugby/records/player/youngest_appearance_captain.html?id=1;type=team">Archived</a> from the original on 9 August 2020. Retrieved 28 November 2019.</cite>
</li>
<li>^ <a href="#cite_ref-JohnsonIRHF_111-0"><sup><i><b>a</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-JohnsonIRHF_111-1"><sup><i><b>b</b></i></sup></a> <cite><a href="https://archive.today/20120909030441/http://www.rugbyhalloffame.com/pages/johnson2005.htm">"Martin Johnson"</a>. rugbyhalloffame.com. Archived from <a href="http://www.rugbyhalloffame.com/pages/johnson2005.htm">the original</a> on 9 September 2012. Retrieved 14 July 2007.</cite>
</li>
<li><b><a href="#cite_ref-JohnsonLions_112-0">^</a></b> <cite><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20071025014627/http://www.lionsrugby.com/pp_martin_johnson.html">"Lion Legends: Martin Johnson"</a>. British and Irish Lions. Archived from <a href="http://www.lionsrugby.com/pp_martin_johnson.html">the original</a> on 25 October 2007. Retrieved 15 February 2008.</cite>
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<li><b><a href="#cite_ref-113">^</a></b> <cite><a href="https://archive.today/20121202034442/http://www.onthisdayinsport.com/page/RugbyBio/0,,10301~791164,00.html">"Martin Johnson – England's greatest-ever captain"</a>. sportasylum.com. Archived from <a href="http://www.onthisdayinsport.com/page/RugbyBio/0,,10301~791164,00.html">the original</a> on 2 December 2012. Retrieved 14 July 2007.</cite>
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<li><b><a href="#cite_ref-FunBus_114-0">^</a></b> <cite><a href="http://www.rugbynetwork.net/main/s245/st50222.htm">"England's Jason Leonard OBE – Dossier"</a>. rugbynetwork.net. 13 April 2004. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130603200827/http://www.rugbynetwork.net/main/s245/st50222.htm">Archived</a> from the original on 3 June 2013. Retrieved 24 October 2007.</cite>
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<li>^ <a href="#cite_ref-LeonardIRHF_115-0"><sup><i><b>a</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-LeonardIRHF_115-1"><sup><i><b>b</b></i></sup></a> <cite><a href="https://archive.today/20120911120615/http://www.rugbyhalloffame.com/pages/leonard2007.htm">"Jason Leonard"</a>. rugbyhalloffame.com. Archived from <a href="http://www.rugbyhalloffame.com/pages/leonard2007.htm">the original</a> on 11 September 2012. Retrieved 24 October 2007.</cite>
</li>
<li><b><a href="#cite_ref-116">^</a></b> <cite><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20111005074452/http://www.pennyhillpark.co.uk/EXCLUSIVE_HOTELS/PDF/England%20based%20at%20Pennyhill%20Park.pdf">"England choose Pennyhill Park"</a> (PDF). Pennyhill Park Hotel's website. Archived from <a href="http://www.pennyhillpark.co.uk/EXCLUSIVE_HOTELS/pdf/England%20based%20at%20Pennyhill%20Park.pdf">the original</a> (PDF) on 5 October 2011. Retrieved 7 January 2010.</cite>
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<li><b><a href="#cite_ref-117">^</a></b> <cite><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130801024215/http://www.surreysportspark.co.uk/news/newsandpress/2012/76182_two_england_wins_over_welsh_rivals.htm">"Two of the three England teams to train at Surrey Sports Park managed emphatic victories over Wales in the RBS 6 Nations"</a>. Surrey Sports Park's Website. Archived from <a href="https://www.surreysportspark.co.uk/news/newsandpress/2012/76182_two_england_wins_over_welsh_rivals.htm">the original</a> on 1 August 2013. Retrieved 9 March 2012.</cite>
</li>
<li><b><a href="#cite_ref-Tuck195_118-0">^</a></b> Tuck (2003), pg 195.
</li>
<li><b><a href="#cite_ref-NonRelease98_119-0">^</a></b> <cite>Hewett, Chris (3 March 1998). "Woodward embroiled in club v country spat rears its face again". <i>The Independent</i>. London. p. 27.</cite>
</li>
<li><b><a href="#cite_ref-Burnt_120-0">^</a></b> <cite>Baldwin, Mark (2 November 2002). "Tour from Hell that left some players burnt". <i>The Times</i>. London. p. 40.</cite>
</li>
<li><b><a href="#cite_ref-Morgan56_121-0">^</a></b> Morgan (2002), pg 56.
</li>
<li><b><a href="#cite_ref-EnglandRugby2001_122-0">^</a></b> <cite><a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/rugby_union/1454059.stm">"New deal to protect England stars"</a>. <i><a href="/wiki/BBC_Sport">BBC Sport</a></i>. 24 July 2001. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20031215005814/http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/rugby_union/1454059.stm">Archived</a> from the original on 15 December 2003. Retrieved 31 August 2007.</cite>
</li>
<li><b><a href="#cite_ref-Woodwardquits_123-0">^</a></b> <cite>Hewett, Chris (4 September 2004). "I wasn't ready to compromise. I wanted more and I got less...". <i>The Independent</i>. London. p. 76.</cite>
</li>
<li><b><a href="#cite_ref-AndyInterview_124-0">^</a></b> <cite>Walsh, David (5 August 2007). <a href="http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/rugby/article2198977.ece">"The Big Interview: Andy Robinson"</a>. <i>The Times</i>. London. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20211020034759/https://www.thetimes.co.uk/">Archived</a> from the original on 20 October 2021. Retrieved 31 August 2007.</cite>
</li>
<li><b><a href="#cite_ref-SquadsEarly_125-0">^</a></b> <cite><a href="https://www.rte.ie/sport/rugby/six-nations/2007/0213/214443-england/">"Ashton set to name side for Croker"</a>. rte.ie. 14 June 2007. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120930092503/http://www.rte.ie/sport/rugby/six-nations/2007/0213/214443-england/">Archived</a> from the original on 30 September 2012. Retrieved 31 August 2007.</cite>
</li>
<li><b><a href="#cite_ref-NewDeal_126-0">^</a></b> <cite>Cain, Nick (24 June 2007). <a href="http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/rugby/article1977476.ece">"Peace deal agreed in club v country row"</a>. <i>The Times</i>. London. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20211020034729/https://www.thetimes.co.uk/">Archived</a> from the original on 20 October 2021. Retrieved 31 August 2007.</cite>
</li>
<li><b><a href="#cite_ref-127">^</a></b> <cite><a href="http://www.englandrugby.com/news/eddie-jones-appointed-england-head-coach/">"Eddie Jones appointed England Head Coach"</a>. <i>RFU</i>. 20 November 2015. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20151122133235/http://www.englandrugby.com/news/eddie-jones-appointed-england-head-coach/">Archived</a> from the original on 22 November 2015. Retrieved 20 November 2015.</cite>
</li>
<li><b><a href="#cite_ref-Elders_Appointed_128-0">^</a></b> <cite><a href="https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000560/19711019/212/0027">"England go for 'Quiet Man' Elders'"</a>. <i><a href="/wiki/Daily_Mirror">Daily Mirror</a></i>. 19 October 1971. Retrieved 10 March 2021.</cite>
</li>
<li><b><a href="#cite_ref-WoodwardTenure_129-0">^</a></b> <cite><a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/rugby_union/international/3613610.stm">"Woodward quits England"</a>. <i><a href="/wiki/BBC_Sport">BBC Sport</a></i>. 3 September 2004. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20061115171908/http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/rugby_union/international/3613610.stm">Archived</a> from the original on 15 November 2006. Retrieved 4 July 2007.</cite>
</li>
<li><b><a href="#cite_ref-RobinsonAppointed_130-0">^</a></b> <cite><a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/rugby_union/international/3746700.stm">"Robinson named new England coach"</a>. <i><a href="/wiki/BBC_Sport">BBC Sport</a></i>. 15 October 2004. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20060427122529/http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/rugby_union/international/3746700.stm">Archived</a> from the original on 27 April 2006. Retrieved 4 July 2007.</cite>
</li>
<li><b><a href="#cite_ref-RobinsonResigned_131-0">^</a></b> <cite><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130603122700/http://www.rfu.com/news/2006/november/news%20articles/pressstatementfromandyrobinsonobe">"Press Statement from Andy Robinson OBE"</a>. <i>rfu.com</i>. <a href="/wiki/Rugby_Football_Union">Rugby Football Union</a>. 29 November 2006. Archived from <a href="http://www.rfu.com/News/2006/November/News%20Articles/PressStatementFromAndyRobinsonObe">the original</a> on 3 June 2013. Retrieved 4 July 2007.</cite>
</li>
<li><b><a href="#cite_ref-Ashton_Appointed_132-0">^</a></b> <cite><a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/rugby_union/english/6189565.stm">"England appoint Ashton to the top job"</a>. <i><a href="/wiki/BBC_Sport">BBC Sport</a></i>. 20 December 2006. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20070111161131/http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/rugby_union/english/6189565.stm">Archived</a> from the original on 11 January 2007. Retrieved 4 July 2007.</cite>
</li>
<li>^ <a href="#cite_ref-Johnson_Appointed_133-0"><sup><i><b>a</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-Johnson_Appointed_133-1"><sup><i><b>b</b></i></sup></a> <cite><a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/rugby_union/english/7349845.stm">"Johnson named as England supremo"</a>. <i><a href="/wiki/BBC_Sport">BBC Sport</a></i>. 16 April 2008. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20080422185147/http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/rugby_union/english/7349845.stm">Archived</a> from the original on 22 April 2008. Retrieved 18 April 2008.</cite>
</li>
<li><b><a href="#cite_ref-134">^</a></b> <cite>Kelleher, Will; Lowe, Alex. <a href="https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/eddie-jones-set-to-be-sacked-as-england-head-coach-wdtj6669p">"Eddie Jones sacked as England head coach"</a>. <i><a href="/wiki/The_Times">The Times</a></i>. <a href="/wiki/ISSN_(identifier)">ISSN</a> <a href="//www.worldcat.org/issn/0140-0460">0140-0460</a>. Retrieved 6 December 2022.</cite>
</li>
</ol></div>
<h2>External links[<a href="/w/index.php?title=England_national_rugby_union_team&amp;action=edit&amp;section=24">edit</a>]</h2>
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 * (Top)
 * 1 History
 + 1.1 Early years
 + 1.2 Professional era
 * 2 Home stadium
 + 2.1 England home matches outside Twickenham
 + 2.2 "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot"
 * 3 Strip
 + 3.1 Kit providers
 * 4 Record
 + 4.1 Six Nations
 + 4.2 Rugby World Cup
 + 4.3 Overall
 * 5 Players
 + 5.1 Current squad
 + 5.2 Notable players
 + 5.3 Individual records
 * 6 Training
 + 6.1 Club versus country
 + 6.2 Coaches
 * 7 Media coverage
 * 8 See also
 * 9 Bibliography
 * 10 References
 * 11 External links
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 England national rugby union team

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 From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 Not to be confused with England national rugby league team.
 This article is about the men's team. For the women's team, see England women's national rugby union team.

 England
 
 Emblem Red Rose 
 Union Rugby Football Union 
 Head coach Steve Borthwick 
 Captain Owen Farrell 
 Most caps Ben Youngs (121) 
 Top scorer Jonny Wilkinson (1,179) 
 Top try scorer Rory Underwood (49) 
 Home stadium Twickenham Stadium 
 
 First colours Second colours
 
 
 World Rugby ranking 
 Current 6 (as of 6 February 2023)
 Highest 1 (2003, 2019) 
 Lowest 8 (2009, 2015) 
 First international 
 Scotland 1–0 England 
 (Edinburgh, Scotland; 27 March 1871) 
 Biggest win 
 England 134–0 Romania 
 (London, England; 17 November 2001) 
 Biggest defeat 
 Australia 76–0 England 
 (Brisbane, Australia; 6 June 1998) 
 World Cup 
 Appearances 9 (First in 1987) 
 Best result Champions🥇 (2003) 
 Website englandrugby.com 
 

 The England national rugby union team represents England in men's international rugby union. They compete in the annual Six Nations Championship with France, Ireland, Italy, Scotland and Wales. England have won the championship on 29 occasions (as well as sharing 10 victories) – winning the Grand Slam 13 times and the Triple Crown 26 times – making them the most successful outright winners in the tournament's history. They are currently the only team from the Northern Hemisphere to win the Rugby World Cup, having won the tournament in 2003, and have been runners-up on three other occasions.

 The history of the team extends back to 1871 when the English rugby team played their first official test match, losing 1–0 to Scotland. England dominated the early Home Nations Championship (now the Six Nations) which started in 1883. Following the schism of rugby football in 1895 into union and league, England did not win the Championship again until 1910. They first played against New Zealand in 1905, South Africa in 1906, and Australia in 1909. England was one of the teams invited to take part in the inaugural Rugby World Cup in 1987 and progressed to the final in the second tournament in 1991, losing 12–6 to Australia. Following their Grand Slam in 2003, England went on to win the 2003 Rugby World Cup, defeating Australia 20–17 in extra time. They contested the final again in 2007 in defence of their title, losing 15–6 to South Africa, and reached the final for the fourth time in 2019, once again losing to South Africa, 32–12.

 England players traditionally wear a white shirt with a rose embroidered on the chest, white shorts, and navy blue socks with a white trim. England's home ground is Twickenham Stadium where they first played in 1910. The team is administered by the Rugby Football Union (RFU). Four former players have been inducted into the International Rugby Hall of Fame; one of these is also a member of the IRB Hall of Fame. Seven other former players are members of the IRB Hall – four solely for their accomplishments as players, two solely for their achievements in other roles in the sport, and one for achievements both as a player and administrator.

 History [ edit ]

 Main article: History of the England national rugby union team

 Early years [ edit ]

 The England team before playing in their first international match, versus Scotland in Edinburgh, 1871

 The expansion of rugby in the first half of the 19th century was driven by former pupils from many of England's public schools, especially Rugby, who, upon finishing school, took the game with them to universities, to London, and to the counties.[1] England's first international match was against Scotland on 27 March 1871; not only was this England's first match, but it is also noted as being the first rugby union international.[2] Scotland won the match by one goal and a try to England's one unconverted try,[3][4] in front of a crowd of 4,000 people at Raeburn Place, Edinburgh.[5] A subsequent international took place at the Oval in London on 5 February 1872, when England defeated Scotland by a goal, a drop goal and two tries to Scotland's one drop goal.[6][7] The early matches did not use a structured points system; this would not be introduced until after 1890 when a suitable format for the scoring system had been devised.[4] Up until 1875, international rugby matches were decided by the number of goals scored (conversions and dropped goals), but from 1876 the number of tries scored could be used to decide a match if the teams were level on goals.[8]

 In 1875, England played their first game against Ireland at the Oval, winning by one goal, one drop goal and one try to nil;[4] this was Ireland's first test match.[9][10] England defeated Scotland in 1880 to become the first winners of the Calcutta Cup.[11][12] Their first match against Wales was played on 19 February 1881 at Richardson's Field in Blackheath,[12][13] where England recorded their largest victory, winning by seven goals, six tries, and one drop goal to nil,[4] and scoring 13 tries in the process.[13] The subsequent meeting the following year at St. Helen's in Swansea was a closer contest, with England defeating Wales by two goals and four tries to nil.[4][14] Two years later, England emerged as the inaugural winners at the first Home Nations championship.[15] In 1889, they played their first match against a non-home nations team when they defeated the New Zealand Natives at Rectory Field in Blackheath[16][17] by one goal and four tries to nil.[4] England shared the Home Nations trophy with Scotland in 1890.[18]

 England first played New Zealand (known as the "All Blacks") in 1905 at Crystal Palace in London. New Zealand scored five tries, worth three points at the time, to win 15–0.[19] England played France for the first time in March 1906 in Paris, winning 35–8, and later that year they first faced South Africa (known as the "Springboks"), again at Crystal Palace. James Peters was withdrawn from the England squad when the South Africans refused to play against a black player;[20] the match was drawn 3–3. England first played Australia (known as the "Wallabies") in January 1909 at Blackheath's Rectory Field, where they were defeated 9–3.[21]

 Illustration by Frank Gillett showing the England versus The Original All Blacks Test attended by a then-record crowd of at least 50,000. The New Zealanders won 15–0.

 The year 1909 saw the opening of Twickenham Stadium as the RFU's new home, heralding a golden era for English rugby union. England's first international at Twickenham in 1910 brought them victory over Wales on their way to winning the International Championship (known from then as the Five Nations) for the first time since 1892. Although England did not retain the Five Nations title in 1911, they did share it (with Ireland) in 1912. England then achieved their first Five Nations Grand Slam in 1913, another in 1914, and a third in 1921 after the First World War. A further two consecutive Grand Slams followed for the England team in 1924 and 1925,[22] this despite having started 1925 with an 17–11 loss to the "Invincibles" in front of 60,000 fans at Twickenham.[23]

 After winning a sixth Grand Slam in 1928, England were subjected to a 7–0 defeat by the Springboks in front of 70,000 spectators at Twickenham in January 1932. Following the expulsion of France from the International Championship in 1931 due to professionalism, which reverted the Five Nations tournament back to the Home Nations,[24] England proceeded to win the 1934 and 1937 championships with a Triple Crown, and achieved their first victory over the All Blacks at Twickenham in January 1936.[25][26]

 When the Five Nations resumed with the readmission of France in 1947 after the Second World War, England shared the championship with Wales. The early Five Nations competitions of the 1950s were unsuccessful for England, winning one match in the 1950 and 1951 championships.[22] England won the 1953 Five Nations, and followed this up with a Grand Slam in 1957, and win in 1958. England broke France's four-championship streak by winning the 1963 Championship.[22] After this victory, England played three Tests in the Southern Hemisphere and lost all three: 21–11 and 9–6 against the All Blacks, and 18–9 against Australia.[27] England did not win a single match in 1966, and managed only a draw with Ireland. They did not win another Championship that decade.

 Don White was appointed as England's first coach in 1969. According to former Northampton player Bob Taylor, "Don was chosen because he was the most forward-thinking coach in England".[28] His first match in charge was an 11–8 victory over South Africa at Twickenham in 1969.[ citation needed ] Of the eleven games England played with White in charge they won three, and drew one and lost seven. He resigned as England coach in 1971.[ citation needed ]

 England had wins against Southern Hemisphere teams in the 1970s; with victories over South Africa in 1972, New Zealand in 1973 and Australia in 1973 and 1976. The 1972 Five Nations Championship was not completed due to the Troubles in Northern Ireland when Scotland and Wales refused to play their Five Nations away fixtures in Ireland. England played in Dublin in 1973 and were given a standing ovation lasting five minutes. After losing 18–9 at Lansdowne Road, the England captain, John Pullin famously stated, "We might not be very good but at least we turned up."[29]

 England started the following decade with a Grand Slam victory in the 1980 Five Nations – their first for 23 years.[30] However in the 1983 Five Nations Championship, England failed to win a game and picked up the wooden spoon.[31] In the first Rugby World Cup in New Zealand and Australia, England were grouped in pool A alongside Australia, Japan and the United States. England lost their first game 19–6 against Australia. They went on to defeat Japan and the United States, and met Wales in their quarter-final, losing the match 16–3.[32]

 In 1989, England won matches against Romania and Fiji, followed by victories in their first three Five Nations games of 1990. They lost to Scotland in their last game however, giving Scotland a Grand Slam. England recovered in the following year by winning their first Grand Slam since 1980. England hosted the 1991 World Cup and were in pool A, along with the All Blacks, Italy and the United States. Although they lost to the All Blacks in pool play, they qualified for a quarter-final going on to defeat France 19–10. England then defeated Scotland 9–6 to secure a place in the final against Australia which they lost 12–6.[33]

 The next year, England completed another Grand Slam and did not lose that year, including a victory over the Springboks. In the lead up to the 1995 World Cup in South Africa, England completed another Grand Slam – their third in five years. In the World Cup, England defeated Argentina, Italy and Samoa in pool play and then defeated Australia 25–22 in their quarter-final. England's semi-final was dominated by the All Blacks and featured four tries, now worth five points each, by Jonah Lomu; England lost 45–29.[34] They then lost the third-place play-off match against France.[35]

 Professional era [ edit ]

 England won their 20th Triple Crown title in 1997, but came second in the championship after a narrow 23–20 defeat against France at Twickenham. Sir Clive Woodward replaced Jack Rowell as the England head coach later that year. On 6 December 1997, England drew 26–26 with New Zealand at Twickenham, after being heavily defeated (29–11) by South Africa at the same venue the week before and by New Zealand (25–8) in Manchester two weeks previously. In 1998, England toured Australia, New Zealand and South Africa; many of the experienced players were unavailable for what was to become nicknamed the "Tour from Hell" during which England lost all of their matches including a punishing 76–0 defeat by the Wallabies.[36][37] In the last Five Nations match on 11 April 1999, with England poised to win the championship, Welsh centre Scott Gibbs sliced through six English tackles to score a try in the last minute, and the ensuing conversion by Neil Jenkins handed the final Five Nations title to Scotland.[ citation needed ]

 Celebrations at Trafalgar Square after England's 2003 World Cup victory

 England commenced the new millennium by winning the inaugural Six Nations Championship, although they lost their last match to Scotland.[38] They successfully defended their title the following year, but missed out on the Grand Slam by losing 20–14 to Ireland in a postponed match at Lansdowne Road.[39] Although France won the 2002 Six Nations Championship, England defeated the other Home Nations teams to win the Triple Crown.[40] In 2002, England beat Argentina 26–18 in Buenos Aires,[41] and in the Autumn internationals they defeated New Zealand 31–28,[42] Australia 32–31,[43] and South Africa 53–3 at Twickenham.[44] At the 2003 Six Nations Championship, England won the Grand Slam for the first time since 1995,[ citation needed ] followed by wins over Australia and the All Blacks on their June summer tour.[ citation needed ]

 Going into the 2003 World Cup as one of the tournament favourites,[45] England reached the final on 22 November 2003 against host Australia. The game went into extra time with the score tied at 14–14; after one penalty apiece and with just seconds to spare, a match-winning drop goal by fly-half Jonny Wilkinson brought the final score to 20–17, making England rugby world champions for the first time. Not only was this England's first Rugby World Cup victory, but it was the nation's first world cup since the England national football team won the 1966 FIFA World Cup. On 8 December, the England team were greeted by 750,000 supporters on a victory parade through London before meeting Queen Elizabeth II at Buckingham Palace.[46]

 The England national squad training for the 2007 Rugby World Cup at the University of Bath

 England finished third in the 2004 Six Nations Championship after losing their matches to both France and Ireland.[47] Clive Woodward resigned as head coach on 2 September and Andy Robinson was appointed to replace him.[48] Robinson's first Six Nations campaign in 2005 resulted in fourth place for England,[49] and although they defeated Australia 26–16 at Twickenham in the Autumn internationals,[50] this was followed by a 23–19 loss to the All Blacks.[51]

 A 25–14 loss to South Africa in the 2006 Autumn internationals[52] was England's eighth defeat in nine test matches, their worst losing streak. Andy Robinson resigned as head coach after this run, and attack coach Brian Ashton was appointed as his replacement in December.[53] England started the 2007 Six Nations Championship with a Calcutta Cup victory over Scotland.[54] That year's championship included a historic match at Croke Park which England lost 43–13, their heaviest defeat against Ireland.[55]

 At the 2007 World Cup, England were grouped in Pool A with Samoa, Tonga, South Africa, and the United States. They progressed to the knockout stage despite a heavy 36–0 loss to South Africa, and narrowly defeated Australia 12–10 in the quarter-finals. England then faced hosts France in the semi-finals and triumphed 14–9 to qualify for the final, where they were subjected to a second defeat by the Springboks at this World Cup, losing the match 15–6. England followed up their World Cup disappointment with two consecutive second-place finishes in the Six Nations Championship, behind Wales (2008) and Ireland (2009). Former England team captain Martin Johnson took up the job of head coach in July 2008 but, unable to replicate his on-field success in the management role, he resigned in November 2011 following a miserable Rugby World Cup which featured a series of on- and off-field controversies and ended in quarter-final defeat by France.[ citation needed ]

 In March 2012, the Rugby Football Union appointed Stuart Lancaster, the former Elite Rugby Director at Leeds Carnegie, as England's head coach.[56] He had previously been employed in the position on a short-term basis, assisted by existing forwards coach Graham Rowntree, and Andy Farrell. Lancaster was considered a success in his first campaign as head coach: defending champions England took second place in the 2012 Six Nations Championship after losing 19–12 to Wales at Twickenham, but successfully defended the Calcutta Cup by defeating Scotland 13–6 at Murrayfield. England finished the year on a high when they beat World Cup holders New Zealand 38–21 at Twickenham in the Autumn internationals; the England team dominated the match and completely outplayed the All Blacks, who had been unbeaten in 20 matches.[57]

 At the 2013 Six Nations Championship, England again finished in second place behind Wales, and were deprived of the opportunity to win the Grand Slam for the first time since 2003 when defeated by Wales in Cardiff 30–3. It was the first time since 1974 that every team in the Six Nations managed to win at least three competition points (the equivalent of a win and a draw, or three draws). However, England retained the Calcutta Cup by defeating Scotland 38–18 at Twickenham. Lancaster took an experimental side on a summer tour of Argentina in 2013; after beating a South American select XV on 2 June, England achieved a 2–0 series victory over Argentina, their first away series win against the Pumas for 32 years.[58]

 In 2015, England hosted the Rugby World Cup, but were eliminated in the pool stage.[59] Despite this setback, and following the appointment of new head coach Eddie Jones, England won the Grand Slam in the 2016 Six Nations Championship, and remained unbeaten for the whole of 2016, including a series whitewash of Australia in Sydney. They went on to equal the world record of 18 consecutive test wins with an impressive 61–21 victory over Scotland in securing the 2017 Six Nations Championship.[ citation needed ]

 2018 began well for England, seeing off a spirited challenge from Italy 46–15, and winning a tight contest against Wales 12–6 in the first two rounds of the Six Nations. However, it wasn't until June before England recorded another win, as the team lost their remaining games against Scotland (25–13), France (22–16) and eventual Grand Slam winners Ireland (24–15) at home at Twickenham. A non-test loss against the Barbarians (63–45) followed.[60]

 On their summer tour of South Africa, England lost the first two matches 42–39 and 23–12, after leading both early in the first half, before winning the third test 25–10 against a mostly second-string Springbok side. That autumn, after adding former New Zealand and United States coach John Mitchell to the coaching setup, England won the return match against South Africa by a single point at 12–11, and lost an equally close contest with New Zealand 16–15, both in controversial circumstances.[61][62] England rounded out the year with wins over Japan (35–15) and Australia (37–18). The win over Australia continued an unbroken run of victories over the Wallabies under former Australia coach Eddie Jones.[ citation needed ]

 England finished second in the 2019 Six Nations Championship having lost to Wales in Cardiff and drawn 38-38 with Scotland at Twickenham after leading 31-0. In the 2019 Rugby World Cup warm-up matches they defeated Wales 33-19 at Twickenham before losing 13-6 in Cardiff. They then recorded their largest win over Ireland with a 57-15 victory at Twickenham before defeating Italy 37-0 at St James' Park. In the 2019 Rugby World Cup, England became the first team to qualify for the quarter-finals following a 39-10 win over Argentina in Chōfu. After their final match was cancelled due to Typhoon Hagibis, England topped Pool C and faced Australia in the quarter-finals. England won the quarter-final 40-16, recording a seventh successive victory over Australia in the Wallabies' largest-ever Rugby World Cup defeat. England then defeated New Zealand in the semi-final, equalling their largest Rugby World Cup defeat with a 19-7 victory in which the All Blacks were kept scoreless for 57 minutes. On 2 November 2019, England were defeated 12-32 by South Africa in the 2019 Rugby World Cup Final.

 In the 2020 Six Nations Championship, England were defeated 24-17 in their opening game against France in Paris before recording victories against Scotland at Murrayfield and Ireland and Wales at Twickenham. The tournament was then halted due to the COVID-19 pandemic and resumed with the matches played in empty stadia in October. In the postponed matches, England recorded a bonus point win over Italy in Rome before France's defeat of Ireland by eight points meant that England won the championship on points difference. Due to the pandemic, the scheduled 2020 Autumn Internationals were replaced by the Autumn Nations Cup. England defeated Georgia, Wales and Ireland before facing France in the final match, winning 22-19 after extra time at Twickenham to secure the tournament.

 England finished fifth in the 2021 Six Nations Championship, beating France and Italy but losing to all three home nations for the first time since 1976 and conceding defeat to Scotland at Twickenham for the first time since 1983. In the 2021 autumn internationals England played three matches at Twickenham. They secured a 69-3 victory over Tonga, recorded their eighth successive victory against Australia and defeated world champions South Africa 27-26.

 England finished third in the 2022 Six Nations Championship after defeating Italy and Wales but losing to Ireland, France and Scotland.

 Home stadium [ edit ]

 Main article: Twickenham Stadium
 Aerial view of Twickenham Stadium
 Twickenham before a match in November 2012

 Twickenham is the largest dedicated rugby stadium in the world. In the early years, the English rugby team used a number of venues in several different locations around England before settling at Twickenham Stadium in 1910. After sell-out matches at Crystal Palace against New Zealand in 1905 and South Africa in 1906, the Rugby Football Union (RFU) decided to invest in their own ground and arranged for sportsman and entrepreneur Billy Williams to find a home ground for English Rugby. The land for the ground was purchased in 1907 for £5,572 12s and 6d, and construction began the following year.[63]

 The first international match at Twickenham took place on 15 January 1910 between England and Wales. The home team ran out winners 11–6, beating Wales for the first time since 1898.[64] The stadium was expanded in 1927 and again in 1932, but there were no further upgrades until the 1990s when new North, East and West stands were built;[63] a South stand was erected in 2005 and 2006 to make the stadium into a complete bowl. England played their first test match at the redeveloped Twickenham on 5 November 2006 against the All Blacks,[65] who won the match 41–20, dominating the England team in front of a record crowd of 82,076.[66]

 The pitch at Twickenham was replaced in June 2012 with a hybrid 'Desso' type, which uses artificial fibres entwined with real grass. This type of pitch surface is particularly hard wearing in wet conditions.[67]

 England home matches outside Twickenham [ edit ]

 Although England have played home matches almost exclusively at Twickenham since 1910, they have occasionally used alternative English venues. England home matches have been hosted at Leicester's Welford Road (1923), London's Wembley Stadium (1992), Manchester's Old Trafford (1997 and 2009), Huddersfield's McAlpine Stadium (twice in 1998),[68] Manchester's Etihad Stadium (2015), and St James' Park in Newcastle upon Tyne (2019).

 Date Team Result Venue Ref.
 10 February 1923 Ireland 23–5 Welford Road, Leicester [69]
 17 October 1992 Canada 26–13 Wembley Stadium, London [70]
 22 November 1997 New Zealand 8–25 Old Trafford, Manchester [71]
 14 November 1998 Netherlands 110–0 McAlpine Stadium, Huddersfield [72]
 22 November 1998 Italy 23–15 McAlpine Stadium, Huddersfield [72]
 6 June 2009 Argentina 37–15 Old Trafford, Manchester[a] [71]
 10 October 2015 Uruguay 60–3 Etihad Stadium, Manchester[b] [73]
 6 September 2019 Italy 37–0 St James' Park, Newcastle upon Tyne [74]
 

 a The first of a two-test series, this match was originally scheduled to be held in Argentina but moved by the Argentine Rugby Union for financial reasons. [75]
 b This was a Pool A match at the 2015 Rugby World Cup .

 England also played a Five Nations match against Wales at Wembley Stadium on 11 April 1999. Wales was the "home team" on this occasion because Wembley was being used as a temporary base while their new stadium in Cardiff was being constructed. Wales won the match 32–31.[76][77]

 "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot" [ edit ]

 Main article: Swing Low, Sweet Chariot

 "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot" is commonly sung at England fixtures – especially at Twickenham. In the last match of the 1988 season, against Ireland, three of England's tries were scored by Chris Oti. A group of boys from the Benedictine school Douai, following a tradition at their school games, sang the song on his final try, and other spectators around the ground joined in.[78][79] Since then "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot" became a song to sing at England home games.[80] In 1991, the RFU marketing director Mike Coley for the team to launch a song leading up to that year's Rugby World Cup. He had wanted to use "Jerusalem", but it was used in the Rugby League Challenge Cup final that year, so the song was changed at short notice to "Swing Low".[ citation needed ] There were a number of versions recorded and the version released did reach the top 40 in the UK Singles Chart during the competition.[81]

 Strip [ edit ]

 Wikimedia Commons has media related to England national rugby union team kits .
 Tom Palmer wearing the traditional white England shirt at the 2011 World Cup

 England rugby union players typically wear all-white jerseys and white shorts, with predominantly navy blue socks. The emblem on the jerseys is a red rose. As of 1 September 2020, the strip is manufactured by Umbro and the shirt sponsor is O2. The away strip is usually red or dark grey (described as "anthracite"); prior to the introduction of the grey strip, red was the traditional change colour. Navy blue has also been used in the past and was reintroduced for the 2016–17 and 2020–21 seasons.[ citation needed ] Purple was used during the 2009 autumn internationals, reflecting the traditional colour of the original England tracksuits from the 1960s until the 1980s.[ citation needed ] The away strip was black for the first time during the 2011 Rugby World Cup.[ citation needed ]

 The red rose has been the emblem of England since the first international v Scotland in 1871

 The Rugby Football Union (RFU) had created the national side's emblem prior to an English team being sent to Edinburgh to play a Scottish side. A red rose was chosen to be the side's emblem.[82] The white kit worn by the national team was taken from the kit used at Rugby School.[82] Alfred Wright, an employee of the Rugby Football Union, is credited with the standardisation and new design of the rose, which up until 1920 had undergone many variations in its depiction.[82] The Wright design is thought to have been used without minor alteration until the late 1990s.[82] It was not until 1997 that the rose was modernised,[83] when Nike became the official strip supplier (with the stem section of the rose being green rather than brown as previously).[ citation needed ]

 In 2003, England first used a skin-tight strip. This was intended to make it more difficult for the opposition to grasp the shirt when tackling.[84]

 The current England strip for 2020–21 is made by Umbro. It features plain white shorts and a plain white jersey with red seams on the neck and sleeves. The current alternative kit is blue and features the same red seams. Shorts are also blue. Home socks are blue with a white top, alternative socks are plain blue.[85]

 Kit providers [ edit ]

 Year Kit manufacturer Main shirt sponsor 
 1960s Lillywhites[86] 
 1970s—1983 Umbro[87] 
 1984—1990 Bukta 
 1991–1997 Cotton Traders BT Cellnet (1996-Jun 2002)
 1997–2012 Nike O2 (Jun 2002-present) 
 2012–2020 Canterbury[88] 
 2020–present Umbro[89][90] 
 

 Record [ edit ]

 Six Nations [ edit ]

 England competes annually in the Six Nations Championship, which is played against five other European nations: France, Ireland, Italy, Scotland, and Wales. The Six Nations started out as the Home Nations Championship in 1883 which England won with a Triple Crown. England have won the title outright 29 times (a record for the tournament) and shared victory ten times. Their longest wait between championships was 18 years (1892–1910). During the Six Nations, England also contests the Calcutta Cup with Scotland (which England first won in 1880) and the Millennium Trophy with Ireland (which England first won in 1988). The matches between England and France are traditionally known as "Le Crunch".

  
 England France Ireland Italy Scotland Wales 
 Tournaments 125 92 127 22 127 127 
 Outright wins (shared wins)
 Home Nations 5 (4) — 4 (3) — 9 (2) 7 (3) 
 Five Nations 17 (6) 12 (8) 6 (5) — 5 (6) 15 (8) 
 Six Nations 7 6 4 0 0 6 
 Overall 29 (10) 18 (8) 14 (8) 0 (0) 14 (8) 28 (11)
 Grand Slams 
 Home Nations 0 — 0 — 0 2 
 Five Nations 11 6 1 — 3 6 
 Six Nations 2 4 2 0 0 4 
 Overall 13 10 3 0 3 12 
 Triple Crowns 
 Home Nations 5 — 2 — 7 6 
 Five Nations 16 — 4 — 3 11 
 Six Nations 5 — 6 — 0 5 
 Overall 26 — 12 — 10 22 
 Wooden Spoons 
 Home Nations 7 — 10 — 5 2 
 Five Nations 10 9 15 — 15 6 
 Six Nations 0 1 0 17 4 1 
 Overall 17 10 25 17 24 9 
 

 Note: England are the only team to have won more than two successive grand slams, doing so in 1913–1914, 1923–1924 and 1991–1992; while Wales and France the only other teams to have done so twice, in 1908–1909 for Wales and 1997–1998 for France.

 Rugby World Cup [ edit ]

 Main article: England at the Rugby World Cup
 Rugby World Cup Qualification
 Year Round Pld W D L PF PA Squad Pos Pld W D L PF PA
 1987 Quarter-finals 4 2 0 2 103 48 Squad Invited 
 1991 Runners-up 6 4 0 2 119 61 Squad Automatically qualified
 1995 Fourth Place 6 4 0 2 158 146 Squad Automatically qualified
 1999 Quarter-finals 5 3 0 2 250 115 Squad 1st 2 2 0 0 133 15
 2003 Champions 7 7 0 0 327 88 Squad Automatically qualified
 2007 Runners-up 7 5 0 2 140 122 Squad Automatically qualified
 2011 Quarter-finals 5 4 0 1 149 53 Squad Automatically qualified
 2015 Pool Stage 4 2 0 2 133 75 Squad Automatically qualified
 2019 Runners-up 6 5 0 1 190 75 Squad Automatically qualified
 2023  Automatically qualified
 Total Champions 50 36 0 14 1569 783 2 2 0 0 133 15
 * Champions 
 * Runners-up 
 * Third place 
 * Fourth place
 * Home venue 
 
 See also: List of England national rugby union team tours and series and List of England national rugby union team matches

 England have contested every Rugby World Cup since the tournament began in 1987, reaching the final four times and winning the title in 2003.

 In the inaugural tournament, England finished second in their pool before losing to Wales in the quarter-finals. They again finished pool runners-up in 1991 but recovered to beat France in the quarter-finals, and then Scotland in the semi-finals, en route to a 12–6 final defeat to Australia at Twickenham on 2 November 1991.

 In 1995, England topped their pool and defeated Australia 25–22 at the quarter-final stage before being beaten by the All Blacks in the semi-final. Their third-place play-off match against France was lost 19–9.

 In the 1999 tournament, England again finished second in their pool. Although they proceeded to win a play-off game against Fiji, they went out of the tournament in the quarter-finals, losing 44–21 to South Africa.

 England came top of their pool in 2003 and progressed to the final, beating Wales and France in the quarter- and semi-finals. With a drop goal in the last minute of extra time, England won the final 20–17 against Australia in Sydney on 22 November 2003.

 England made a poor start to their defence of the World Cup in 2007, with a below par victory over the United States and a heavy 36–0 defeat to South Africa, leaving the title holders on the brink of elimination at the pool stage. Improved performances against Samoa and Tonga ensured that England again reached the knockout stage as pool runners-up, before a surprise 12–10 defeat of Australia in the quarter-finals followed by a narrow 14–9 victory over the host nation carried England to a second successive final appearance. In the final, held in Paris on 20 October, England lost 15–6 to South Africa, their second defeat by the Springboks during the 2007 tournament.

 England reached the quarter-final stage in 2011, losing 19–12 to France.

 In 2015, England became the first sole host nation to fail to qualify for the knockout stage, after losing to Wales and Australia in the pool stage.

 In 2019, England finished top of their pool before defeating Australia and New Zealand in the knockout stage. On 2 November 2019, they suffered a 32–12 final defeat to South Africa in Yokohama, becoming World Cup runners-up for the third time.

 England's Jonny Wilkinson is the highest points scorer in the Rugby World Cup, having scored 277 points between 1999 and 2011. England have the fourth most points and the fourth most tries scored in the Rugby World Cup.

 Overall [ edit ]

 Men's World Rugby Rankings 
 * v 
 * t 
 * e 
 Top 20 as of 16 January 2023[91]
 Rank Change* Team Points 
 1 Ireland 0 90.63
 2 France 0 90.01
 3 New Zealand 0 88.98
 4 South Africa 0 88.97
 5 England 0 83.66
 6 3 Australia 0 81.80
 7 1 Scotland 0 81.55
 8 1 Argentina 0 80.72
 9 Wales 0 78.09
 10 Japan 0 77.39
 11 Samoa 0 76.03
 12 Italy 0 75.95
 13 Georgia 0 75.19
 14 Fiji 0 74.84
 15 Tonga 0 71.21
 16 Spain 0 67.17
 17 Uruguay 0 66.24
 18 Portugal 0 65.97
 19 United States 0 65.92
 20 Romania 0 64.79
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
 * Change from the previous week 
 England's historical rankings 
 See or edit source data. 
 Source: World Rugby[91] 
 Graph updated to 16 January 2023
 

 When the World Rugby Rankings were first introduced in early September 2003, England were ranked 1st; they fell to 2nd for a week in November 2003 before regaining 1st place. They again dropped to 2nd in the rankings, and then to 3rd, from mid-June 2004. Following the 2005 Six Nations Championship, they fell to 6th in the world rankings, where they remained until moving up to 5th place in December of that year. After a decline in form in 2006, England finished the year ranked 7th; however, they bounced back to 3rd in 2007 due to their good run in that year's World Cup, where they finished runners-up.

 Their ranking slipped again in 2008 and during the 2009 Six Nations Championship they dropped to their lowest ranking of 8th, where they remained for the duration of the 2009 Autumn internationals. After a brief resurgence that saw them rise to a ranking of 4th in the world, England again slipped following a poor showing at the 2011 Rugby World Cup and were ranked 6th in February 2012. The team entered the 2015 Rugby World Cup ranked 4th, but after failing to progress beyond the pool stage, England again sank to 8th in the world in November 2015. In March 2016, after securing the Grand Slam in the 2016 Six Nations Championship, England rose to second place, where they remained the following year after winning the 2017 Six Nations Championship. A poor fifth-place performance in the 2018 Six Nations Championship saw them fall to sixth place.

 In October 2019, England defeated New Zealand in the semi-final of the 2019 Rugby World Cup to top the World Rugby Rankings for the first time since 2004.[92] After losing the final to South Africa, England were ranked third. In November 2020, they regained second place following New Zealand's loss to Argentina.

 During the 2021 Six Nations, a fifth place finish saw England fall from second to third after defeats to Scotland, Wales and Ireland. After Australia won 5 matches in a row during the 2021 Rugby Championship, England fell to fourth until defeats of Australia and South Africa in the 2021 Autumn Nations Series saw them regain third place.

 During the 2022 Six Nations, England again suffered three defeats to Scotland, Ireland and France and fell from third to fifth.

 England have won 430 of their 772 test matches; a winning record of 59.11%.[93] Below is a summary table of capped England matches up to 26 November 2022. Only fixtures recognised as test matches by the RFU are included.

 Opponent Pld W D L W% PF PA PD 
 Argentina 25 19 1 5 79.14% 677 403 275 
 Australia 55 28 1 26 51.04% 1034 1,155 −152 
 Canada 7 7 0 0 100.00% 343 87 256 
 Fiji 7 7 0 0 100.00% 303 109 194 
 France 109 60 7 42 58.26% 1,777 1,424 365 
 Georgia 3 3 0 0 100.00% 165 16 149 
 Ireland 139 80 8 51 60.43% 1,714 1,234 497 
 Italy 29 29 0 0 100.00% 1,166 342 824 
 Japan 3 3 0 0 100.00% 147 35 112 
 Netherlands 1 1 0 0 100.00% 110 0 110 
 New Zealand 43 8 2 33 19.00% 619 1017 −398 
 New Zealand Natives 1 1 0 0 100.00% 7 0 7 
 Pacific Islanders 1 1 0 0 100.00% 39 13 26 
 Presidents XV 1 0 0 1 0.00% 11 28 −17 
 Romania 5 5 0 0 100.00% 335 24 311 
 Samoa 8 8 0 0 100.00% 292 114 178 
 Scotland 140 76 19 45 61.07% 1,710 1,262 451 
 South Africa 45 16 2 27 38.60% 769 972 −204 
 Tonga 3 3 0 0 100.00% 241 99 205 
 United States 7 7 0 0 100.00% 341 88 253 
 Uruguay 2 2 0 0 100.00% 171 16 155 
 Wales 138 66 12 60 52.17% 1,862 1,695 167 
 Total 772 430 52 290 59.11% 13,833 10,133 4,535
 

 Players [ edit ]

 Current squad [ edit ]

 On 19 December 2022, former England captain and Leicester Tigers head coach Steve Borthwick was appointed as England head coach by the RFU.[94] He replaced Eddie Jones, who was sacked from the role on 6 December 2022.[95]

 On 16 January 2023, Borthwick named a 36-player England squad for the 2023 Six Nations Championship.[96]

 * Head Coach: Steve Borthwick[97]
 * Defence Coach: Kevin Sinfield[98]
 * Attack Coach: Nick Evans[99]
 * Forwards Coach: Richard Cockerill[100]

 Caps and clubs updated to: 5 February 2023

 Player Position Date of birth (age) Caps Club/province 
 Jamie George Hooker 20 October 1990 (age 32) 73 Saracens 
 George McGuigan Hooker 30 March 1993 (age 29) 0 Gloucester 
 Jack Walker Hooker 6 May 1996 (age 26) 0 Harlequins 
 Dan Cole Prop 9 May 1987 (age 35) 96 Leicester Tigers 
 Ellis Genge Prop 16 February 1995 (age 27) 44 Bristol Bears 
 Joe Heyes Prop 13 April 1999 (age 23) 7 Leicester Tigers 
 Bevan Rodd Prop 26 August 2000 (age 22) 2 Sale Sharks 
 Kyle Sinckler Prop 30 March 1993 (age 29) 57 Bristol Bears 
 Mako Vunipola Prop 14 January 1991 (age 32) 75 Saracens 
 Ollie Chessum Lock 6 September 2000 (age 22) 6 Leicester Tigers 
 Jonny Hill Lock 8 June 1994 (age 28) 19 Sale Sharks 
 Nick Isiekwe Lock 20 April 1998 (age 24) 9 Saracens 
 Maro Itoje Lock 28 October 1994 (age 28) 63 Saracens 
 Ben Curry Flanker 15 June 1998 (age 24) 2 Sale Sharks 
 Ben Earl Flanker 7 January 1998 (age 25) 14 Saracens 
 Courtney Lawes Flanker 23 February 1989 (age 33) 96 Northampton Saints
 Lewis Ludlam Flanker 8 December 1995 (age 27) 15 Northampton Saints
 Jack Willis Flanker 24 December 1996 (age 26) 6 Toulouse 
 Alex Dombrandt Number 8 29 April 1997 (age 25) 8 Harlequins 
 Sam Simmonds Number 8 10 November 1994 (age 28) 18 Exeter Chiefs 
 Alex Mitchell Scrum-half 25 May 1997 (age 25) 1 Northampton Saints
 Jack van Poortvliet Scrum-half 15 May 2001 (age 21) 8 Leicester Tigers 
 Ben Youngs Scrum-half 5 September 1989 (age 33) 122 Leicester Tigers 
 Owen Farrell Fly-half 24 September 1991 (age 31) 102 Saracens 
 Fin Smith Fly-half 11 May 2002 (age 20) 0 Northampton Saints
 Marcus Smith Fly-half 14 February 1999 (age 23) 18 Harlequins 
 Elliot Daly Centre 8 October 1992 (age 30) 57 Saracens 
 Dan Kelly Centre 16 June 2001 (age 21) 1 Leicester Tigers 
 Joe Marchant Centre 16 July 1996 (age 26) 14 Harlequins 
 Henry Slade Centre 19 March 1993 (age 29) 52 Exeter Chiefs 
 Manu Tuilagi Centre 18 May 1991 (age 31) 50 Sale Sharks 
 Ollie Hassell-Collins Wing 17 January 1999 (age 24) 1 London Irish 
 Max Malins Wing 7 January 1997 (age 26) 15 Saracens 
 Cadan Murley Wing 31 July 1999 (age 23) 0 Harlequins 
 Tommy Freeman Fullback 5 March 2001 (age 21) 3 Northampton Saints
 Freddie Steward Fullback 5 December 2000 (age 22) 18 Leicester Tigers 
 

 On 29 January 2023, Borthwick named an updated 36-player squad, ahead of the opening fixture against Scotland on 4 February 2023, which added several players to the original squad, following injuries to Elliot Daly, Dan Kelly, Courtney Lawes, George McGuigan and Henry Slade.[101]

 Player Position Date of birth (age) Caps Club/province 
 Tom Dunn Hooker 12 November 1992 (age 30) 3 Bath 
 David Ribbans Lock 29 August 1995 (age 27) 3 Northampton Saints
 Ollie Lawrence Centre 18 September 1999 (age 23) 7 Bath 
 Guy Porter Centre 23 January 1997 (age 26) 4 Leicester Tigers 
 Anthony Watson Wing 26 February 1994 (age 28) 52 Leicester Tigers 
 

 Notable players [ edit ]

 See also: List of England national rugby union players

 Four former England representatives have been inducted into the International Rugby Hall of Fame: Bill Beaumont, Martin Johnson, Jason Leonard and Wavell Wakefield.[102][103]

 Seven former England internationals are also members of the IRB Hall of Fame. Four of them – Johnson,[104] Alan Rotherham, Harry Vassall[105] and Robert Seddon[106] – were inducted for their accomplishments as players. Two other former England players, John Kendall-Carpenter and Clive Woodward, were inducted into the IRB Hall for non-playing accomplishments in the sport.[104] Another former England player, Alfred St. George Hamersley, was inducted for achievements as both a player and a rugby administrator.[107]

 Wavell Wakefield represented England in 31 Tests between 1920 and 1927, including 13 Tests as captain. He was involved in three Five Nations Grand Slams in 1921, 1923 and 1924. Playing as flanker, Wakefield introduced new elements to back row tactics which beforehand concentrated on the set piece. He became a Member of Parliament in 1935, and was knighted in 1944. He became the RFU President in 1950 and following his retirement from politics was awarded the title the first Baron Wakefield of Kendal.[108]

 Between 1975 and 1982, Bill Beaumont represented England in 34 Tests. Playing at lock, he was captain between 1978 and 1982 in 21 Tests including the 1980 Grand Slam – England's first since 1957. Later that year, he captained the British Lions to South Africa – the first time an Englishman had captained the Lions since 1930. Furthermore, Beaumont represented the Barbarians FC on fifteen occasions.[109]

 At 22 the youngest England captain of modern times was Will Carling who represented England in 72 Tests, and as captain 59 times between 1988 and 1996. He was best known as a superlative leader, motivating England to a remarkable three Grand Slams in five years, including back to back slams in 1991 and 1992. He also led England to the final of the 1991 World Cup, and captained the Barbarians FC. His playing talents were not as flamboyant as some of his colleagues, but his effectiveness cemented him as a first choice at centre. It is possible he would already be in the Hall of Fame were it not for outspoken tendencies with respect to the English RFU committee ("Old Farts"), who may, as a result, be reluctant to acknowledge his achievements. He was made an OBE in 1991. Carling is not, however, the youngest England captain of all time; that honour goes to Frederic Stokes, who captained England against Scotland on 27 March 1871 aged just 20 years and 258 days.[110]

 Described as arguably "the greatest forward" to play for England,[111] Martin Johnson played 84 Tests for England, and 8 Tests for the British and Irish Lions.[112] He first represented England in 1993, and later that year the Lions. He captained the Lions to South Africa in 1997, and in 1999 was appointed captain of England. He became England's most successful ever captain. He became the first player to captain two Lions tours when he captained them in Australia in 2001.[113] He retired from Test rugby after he led England to a Six Nations Grand Slam and World Cup victory in 2003 and has since become the team Manager.[111] At the 2011 IRB Awards ceremony in Auckland on 24 October 2011, the night after the World Cup Final, Johnson was inducted into the IRB Hall of Fame alongside all other World Cup-winning captains from 1987 through 2007 (minus the previously inducted Australian John Eales).[104]

 Jason Leonard, also known as "The Fun Bus",[114] appeared 114 times for England at prop, which was the world record for international appearances for a national team until 2005, when it was surpassed by Australia scrum-half George Gregan.[115] He was on the England team that finished runners up to Australia in the 1991 Rugby World Cup final, but avenged this 12 years later, coming on as a substitute for Phil Vickery in England's victorious 2003 Rugby World Cup final appearance. He also went on three British and Irish Lions tours where he was capped five times.[115]

 Alan Rotherham and Harry Vassall, both 19th-century greats for Oxford and England, were inducted into the IRB Hall in April 2011. The IRB recognised them for "their unique contribution to the way that Rugby was played", specifically stating that they "are credited with pioneering the passing game and the three-man backline, which became widespread during the 1880s".[105]

 Two other England internationals, John Kendall-Carpenter and Clive Woodward, were inducted into the IRB Hall alongside Johnson at the 2011 IRB Awards. Although both had notable careers for England, they were recognised for accomplishments in other roles in the sport. Kendall-Carpenter was cited as one of four key figures in the creation of the Rugby World Cup, whilst Woodward was inducted as coach of the 2003 World Cup winners, alongside all other World Cup-winning coaches from 1987 to 2007.[104]

 England's most recent inductees into the IRB Hall are 19th-century internationals Alfred St. George Hamersley and Robert Seddon, both inducted in 2013. Hamersley played for England in the first rugby union international against Scotland in 1871, and captained England in the last of his four appearances in 1874. He went on to play significant roles in the early development of the sport in both New Zealand and Canada.[107] Seddon, capped three times for England in 1887, was most notable as the captain of the unofficial British side that toured Australia and New Zealand in 1888; he died in a boating accident during the tour. This venture proved to be the genesis of the modern British and Irish Lions. The touring team was also inducted alongside Seddon.[106]

 Individual records [ edit ]

 Main article: List of England national rugby union team records

 Ben Youngs holds the record for most appearances for England with 122. Jonny Wilkinson holds the England record for most points with 1,179, placing him second all-time in international rugby. Rory Underwood scored 49 tries - placing him sixth all-time in international rugby.

 Training [ edit ]

 Pennyhill Park Hotel in Bagshot, Surrey, is the chosen training base for the team in the 2015 Rugby World Cup. Loughborough University, Bisham Abbey and the University of Bath grounds served as training bases prior to this agreement. Martin Johnson noted the hotel's facilities and its proximity to Twickenham and Heathrow as deciding factors in this decision.[116] The team had their own pitchside gym and fitness rooms constructed on the hotel premises at the start of the long-term arrangement. Since its completion in 2010 the team also regularly use Surrey Sports Park at the University of Surrey in nearby Guildford for much of their training.[117]

 Club versus country [ edit ]

 England versus New Zealand in 2006.

 Although the England team is governed by the Rugby Football Union (RFU), players have been contracted to their clubs since the advent of professionalism in late 1995. Since then, players have often been caught in a "power struggle" between their clubs and the RFU; this is commonly referred to as a "club versus country" conflict.[118] The first major dispute between England's top clubs (who play in the English Premiership) and the RFU occurred in 1998, when some of the clubs refused to release players to tour Australia, New Zealand and South Africa.[119] The tour became known as the "Tour from hell" after an England squad of second-string players were defeated in all four Tests, including a 76–0 defeat by Australia.[120] The clubs also withdrew from the 1998–99 Heineken Cup.[121]

 In 2001, the top clubs and the RFU formed "England Rugby" to help govern the club and international game. The parties agreed to restrict the number of matches at club and international level that elite players (a group of 50 or 60 players selected by the RFU) could play in order to reduce player burnout and injuries.[122] In return for releasing players from club commitments, the clubs were to receive compensation from the RFU. This agreement was considered central to the England victory in the 2003 World Cup. Clive Woodward, England coach from November 1997, resigned in 2004 because he was unable to get the access to the players that he wanted: "I wanted more from the union – more training days with the players, more influence over the way they were treated – and ended up with less."[123] Andy Robinson, Woodward's successor, blamed the lack of control over players for his team's unsuccessful record.[124] Brian Ashton, who took over from Robinson, intentionally named his playing squad for Six Nations matches in 2007 early in the hope that their clubs would not play them in the weekend prior to a Test.[125] The RFU and the Premiership clubs are negotiating a similar deal to the one in 2001 that will enable international players to be released into the England squad prior to international matches.[126]

 Coaches [ edit ]

 The following is a list of all England coaches. The first appointed coach was Don White in 1969. The most recent former coach was Eddie Jones.[127] Jones took over from Stuart Lancaster a week after the latter's resignation, and he became the first foreigner to coach the English national side.

 Updated: 19 December 2022

 Name Tenure Tests Won Drew Lost Win Percent
 Don White[28] 20 December 1969 – 17 April 1971 11 3 1 7 0 27.3 
 John Elders 18 October 1971 – 16 March 1974[128] 16 6 1 9 0 37.5 
 John Burgess 18 January 1975 – 31 May 1975 6 1 0 5 0 16.7 
 Peter Colston 3 January 1976 – 17 March 1979 18 6 1 11 0 33.3 
 Mike Davis 24 November 1979 – 6 March 1982 16 10 2 4 0 62.5 
 Dick Greenwood 15 January 1983 – 20 April 1985 17 4 2 11 0 23.5 
 Martin Green 1 June 1985 – 8 June 1987 14 5 0 9 0 35.7 
 Geoff Cooke 16 January 1988 – 19 March 1994 50 36 1 13 0 72.0 
 Jack Rowell 4 June 1994 – 12 July 1997 29 21 0 8 0 72.4 
 Sir Clive Woodward 15 November 1997 – 2 September 2004[129] 83 59 2 22 0 71.1 
 Andy Robinson 15 October 2004 – 29 November 2006[130][131] 22 9 0 13 0 40.9 
 Brian Ashton 20 December 2006 – 1 June 2008[132] 22 12 0 10 0 54.5 
 Rob Andrew[a] 1 June 2008 – 30 June 2008[133] 2 0 0 2 00 0.0 
 Martin Johnson 1 July 2008[133] – 16 November 2011 38 21 1 16 0 55.3 
 Stuart Lancaster 8 December 2011 – 11 November 2015 46 28 1 17 0 60.9 
 Eddie Jones 20 November 2015 – 6 December 2022[134] 81 59 2 20 0 72.8 
 Steve Borthwick 19 December 2022 – Present 0 0 0 0 — 
 

 a Rob Andrew coached the team for the 2008 summer tests in New Zealand in Martin Johnson's absence.

 Richard Cockerill served briefly as interim head coach following the dismissal of Jones until the appointment of Borthwick. No tests were played during his tenure.

 Between September 2015 and March 2017, England won 18 test matches in a row – equalling the record for a top tier nation – 17 of which were under Eddie Jones.

 Media coverage [ edit ]

 England's autumn internationals are televised live by Prime Video. Highlights of the autumn tests are broadcast by the BBC. As of 2016, all Six Nations games are broadcast free-to-air on the BBC and ITV.

 See also [ edit ]

 * England national under-20 rugby union team
 * England national rugby sevens team
 * England Saxons
 * England women's national rugby union team
 * Rugby union in England

 Bibliography [ edit ]

 * Bowker, Barry (1978). England Rugby. Cassell. ISBN 978-0-304-30214-7.
 * Collins, Tony (2009). A Social History of English Rugby Union. Routledge. ISBN 978-0-415-47660-7.
 * Farmer, Stuart (2006). The Official England Rugby Miscellany. Vision Sports Publishing. ISBN 978-1-905326-12-9.
 * Morgan, Michael (2002). "Optimizing the structure of elite competitions in professional sport – lessons from Rugby Union". Managing Leisure. 7: 41–60. doi:10.1080/13606710110117023. S2CID 153521834.
 * Palenski, Ron (2003). Century in Black – 100 Years of All Black Test Rugby. Hodder Moa Beckett Publishers. ISBN 978-1-86958-937-0.
 * Tuck, Jason (2003). "The Men in White: Reflections on Rugby Union, the Media and Englishness". International Review for the Sociology of Sport. 38 (2): 177–199. doi:10.1177/1012690203038002003. S2CID 143294820.

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 117. ^ "Two of the three England teams to train at Surrey Sports Park managed emphatic victories over Wales in the RBS 6 Nations". Surrey Sports Park's Website. Archived from the original on 1 August 2013 . Retrieved 9 March 2012 .
 118. ^ Tuck (2003), pg 195.
 119. ^ Hewett, Chris (3 March 1998). "Woodward embroiled in club v country spat rears its face again". The Independent. London. p. 27.
 120. ^ Baldwin, Mark (2 November 2002). "Tour from Hell that left some players burnt". The Times. London. p. 40.
 121. ^ Morgan (2002), pg 56.
 122. ^ "New deal to protect England stars". BBC Sport. 24 July 2001. Archived from the original on 15 December 2003 . Retrieved 31 August 2007 .
 123. ^ Hewett, Chris (4 September 2004). "I wasn't ready to compromise. I wanted more and I got less...". The Independent. London. p. 76.
 124. ^ Walsh, David (5 August 2007). "The Big Interview: Andy Robinson". The Times. London. Archived from the original on 20 October 2021 . Retrieved 31 August 2007 .
 125. ^ "Ashton set to name side for Croker". rte.ie. 14 June 2007. Archived from the original on 30 September 2012 . Retrieved 31 August 2007 .
 126. ^ Cain, Nick (24 June 2007). "Peace deal agreed in club v country row". The Times. London. Archived from the original on 20 October 2021 . Retrieved 31 August 2007 .
 127. ^ "Eddie Jones appointed England Head Coach". RFU. 20 November 2015. Archived from the original on 22 November 2015 . Retrieved 20 November 2015 .
 128. ^ "England go for 'Quiet Man' Elders'". Daily Mirror. 19 October 1971 . Retrieved 10 March 2021 .
 129. ^ "Woodward quits England". BBC Sport. 3 September 2004. Archived from the original on 15 November 2006 . Retrieved 4 July 2007 .
 130. ^ "Robinson named new England coach". BBC Sport. 15 October 2004. Archived from the original on 27 April 2006 . Retrieved 4 July 2007 .
 131. ^ "Press Statement from Andy Robinson OBE". rfu.com. Rugby Football Union. 29 November 2006. Archived from the original on 3 June 2013 . Retrieved 4 July 2007 .
 132. ^ "England appoint Ashton to the top job". BBC Sport. 20 December 2006. Archived from the original on 11 January 2007 . Retrieved 4 July 2007 .
 133. ^ a b "Johnson named as England supremo". BBC Sport. 16 April 2008. Archived from the original on 22 April 2008 . Retrieved 18 April 2008 .
 134. ^ Kelleher, Will; Lowe, Alex. "Eddie Jones sacked as England head coach". The Times. ISSN 0140-0460 . Retrieved 6 December 2022 .

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England         Emblem Red Rose    Union  Rugby Football Union    Head coach  Steve Borthwick    Captain  Owen Farrell    Most caps   Ben Youngs (121)   Top scorer  Jonny Wilkinson (1,179)   Top try scorer  Rory Underwood (49)   Home stadium  Twickenham Stadium        
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  First colours   
   
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  Second colours   
  
      World Rugby ranking    Current 6 (as of 6 February 2023)   Highest 1 (2003, 2019)   Lowest 8 (2009, 2015)   First international    Scotland 1–0 England (Edinburgh, Scotland; 27 March 1871)   Biggest win    England 134–0 Romania (London, England; 17 November 2001)   Biggest defeat    Australia 76–0 England (Brisbane, Australia; 6 June 1998)    World Cup    Appearances 9 (First in 1987 )   Best result  Champions🥇 (2003)   Website  englandrugby.com    
The England national rugby union team represents England in men's international rugby union. They compete in the annual Six Nations Championship with France, Ireland, Italy, Scotland and Wales. England have won the championship on 29 occasions (as well as sharing 10 victories) – winning the Grand Slam 13 times and the Triple Crown 26 times – making them the most successful outright winners in the tournament's history. They are currently the only team from the Northern Hemisphere to win the Rugby World Cup, having won the tournament in 2003, and have been runners-up on three other occasions.
 The history of the team extends back to 1871 when the English rugby team played their first official test match, losing 1–0 to Scotland. England dominated the early Home Nations Championship (now the Six Nations) which started in 1883. Following the schism of rugby football in 1895 into union and league, England did not win the Championship again until 1910. They first played against New Zealand in 1905, South Africa in 1906, and Australia in 1909. England was one of the teams invited to take part in the inaugural Rugby World Cup in 1987 and progressed to the final in the second tournament in 1991, losing 12–6 to Australia. Following their Grand Slam in 2003, England went on to win the 2003 Rugby World Cup, defeating Australia 20–17 in extra time. They contested the final again in 2007 in defence of their title, losing 15–6 to South Africa, and reached the final for the fourth time in 2019, once again losing to South Africa, 32–12.
 England players traditionally wear a white shirt with a rose embroidered on the chest, white shorts, and navy blue socks with a white trim. England's home ground is Twickenham Stadium where they first played in 1910. The team is administered by the Rugby Football Union (RFU). Four former players have been inducted into the International Rugby Hall of Fame; one of these is also a member of the IRB Hall of Fame. Seven other former players are members of the IRB Hall – four solely for their accomplishments as players, two solely for their achievements in other roles in the sport, and one for achievements both as a player and administrator.
History[edit]
Early years[edit]
     
The expansion of rugby in the first half of the 19th century was driven by former pupils from many of England's public schools, especially Rugby, who, upon finishing school, took the game with them to universities, to London, and to the counties. [1]  England's first international match was against Scotland on 27 March 1871; not only was this England's first match, but it is also noted as being the first rugby union international. [2]  Scotland won the match by one goal and a try to England's one unconverted try, [3]   [4]  in front of a crowd of 4,000 people at Raeburn Place, Edinburgh. [5]  A subsequent international took place at the Oval in London on 5 February 1872, when England defeated Scotland by a goal, a drop goal and two tries to Scotland's one drop goal. [6]   [7]  The early matches did not use a structured points system; this would not be introduced until after 1890 when a suitable format for the scoring system had been devised. [4]  Up until 1875, international rugby matches were decided by the number of goals scored (conversions and dropped goals), but from 1876 the number of tries scored could be used to decide a match if the teams were level on goals. [8] 
 In 1875, England played their first game against Ireland at the Oval, winning by one goal, one drop goal and one try to nil; [4]  this was Ireland's first test match. [9]   [10]  England defeated Scotland in 1880 to become the first winners of the Calcutta Cup. [11]   [12]  Their first match against Wales was played on 19 February 1881 at Richardson's Field in Blackheath, [12]   [13]  where England recorded their largest victory, winning by seven goals, six tries, and one drop goal to nil, [4]  and scoring 13 tries in the process. [13]  The subsequent meeting the following year at St. Helen's in Swansea was a closer contest, with England defeating Wales by two goals and four tries to nil. [4]   [14]  Two years later, England emerged as the inaugural winners at the first Home Nations championship. [15]  In 1889, they played their first match against a non-home nations team when they defeated the New Zealand Natives at Rectory Field in Blackheath [16]   [17]  by one goal and four tries to nil. [4]  England shared the Home Nations trophy with Scotland in 1890. [18] 
 England first played New Zealand (known as the "All Blacks") in 1905 at Crystal Palace in London. New Zealand scored five tries, worth three points at the time, to win 15–0. [19]  England played France for the first time in March 1906 in Paris, winning 35–8, and later that year they first faced South Africa (known as the "Springboks"), again at Crystal Palace. James Peters was withdrawn from the England squad when the South Africans refused to play against a black player; [20]  the match was drawn 3–3. England first played Australia (known as the "Wallabies") in January 1909 at Blackheath's Rectory Field, where they were defeated 9–3. [21] 
      
The year 1909 saw the opening of Twickenham Stadium as the RFU's new home, heralding a golden era for English rugby union. England's first international at Twickenham in 1910 brought them victory over Wales on their way to winning the International Championship (known from then as the Five Nations) for the first time since 1892. Although England did not retain the Five Nations title in 1911, they did share it (with Ireland) in 1912. England then achieved their first Five Nations Grand Slam in 1913, another in 1914, and a third in 1921 after the First World War. A further two consecutive Grand Slams followed for the England team in 1924 and 1925, [22]  this despite having started 1925 with an 17–11 loss to the "Invincibles" in front of 60,000 fans at Twickenham. [23] 
 After winning a sixth Grand Slam in 1928, England were subjected to a 7–0 defeat by the Springboks in front of 70,000 spectators at Twickenham in January 1932. Following the expulsion of France from the International Championship in 1931 due to professionalism, which reverted the Five Nations tournament back to the Home Nations, [24]  England proceeded to win the 1934 and 1937 championships with a Triple Crown, and achieved their first victory over the All Blacks at Twickenham in January 1936. [25]   [26] 
 When the Five Nations resumed with the readmission of France in 1947 after the Second World War, England shared the championship with Wales. The early Five Nations competitions of the 1950s were unsuccessful for England, winning one match in the 1950 and 1951 championships. [22]  England won the 1953 Five Nations, and followed this up with a Grand Slam in 1957, and win in 1958. England broke France's four-championship streak by winning the 1963 Championship. [22]  After this victory, England played three Tests in the Southern Hemisphere and lost all three: 21–11 and 9–6 against the All Blacks, and 18–9 against Australia. [27]  England did not win a single match in 1966, and managed only a draw with Ireland. They did not win another Championship that decade.
  Don White was appointed as England's first coach in 1969. According to former Northampton player Bob Taylor, "Don was chosen because he was the most forward-thinking coach in England". [28]  His first match in charge was an 11–8 victory over South Africa at Twickenham in 1969.[ citation needed ] Of the eleven games England played with White in charge they won three, and drew one and lost seven. He resigned as England coach in 1971.[ citation needed ]
 England had wins against Southern Hemisphere teams in the 1970s; with victories over South Africa in 1972, New Zealand in 1973 and Australia in 1973 and 1976. The 1972 Five Nations Championship was not completed due to the Troubles in Northern Ireland when Scotland and Wales refused to play their Five Nations away fixtures in Ireland. England played in Dublin in 1973 and were given a standing ovation lasting five minutes. After losing 18–9 at Lansdowne Road, the England captain, John Pullin famously stated, "We might not be very good but at least we turned up." [29] 
 England started the following decade with a Grand Slam victory in the 1980 Five Nations – their first for 23 years. [30]  However in the 1983 Five Nations Championship, England failed to win a game and picked up the wooden spoon. [31]  In the first Rugby World Cup in New Zealand and Australia, England were grouped in pool A alongside Australia, Japan and the United States. England lost their first game 19–6 against Australia. They went on to defeat Japan and the United States, and met Wales in their quarter-final, losing the match 16–3. [32] 
 In 1989, England won matches against Romania and Fiji, followed by victories in their first three Five Nations games of 1990. They lost to Scotland in their last game however, giving Scotland a Grand Slam. England recovered in the following year by winning their first Grand Slam since 1980. England hosted the 1991 World Cup and were in pool A, along with the All Blacks, Italy and the United States. Although they lost to the All Blacks in pool play, they qualified for a quarter-final going on to defeat France 19–10. England then defeated Scotland 9–6 to secure a place in the final against Australia which they lost 12–6. [33] 
 The next year, England completed another Grand Slam and did not lose that year, including a victory over the Springboks. In the lead up to the 1995 World Cup in South Africa, England completed another Grand Slam – their third in five years. In the World Cup, England defeated Argentina, Italy and Samoa in pool play and then defeated Australia 25–22 in their quarter-final. England's semi-final was dominated by the All Blacks and featured four tries, now worth five points each, by Jonah Lomu; England lost 45–29. [34]  They then lost the third-place play-off match against France. [35] 
Professional era[edit]
England won their 20th Triple Crown title in 1997, but came second in the championship after a narrow 23–20 defeat against France at Twickenham. Sir Clive Woodward replaced Jack Rowell as the England head coach later that year. On 6 December 1997, England drew 26–26 with New Zealand at Twickenham, after being heavily defeated (29–11) by South Africa at the same venue the week before and by New Zealand (25–8) in Manchester two weeks previously. In 1998, England toured Australia, New Zealand and South Africa; many of the experienced players were unavailable for what was to become nicknamed the "Tour from Hell" during which England lost all of their matches including a punishing 76–0 defeat by the Wallabies. [36]   [37]  In the last Five Nations match on 11 April 1999, with England poised to win the championship, Welsh centre Scott Gibbs sliced through six English tackles to score a try in the last minute, and the ensuing conversion by Neil Jenkins handed the final Five Nations title to Scotland.[ citation needed ]
     
England commenced the new millennium by winning the inaugural Six Nations Championship, although they lost their last match to Scotland. [38]  They successfully defended their title the following year, but missed out on the Grand Slam by losing 20–14 to Ireland in a postponed match at Lansdowne Road. [39]  Although France won the 2002 Six Nations Championship, England defeated the other Home Nations teams to win the Triple Crown. [40]  In 2002, England beat Argentina 26–18 in Buenos Aires, [41]  and in the Autumn internationals they defeated New Zealand 31–28, [42]  Australia 32–31, [43]  and South Africa 53–3 at Twickenham. [44]  At the 2003 Six Nations Championship, England won the Grand Slam for the first time since 1995,[ citation needed ] followed by wins over Australia and the All Blacks on their June summer tour.[ citation needed ]
 Going into the 2003 World Cup as one of the tournament favourites, [45]  England reached the final on 22 November 2003 against host Australia. The game went into extra time with the score tied at 14–14; after one penalty apiece and with just seconds to spare, a match-winning drop goal by fly-half Jonny Wilkinson brought the final score to 20–17, making England rugby world champions for the first time. Not only was this England's first Rugby World Cup victory, but it was the nation's first world cup since the England national football team won the 1966 FIFA World Cup. On 8 December, the England team were greeted by 750,000 supporters on a victory parade through London before meeting Queen Elizabeth II at Buckingham Palace. [46] 
      The England national squad training for the 2007 Rugby World Cup at the University of Bath   
England finished third in the 2004 Six Nations Championship after losing their matches to both France and Ireland. [47]  Clive Woodward resigned as head coach on 2 September and Andy Robinson was appointed to replace him. [48]  Robinson's first Six Nations campaign in 2005 resulted in fourth place for England, [49]  and although they defeated Australia 26–16 at Twickenham in the Autumn internationals, [50]  this was followed by a 23–19 loss to the All Blacks. [51] 
 A 25–14 loss to South Africa in the 2006 Autumn internationals  [52]  was England's eighth defeat in nine test matches, their worst losing streak. Andy Robinson resigned as head coach after this run, and attack coach Brian Ashton was appointed as his replacement in December. [53]  England started the 2007 Six Nations Championship with a Calcutta Cup victory over Scotland. [54]  That year's championship included a historic match at Croke Park which England lost 43–13, their heaviest defeat against Ireland. [55] 
 At the 2007 World Cup, England were grouped in Pool A with Samoa, Tonga, South Africa, and the United States. They progressed to the knockout stage despite a heavy 36–0 loss to South Africa, and narrowly defeated Australia 12–10 in the quarter-finals. England then faced hosts France in the semi-finals and triumphed 14–9 to qualify for the final, where they were subjected to a second defeat by the Springboks at this World Cup, losing the match 15–6. England followed up their World Cup disappointment with two consecutive second-place finishes in the Six Nations Championship, behind Wales (2008) and Ireland (2009). Former England team captain Martin Johnson took up the job of head coach in July 2008 but, unable to replicate his on-field success in the management role, he resigned in November 2011 following a miserable Rugby World Cup which featured a series of on- and off-field controversies and ended in quarter-final defeat by France.[ citation needed ]
 In March 2012, the Rugby Football Union appointed Stuart Lancaster, the former Elite Rugby Director at Leeds Carnegie, as England's head coach. [56]  He had previously been employed in the position on a short-term basis, assisted by existing forwards coach Graham Rowntree, and Andy Farrell. Lancaster was considered a success in his first campaign as head coach: defending champions England took second place in the 2012 Six Nations Championship after losing 19–12 to Wales at Twickenham, but successfully defended the Calcutta Cup by defeating Scotland 13–6 at Murrayfield. England finished the year on a high when they beat World Cup holders New Zealand 38–21 at Twickenham in the Autumn internationals; the England team dominated the match and completely outplayed the All Blacks, who had been unbeaten in 20 matches. [57] 
 At the 2013 Six Nations Championship, England again finished in second place behind Wales, and were deprived of the opportunity to win the Grand Slam for the first time since 2003 when defeated by Wales in Cardiff 30–3. It was the first time since 1974 that every team in the Six Nations managed to win at least three competition points (the equivalent of a win and a draw, or three draws). However, England retained the Calcutta Cup by defeating Scotland 38–18 at Twickenham. Lancaster took an experimental side on a summer tour of Argentina in 2013; after beating a South American select XV on 2 June, England achieved a 2–0 series victory over Argentina, their first away series win against the Pumas for 32 years. [58] 
 In 2015, England hosted the Rugby World Cup, but were eliminated in the pool stage. [59]  Despite this setback, and following the appointment of new head coach Eddie Jones, England won the Grand Slam in the 2016 Six Nations Championship, and remained unbeaten for the whole of 2016, including a series whitewash of Australia in Sydney. They went on to equal the world record of 18 consecutive test wins with an impressive 61–21 victory over Scotland in securing the 2017 Six Nations Championship.[ citation needed ]
 2018 began well for England, seeing off a spirited challenge from Italy 46–15, and winning a tight contest against Wales 12–6 in the first two rounds of the Six Nations. However, it wasn't until June before England recorded another win, as the team lost their remaining games against Scotland (25–13), France (22–16) and eventual Grand Slam winners Ireland (24–15) at home at Twickenham. A non-test loss against the Barbarians (63–45) followed. [60] 
 On their summer tour of South Africa, England lost the first two matches 42–39 and 23–12, after leading both early in the first half, before winning the third test 25–10 against a mostly second-string Springbok side. That autumn, after adding former New Zealand and United States coach John Mitchell to the coaching setup, England won the return match against South Africa by a single point at 12–11, and lost an equally close contest with New Zealand 16–15, both in controversial circumstances. [61]   [62]  England rounded out the year with wins over Japan (35–15) and Australia (37–18). The win over Australia continued an unbroken run of victories over the Wallabies under former Australia coach Eddie Jones.[ citation needed ]
 England finished second in the 2019 Six Nations Championship having lost to Wales in Cardiff and drawn 38-38 with Scotland at Twickenham after leading 31-0. In the 2019 Rugby World Cup warm-up matches they defeated Wales 33-19 at Twickenham before losing 13-6 in Cardiff. They then recorded their largest win over Ireland with a 57-15 victory at Twickenham before defeating Italy 37-0 at St James' Park. In the 2019 Rugby World Cup, England became the first team to qualify for the quarter-finals following a 39-10 win over Argentina in Chōfu. After their final match was cancelled due to Typhoon Hagibis, England topped Pool C and faced Australia in the quarter-finals. England won the quarter-final 40-16, recording a seventh successive victory over Australia in the Wallabies' largest-ever Rugby World Cup defeat. England then defeated New Zealand in the semi-final, equalling their largest Rugby World Cup defeat with a 19-7 victory in which the All Blacks were kept scoreless for 57 minutes. On 2 November 2019, England were defeated 12-32 by South Africa in the 2019 Rugby World Cup Final.
 In the 2020 Six Nations Championship, England were defeated 24-17 in their opening game against France in Paris before recording victories against Scotland at Murrayfield and Ireland and Wales at Twickenham. The tournament was then halted due to the COVID-19 pandemic and resumed with the matches played in empty stadia in October. In the postponed matches, England recorded a bonus point win over Italy in Rome before France's defeat of Ireland by eight points meant that England won the championship on points difference. Due to the pandemic, the scheduled 2020 Autumn Internationals were replaced by the Autumn Nations Cup. England defeated Georgia, Wales and Ireland before facing France in the final match, winning 22-19 after extra time at Twickenham to secure the tournament.
 England finished fifth in the 2021 Six Nations Championship, beating France and Italy but losing to all three home nations for the first time since 1976 and conceding defeat to Scotland at Twickenham for the first time since 1983. In the 2021 autumn internationals England played three matches at Twickenham. They secured a 69-3 victory over Tonga, recorded their eighth successive victory against Australia and defeated world champions South Africa 27-26.
 England finished third in the 2022 Six Nations Championship after defeating Italy and Wales but losing to Ireland, France and Scotland. 
Home stadium[edit]
      Aerial view of Twickenham Stadium  
      Twickenham before a match in November 2012  
Twickenham is the largest dedicated rugby stadium in the world. In the early years, the English rugby team used a number of venues in several different locations around England before settling at Twickenham Stadium in 1910. After sell-out matches at Crystal Palace against New Zealand in 1905 and South Africa in 1906, the Rugby Football Union (RFU) decided to invest in their own ground and arranged for sportsman and entrepreneur Billy Williams to find a home ground for English Rugby. The land for the ground was purchased in 1907 for £5,572 12s and 6d, and construction began the following year. [63] 
 The first international match at Twickenham took place on 15 January 1910 between England and Wales. The home team ran out winners 11–6, beating Wales for the first time since 1898. [64]  The stadium was expanded in 1927 and again in 1932, but there were no further upgrades until the 1990s when new North, East and West stands were built; [63]  a South stand was erected in 2005 and 2006 to make the stadium into a complete bowl. England played their first test match at the redeveloped Twickenham on 5 November 2006 against the All Blacks, [65]  who won the match 41–20, dominating the England team in front of a record crowd of 82,076. [66] 
 The pitch at Twickenham was replaced in June 2012 with a hybrid 'Desso' type, which uses artificial fibres entwined with real grass. This type of pitch surface is particularly hard wearing in wet conditions. [67] 
England home matches outside Twickenham[edit]
Although England have played home matches almost exclusively at Twickenham since 1910, they have occasionally used alternative English venues. England home matches have been hosted at Leicester's Welford Road (1923), London's Wembley Stadium (1992), Manchester's Old Trafford (1997 and 2009), Huddersfield's McAlpine Stadium (twice in 1998), [68]  Manchester's Etihad Stadium (2015), and St James' Park in Newcastle upon Tyne (2019).
 
Date
Team
Result
Venue
Ref.
 
10 February 1923
 Ireland
23–5
 Welford Road, Leicester
  [69] 
 
17 October 1992
 Canada
26–13
 Wembley Stadium, London
  [70] 
 
22 November 1997
 New Zealand
8–25
 Old Trafford, Manchester
  [71] 
 
14 November 1998
 Netherlands
110–0
 McAlpine Stadium, Huddersfield
  [72] 
 
22 November 1998
 Italy
23–15
 McAlpine Stadium, Huddersfield
  [72] 
 
6 June 2009
 Argentina
37–15
 Old Trafford, Manchester [a] 
  [71] 
 
10 October 2015
 Uruguay
60–3
 Etihad Stadium, Manchester [b] 
  [73] 
 
6 September 2019
 Italy
37–0
 St James' Park, Newcastle upon Tyne
  [74] 
   
 a The first of a two-test series, this match was originally scheduled to be held in Argentina but moved by the Argentine Rugby Union for financial reasons. [75]  
b This was a Pool A match at the 2015 Rugby World Cup.
 England also played a Five Nations match against Wales at Wembley Stadium on 11 April 1999. Wales was the "home team" on this occasion because Wembley was being used as a temporary base while their new stadium in Cardiff was being constructed. Wales won the match 32–31. [76]   [77] 
"Swing Low, Sweet Chariot"[edit]
"Swing Low, Sweet Chariot" is commonly sung at England fixtures – especially at Twickenham. In the last match of the 1988 season, against Ireland, three of England's tries were scored by Chris Oti. A group of boys from the Benedictine school Douai, following a tradition at their school games, sang the song on his final try, and other spectators around the ground joined in. [78]   [79]  Since then "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot" became a song to sing at England home games. [80]  In 1991, the RFU marketing director Mike Coley for the team to launch a song leading up to that year's Rugby World Cup. He had wanted to use "Jerusalem", but it was used in the Rugby League Challenge Cup final that year, so the song was changed at short notice to "Swing Low".[ citation needed ] There were a number of versions recorded and the version released did reach the top 40 in the UK Singles Chart during the competition. [81] 
Strip[edit]
     
England rugby union players typically wear all-white jerseys and white shorts, with predominantly navy blue socks. The emblem on the jerseys is a red rose. As of 1 September 2020, the strip is manufactured by Umbro and the shirt sponsor is O2 . The away strip is usually red or dark grey (described as "anthracite"); prior to the introduction of the grey strip, red was the traditional change colour. Navy blue has also been used in the past and was reintroduced for the 2016–17 and 2020–21 seasons.[ citation needed ] Purple was used during the 2009 autumn internationals, reflecting the traditional colour of the original England tracksuits from the 1960s until the 1980s.[ citation needed ] The away strip was black for the first time during the 2011 Rugby World Cup.[ citation needed ]
      The red rose has been the emblem of England since the first international v Scotland in 1871  
The Rugby Football Union (RFU) had created the national side's emblem prior to an English team being sent to Edinburgh to play a Scottish side. A red rose was chosen to be the side's emblem. [82]  The white kit worn by the national team was taken from the kit used at Rugby School. [82]  Alfred Wright, an employee of the Rugby Football Union, is credited with the standardisation and new design of the rose, which up until 1920 had undergone many variations in its depiction. [82]  The Wright design is thought to have been used without minor alteration until the late 1990s. [82]  It was not until 1997 that the rose was modernised, [83]  when Nike became the official strip supplier (with the stem section of the rose being green rather than brown as previously).[ citation needed ]
 In 2003, England first used a skin-tight strip. This was intended to make it more difficult for the opposition to grasp the shirt when tackling. [84] 
 The current England strip for 2020–21 is made by Umbro. It features plain white shorts and a plain white jersey with red seams on the neck and sleeves. The current alternative kit is blue and features the same red seams. Shorts are also blue. Home socks are blue with a white top, alternative socks are plain blue. [85] 
Kit providers[edit]
 
Year
Kit manufacturer
Main shirt sponsor
 
1960s
   Lillywhites  [86]  
 
1970s—1983
   Umbro  [87]  
 
1984—1990
   Bukta 
 
1991–1997
   Cotton Traders 
 BT Cellnet (1996-Jun 2002)
 
1997–2012
   Nike 
 O2 (Jun 2002-present)
 
2012–2020
   Canterbury  [88] 
 
2020–present
   Umbro  [89]   [90] 
   
Record[edit]
Six Nations[edit]
England competes annually in the Six Nations Championship, which is played against five other European nations: France, Ireland, Italy, Scotland, and Wales. The Six Nations started out as the Home Nations Championship in 1883 which England won with a Triple Crown. England have won the title outright 29 times (a record for the tournament) and shared victory ten times. Their longest wait between championships was 18 years (1892–1910). During the Six Nations, England also contests the Calcutta Cup with Scotland (which England first won in 1880) and the Millennium Trophy with Ireland (which England first won in 1988). The matches between England and France are traditionally known as "Le Crunch".
 
 
  England
  France
  Ireland
  Italy
  Scotland
  Wales
 
 Tournaments 
125
92
127
22
127
127
 
 Outright wins (shared wins)
 
Home Nations
5 (4)
—
4 (3)
—
9 (2)
7 (3)
 
Five Nations
17 (6)
12 (8)
6 (5)
—
5 (6)
15 (8)
 
Six Nations
7
6
4
0
0
6
 
 Overall 
 29 (10)
 18 (8)
 14 (8)
 0 (0)
 14 (8)
 28 (11)
 
  Grand Slams 
 
Home Nations
0
—
0
—
0
2
 
Five Nations
11
6
1
—
3
6
 
Six Nations
2
4
2
0
0
4
 
 Overall 
 13 
 10 
 3 
 0 
 3 
 12
 
  Triple Crowns 
 
Home Nations
5
—
2
—
7
6
 
Five Nations
16
—
4
—
3
11
 
Six Nations
5
—
6
—
0
5
 
 Overall 
 26 
—
 12 
—
 10 
 22
 
  Wooden Spoons 
 
Home Nations
7
—
10
—
5
2
 
Five Nations
10
9
15
—
15
6
 
Six Nations
0
1
0
17
4
1
 
 Overall 
 17 
 10 
 25 
 17 
 24 
 9
 
 
 Note: England are the only team to have won more than two successive grand slams, doing so in 1913–1914, 1923–1924 and 1991–1992; while Wales and France the only other teams to have done so twice, in 1908–1909 for Wales and 1997–1998 for France.
Rugby World Cup[edit]
 
 Rugby World Cup
 Qualification
 
Year
Round
 Pld
 W
 D
 L
 PF
 PA
Squad
 Pos
 Pld
 W
 D
 L
 PF
 PA
 
     1987
Quarter-finals
4
2
0
2
103
48
 Squad
 Invited
 
           1991
  Runners-up 
 6
 4
 0
 2
 119
 61
  Squad 
 Automatically qualified
 
   1995
  Fourth Place 
 6
 4
 0
 2
 158
 146
  Squad 
 Automatically qualified
 
   1999
Quarter-finals
5
3
0
2
250
115
 Squad
1st
2
2
0
0
133
15
 
   2003
  Champions 
 7
 7
 0
 0
 327
 88
  Squad 
 Automatically qualified
 
   2007
  Runners-up 
 7
 5
 0
 2
 140
 122
  Squad 
 Automatically qualified
 
   2011
Quarter-finals
5
4
0
1
149
53
 Squad
 Automatically qualified
 
   2015
Pool Stage
4
2
0
2
133
75
 Squad
 Automatically qualified
 
   2019
  Runners-up 
6
5
0
1
190
75
  Squad 
 Automatically qualified
 
   2023
 Automatically qualified
 
Total
Champions
50
36
0
14
1569
783
2
2
0
0
133
15
 
     Champions    Runners-up   Third place   Fourth place   Home venue  
   
England have contested every Rugby World Cup since the tournament began in 1987, reaching the final four times and winning the title in 2003.
 In the inaugural tournament, England finished second in their pool before losing to Wales in the quarter-finals. They again finished pool runners-up in 1991 but recovered to beat France in the quarter-finals, and then Scotland in the semi-finals, en route to a 12–6 final defeat to Australia at Twickenham on 2 November 1991.
 In 1995, England topped their pool and defeated Australia 25–22 at the quarter-final stage before being beaten by the All Blacks in the semi-final. Their third-place play-off match against France was lost 19–9.
 In the 1999 tournament, England again finished second in their pool. Although they proceeded to win a play-off game against Fiji, they went out of the tournament in the quarter-finals, losing 44–21 to South Africa.
 England came top of their pool in 2003 and progressed to the final, beating Wales and France in the quarter- and semi-finals. With a drop goal in the last minute of extra time, England won the final 20–17 against Australia in Sydney on 22 November 2003.
 England made a poor start to their defence of the World Cup in 2007, with a below par victory over the United States and a heavy 36–0 defeat to South Africa, leaving the title holders on the brink of elimination at the pool stage. Improved performances against Samoa and Tonga ensured that England again reached the knockout stage as pool runners-up, before a surprise 12–10 defeat of Australia in the quarter-finals followed by a narrow 14–9 victory over the host nation carried England to a second successive final appearance. In the final, held in Paris on 20 October, England lost 15–6 to South Africa, their second defeat by the Springboks during the 2007 tournament.
 England reached the quarter-final stage in 2011, losing 19–12 to France.
 In 2015, England became the first sole host nation to fail to qualify for the knockout stage, after losing to Wales and Australia in the pool stage.
 In 2019, England finished top of their pool before defeating Australia and New Zealand in the knockout stage. On 2 November 2019, they suffered a 32–12 final defeat to South Africa in Yokohama, becoming World Cup runners-up for the third time.
 England's Jonny Wilkinson is the highest points scorer in the Rugby World Cup, having scored 277 points between 1999 and 2011. England have the fourth most points and the fourth most tries scored in the Rugby World Cup.
Overall[edit]
 
  Men's World Rugby Rankings      v     t     e      Top 20 as of 16 January 2023 [91] 
 
Rank
Change*
Team
Points
 
1
 
 Ireland 
090.63
 
2
 
 France 
090.01
 
3
 
 New Zealand 
088.98
 
4
 
 South Africa 
088.97
 
5
 
 England 
083.66
 
6
3
 Australia 
081.80
 
7
1
 Scotland 
081.55
 
8
1
 Argentina 
080.72
 
9
 
 Wales 
078.09
 
10
 
 Japan 
077.39
 
11
 
 Samoa 
076.03
 
12
 
 Italy 
075.95
 
13
 
 Georgia 
075.19
 
14
 
 Fiji 
074.84
 
15
 
 Tonga 
071.21
 
16
 
 Spain 
067.17
 
17
 
 Uruguay 
066.24
 
18
 
 Portugal 
065.97
 
19
 
 United States 
065.92
 
20
 
 Romania 
064.79
 
 * Change from the previous week
 
 England's historical rankings
 
   
See or edit source data.  
 
  Source: World Rugby  [91]  Graph updated to 16 January 2023 
 
 
When the World Rugby Rankings were first introduced in early September 2003, England were ranked 1st; they fell to 2nd for a week in November 2003 before regaining 1st place. They again dropped to 2nd in the rankings, and then to 3rd, from mid-June 2004. Following the 2005 Six Nations Championship, they fell to 6th in the world rankings, where they remained until moving up to 5th place in December of that year. After a decline in form in 2006, England finished the year ranked 7th; however, they bounced back to 3rd in 2007 due to their good run in that year's World Cup, where they finished runners-up.
 Their ranking slipped again in 2008 and during the 2009 Six Nations Championship they dropped to their lowest ranking of 8th, where they remained for the duration of the 2009 Autumn internationals. After a brief resurgence that saw them rise to a ranking of 4th in the world, England again slipped following a poor showing at the 2011 Rugby World Cup and were ranked 6th in February 2012. The team entered the 2015 Rugby World Cup ranked 4th, but after failing to progress beyond the pool stage, England again sank to 8th in the world in November 2015. In March 2016, after securing the Grand Slam in the 2016 Six Nations Championship, England rose to second place, where they remained the following year after winning the 2017 Six Nations Championship. A poor fifth-place performance in the 2018 Six Nations Championship saw them fall to sixth place.
 In October 2019, England defeated New Zealand in the semi-final of the 2019 Rugby World Cup to top the World Rugby Rankings for the first time since 2004. [92]  After losing the final to South Africa, England were ranked third. In November 2020, they regained second place following New Zealand's loss to Argentina.
 During the 2021 Six Nations, a fifth place finish saw England fall from second to third after defeats to Scotland, Wales and Ireland. After Australia won 5 matches in a row during the 2021 Rugby Championship, England fell to fourth until defeats of Australia and South Africa in the 2021 Autumn Nations Series saw them regain third place.
 During the 2022 Six Nations, England again suffered three defeats to Scotland, Ireland and France and fell from third to fifth.
 England have won 430 of their 772 test matches; a winning record of 59.11%. [93]  Below is a summary table of capped England matches up to 26 November 2022. Only fixtures recognised as test matches by the RFU are included.
 
Opponent
 Pld
 W
 D
 L
 W%
 PF
 PA
 PD
 
 Argentina
 25
19
1
5
79.14%
677
403
275
 
 Australia
 55
28
1
26
51.04%
1034
1,155
−152
 
 Canada
7
7
0
0
100.00%
343
87
256
 
 Fiji
7
7
0
0
100.00%
303
109
194
 
 France
 109
60
7
42
58.26%
1,777
1,424
365
 
 Georgia
3
3
0
0
100.00%
165
16
149
 
 Ireland
 139
80
8
51
60.43%
1,714
1,234
497
 
 Italy
 29
29
0
0
100.00%
1,166
342
824
 
 Japan
3
3
0
0
100.00%
147
35
112
 
 Netherlands
1
1
0
0
100.00%
110
0
110
 
 New Zealand
 43
8
2
33
19.00%
619
1017
−398
 
 New Zealand Natives
1
1
0
0
100.00%
7
0
7
 
 Pacific Islanders
1
1
0
0
100.00%
39
13
26
 
 Presidents XV
1
0
0
1
0.00%
11
28
−17
 
 Romania
5
5
0
0
100.00%
335
24
311
 
 Samoa
8
8
0
0
100.00%
292
114
178
 
 Scotland
 140
76
19
45
61.07%
1,710
1,262
451
 
 South Africa
 45
16
2
27
38.60%
769
972
−204
 
 Tonga
3
3
0
0
100.00%
241
99
205
 
 United States
7
7
0
0
100.00%
341
88
253
 
 Uruguay
2
2
0
0
100.00%
171
16
155
 
 Wales
 138
66
12
60
52.17%
1,862
1,695
167
 
Total
772
430
52
290
59.11%
13,833
10,133
4,535
 
 
Players[edit]
Current squad[edit]
On 19 December 2022, former England captain and Leicester Tigers head coach Steve Borthwick was appointed as England head coach by the RFU. [94]  He replaced Eddie Jones, who was sacked from the role on 6 December 2022. [95] 
 On 16 January 2023, Borthwick named a 36-player England squad for the 2023 Six Nations Championship. [96] 
  Caps and clubs updated to: 5 February 2023
 
Player
 Position
Date of birth (age)
Caps
Club/province
 
 Jamie George
 Hooker
20 October 1990 (age 32)
73
   Saracens
 
 George McGuigan
 Hooker
30 March 1993 (age 29)
0
   Gloucester
 
 Jack Walker
 Hooker
6 May 1996 (age 26)
0
   Harlequins
 
 Dan Cole
 Prop
9 May 1987 (age 35)
96
   Leicester Tigers
 
 Ellis Genge
 Prop
16 February 1995 (age 27)
44
   Bristol Bears
 
 Joe Heyes
 Prop
13 April 1999 (age 23)
7
   Leicester Tigers
 
 Bevan Rodd
 Prop
26 August 2000 (age 22)
2
   Sale Sharks
 
 Kyle Sinckler
 Prop
30 March 1993 (age 29)
57
   Bristol Bears
 
 Mako Vunipola
 Prop
14 January 1991 (age 32)
75
   Saracens
 
 Ollie Chessum
 Lock
6 September 2000 (age 22)
6
   Leicester Tigers
 
 Jonny Hill
 Lock
8 June 1994 (age 28)
19
   Sale Sharks
 
 Nick Isiekwe
 Lock
20 April 1998 (age 24)
9
   Saracens
 
 Maro Itoje
 Lock
28 October 1994 (age 28)
63
   Saracens
 
 Ben Curry
 Flanker
15 June 1998 (age 24)
2
   Sale Sharks
 
 Ben Earl
 Flanker
7 January 1998 (age 25)
14
   Saracens
 
 Courtney Lawes
 Flanker
23 February 1989 (age 33)
96
   Northampton Saints
 
 Lewis Ludlam
 Flanker
8 December 1995 (age 27)
15
   Northampton Saints
 
 Jack Willis
 Flanker
24 December 1996 (age 26)
6
   Toulouse
 
 Alex Dombrandt
 Number 8
29 April 1997 (age 25)
8
   Harlequins
 
 Sam Simmonds
 Number 8
10 November 1994 (age 28)
18
   Exeter Chiefs
 
 Alex Mitchell
 Scrum-half
25 May 1997 (age 25)
1
   Northampton Saints
 
 Jack van Poortvliet
 Scrum-half
15 May 2001 (age 21)
8
   Leicester Tigers
 
 Ben Youngs
 Scrum-half
5 September 1989 (age 33)
122
   Leicester Tigers
 
 Owen Farrell
 Fly-half
24 September 1991 (age 31)
102
   Saracens
 
 Fin Smith
 Fly-half
11 May 2002 (age 20)
0
   Northampton Saints
 
 Marcus Smith
 Fly-half
14 February 1999 (age 23)
18
   Harlequins
 
 Elliot Daly
 Centre
8 October 1992 (age 30)
57
   Saracens
 
 Dan Kelly
 Centre
16 June 2001 (age 21)
1
   Leicester Tigers
 
 Joe Marchant
 Centre
16 July 1996 (age 26)
14
   Harlequins
 
 Henry Slade
 Centre
19 March 1993 (age 29)
52
   Exeter Chiefs
 
 Manu Tuilagi
 Centre
18 May 1991 (age 31)
50
   Sale Sharks
 
 Ollie Hassell-Collins
 Wing
17 January 1999 (age 24)
1
   London Irish
 
 Max Malins
 Wing
7 January 1997 (age 26)
15
   Saracens
 
 Cadan Murley
 Wing
31 July 1999 (age 23)
0
   Harlequins
 
 Tommy Freeman
 Fullback
5 March 2001 (age 21)
3
   Northampton Saints
 
 Freddie Steward
 Fullback
5 December 2000 (age 22)
18
   Leicester Tigers
   
On 29 January 2023, Borthwick named an updated 36-player squad, ahead of the opening fixture against Scotland on 4 February 2023, which added several players to the original squad, following injuries to Elliot Daly, Dan Kelly, Courtney Lawes, George McGuigan and Henry Slade. [101] 
 
Player
 Position
Date of birth (age)
Caps
Club/province
 
 Tom Dunn
 Hooker
12 November 1992 (age 30)
3
   Bath
 
 David Ribbans
 Lock
29 August 1995 (age 27)
3
   Northampton Saints
 
 Ollie Lawrence
 Centre
18 September 1999 (age 23)
7
   Bath
 
 Guy Porter
 Centre
23 January 1997 (age 26)
4
   Leicester Tigers
 
 Anthony Watson
 Wing
26 February 1994 (age 28)
52
   Leicester Tigers
   
Notable players[edit]
Four former England representatives have been inducted into the International Rugby Hall of Fame: Bill Beaumont, Martin Johnson, Jason Leonard and Wavell Wakefield. [102]   [103] 
 Seven former England internationals are also members of the IRB Hall of Fame. Four of them – Johnson, [104]  Alan Rotherham, Harry Vassall  [105]  and Robert Seddon  [106]  – were inducted for their accomplishments as players. Two other former England players, John Kendall-Carpenter and Clive Woodward, were inducted into the IRB Hall for non-playing accomplishments in the sport. [104]  Another former England player, Alfred St. George Hamersley, was inducted for achievements as both a player and a rugby administrator. [107] 
 Wavell Wakefield represented England in 31 Tests between 1920 and 1927, including 13 Tests as captain. He was involved in three Five Nations Grand Slams in 1921, 1923 and 1924. Playing as flanker, Wakefield introduced new elements to back row tactics which beforehand concentrated on the set piece. He became a Member of Parliament in 1935, and was knighted in 1944. He became the RFU President in 1950 and following his retirement from politics was awarded the title the first Baron Wakefield of Kendal. [108] 
 Between 1975 and 1982, Bill Beaumont represented England in 34 Tests. Playing at lock, he was captain between 1978 and 1982 in 21 Tests including the 1980 Grand Slam – England's first since 1957. Later that year, he captained the British Lions to South Africa – the first time an Englishman had captained the Lions since 1930. Furthermore, Beaumont represented the Barbarians FC on fifteen occasions. [109] 
 At 22 the youngest England captain of modern times was Will Carling who represented England in 72 Tests, and as captain 59 times between 1988 and 1996. He was best known as a superlative leader, motivating England to a remarkable three Grand Slams in five years, including back to back slams in 1991 and 1992. He also led England to the final of the 1991 World Cup, and captained the Barbarians FC. His playing talents were not as flamboyant as some of his colleagues, but his effectiveness cemented him as a first choice at centre. It is possible he would already be in the Hall of Fame were it not for outspoken tendencies with respect to the English RFU committee ("Old Farts"), who may, as a result, be reluctant to acknowledge his achievements. He was made an OBE in 1991. Carling is not, however, the youngest England captain of all time; that honour goes to Frederic Stokes, who captained England against Scotland on 27 March 1871 aged just 20 years and 258 days. [110] 
 Described as arguably "the greatest forward" to play for England, [111]  Martin Johnson played 84 Tests for England, and 8 Tests for the British and Irish Lions. [112]  He first represented England in 1993, and later that year the Lions. He captained the Lions to South Africa in 1997, and in 1999 was appointed captain of England. He became England's most successful ever captain. He became the first player to captain two Lions tours when he captained them in Australia in 2001. [113]  He retired from Test rugby after he led England to a Six Nations Grand Slam and World Cup victory in 2003 and has since become the team Manager. [111]  At the 2011 IRB Awards ceremony in Auckland on 24 October 2011, the night after the World Cup Final, Johnson was inducted into the IRB Hall of Fame alongside all other World Cup-winning captains from 1987 through 2007 (minus the previously inducted Australian John Eales). [104] 
  Jason Leonard, also known as "The Fun Bus", [114]  appeared 114 times for England at prop, which was the world record for international appearances for a national team until 2005, when it was surpassed by Australia scrum-half George Gregan. [115]  He was on the England team that finished runners up to Australia in the 1991 Rugby World Cup final, but avenged this 12 years later, coming on as a substitute for Phil Vickery in England's victorious 2003 Rugby World Cup final appearance. He also went on three British and Irish Lions tours where he was capped five times. [115] 
  Alan Rotherham and Harry Vassall, both 19th-century greats for Oxford and England, were inducted into the IRB Hall in April 2011. The IRB recognised them for "their unique contribution to the way that Rugby was played", specifically stating that they "are credited with pioneering the passing game and the three-man backline, which became widespread during the 1880s". [105] 
 Two other England internationals, John Kendall-Carpenter and Clive Woodward, were inducted into the IRB Hall alongside Johnson at the 2011 IRB Awards. Although both had notable careers for England, they were recognised for accomplishments in other roles in the sport. Kendall-Carpenter was cited as one of four key figures in the creation of the Rugby World Cup, whilst Woodward was inducted as coach of the 2003 World Cup winners, alongside all other World Cup-winning coaches from 1987 to 2007. [104] 
 England's most recent inductees into the IRB Hall are 19th-century internationals Alfred St. George Hamersley and Robert Seddon, both inducted in 2013. Hamersley played for England in the first rugby union international against Scotland in 1871, and captained England in the last of his four appearances in 1874. He went on to play significant roles in the early development of the sport in both New Zealand and Canada. [107]  Seddon, capped three times for England in 1887, was most notable as the captain of the unofficial British side that toured Australia and New Zealand in 1888; he died in a boating accident during the tour. This venture proved to be the genesis of the modern British and Irish Lions. The touring team was also inducted alongside Seddon. [106] 
Individual records[edit]
 Ben Youngs holds the record for most appearances for England with 122. Jonny Wilkinson holds the England record for most points with 1,179, placing him second all-time in international rugby. Rory Underwood scored 49 tries - placing him sixth all-time in international rugby.
Training[edit]
 Pennyhill Park Hotel in Bagshot, Surrey, is the chosen training base for the team in the 2015 Rugby World Cup. Loughborough University, Bisham Abbey and the University of Bath grounds served as training bases prior to this agreement. Martin Johnson noted the hotel's facilities and its proximity to Twickenham and Heathrow as deciding factors in this decision. [116]  The team had their own pitchside gym and fitness rooms constructed on the hotel premises at the start of the long-term arrangement. Since its completion in 2010 the team also regularly use Surrey Sports Park at the University of Surrey in nearby Guildford for much of their training. [117] 
Club versus country[edit]
     
Although the England team is governed by the Rugby Football Union (RFU), players have been contracted to their clubs since the advent of professionalism in late 1995. Since then, players have often been caught in a "power struggle" between their clubs and the RFU; this is commonly referred to as a "club versus country" conflict. [118]  The first major dispute between England's top clubs (who play in the English Premiership) and the RFU occurred in 1998, when some of the clubs refused to release players to tour Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. [119]  The tour became known as the "Tour from hell" after an England squad of second-string players were defeated in all four Tests, including a 76–0 defeat by Australia. [120]  The clubs also withdrew from the 1998–99 Heineken Cup. [121] 
 In 2001, the top clubs and the RFU formed "England Rugby" to help govern the club and international game. The parties agreed to restrict the number of matches at club and international level that elite players (a group of 50 or 60 players selected by the RFU) could play in order to reduce player burnout and injuries. [122]  In return for releasing players from club commitments, the clubs were to receive compensation from the RFU. This agreement was considered central to the England victory in the 2003 World Cup. Clive Woodward, England coach from November 1997, resigned in 2004 because he was unable to get the access to the players that he wanted: "I wanted more from the union – more training days with the players, more influence over the way they were treated – and ended up with less." [123]  Andy Robinson, Woodward's successor, blamed the lack of control over players for his team's unsuccessful record. [124]  Brian Ashton, who took over from Robinson, intentionally named his playing squad for Six Nations matches in 2007 early in the hope that their clubs would not play them in the weekend prior to a Test. [125]  The RFU and the Premiership clubs are negotiating a similar deal to the one in 2001 that will enable international players to be released into the England squad prior to international matches. [126] 
Coaches[edit]
The following is a list of all England coaches. The first appointed coach was Don White in 1969. The most recent former coach was Eddie Jones. [127]  Jones took over from Stuart Lancaster a week after the latter's resignation, and he became the first foreigner to coach the English national side.
  Updated: 19 December 2022
 
Name
Tenure
Tests
Won
Drew
Lost
Win Percent
 
   Don White  [28] 
20 December 1969 – 17 April 1971
11
3
1
7
027.3
 
   John Elders
18 October 1971 – 16 March 1974 [128] 
16
6
1
9
037.5
 
   John Burgess
18 January 1975 – 31 May 1975
6
1
0
5
016.7
 
   Peter Colston
3 January 1976 – 17 March 1979
18
6
1
11
033.3
 
   Mike Davis
24 November 1979 – 6 March 1982
16
10
2
4
062.5
 
   Dick Greenwood
15 January 1983 – 20 April 1985
17
4
2
11
023.5
 
   Martin Green
1 June 1985 – 8 June 1987
14
5
0
9
035.7
 
   Geoff Cooke
16 January 1988 – 19 March 1994
50
36
1
13
072.0
 
   Jack Rowell
4 June 1994 – 12 July 1997
29
21
0
8
072.4
 
   Sir Clive Woodward
15 November 1997 – 2 September 2004 [129] 
83
59
2
22
071.1
 
   Andy Robinson
15 October 2004 – 29 November 2006 [130]   [131] 
22
9
0
13
040.9
 
   Brian Ashton
20 December 2006 – 1 June 2008 [132] 
22
12
0
10
054.5
 
   Rob Andrew  [a] 
1 June 2008 – 30 June 2008 [133] 
2
0
0
2
000.0
 
   Martin Johnson
1 July 2008 [133]  – 16 November 2011
38
21
1
16
055.3
 
   Stuart Lancaster
8 December 2011 – 11 November 2015
46
28
1
17
060.9
 
   Eddie Jones
20 November 2015 – 6 December 2022 [134] 
81
59
2
20
072.8
 
   Steve Borthwick
19 December 2022 – Present
0
0
0
0
—
   
 a Rob Andrew coached the team for the 2008 summer tests in New Zealand in Martin Johnson's absence.
  Richard Cockerill served briefly as interim head coach following the dismissal of Jones until the appointment of Borthwick. No tests were played during his tenure.
 Between September 2015 and March 2017, England won 18 test matches in a row – equalling the record for a top tier nation – 17 of which were under Eddie Jones.
Media coverage[edit]
England's autumn internationals are televised live by Prime Video. Highlights of the autumn tests are broadcast by the BBC. As of 2016, all Six Nations games are broadcast free-to-air on the BBC and ITV.
See also[edit]
  England national under-20 rugby union team 
 England national rugby sevens team 
 England Saxons 
 England women's national rugby union team 
 Rugby union in England  
Bibliography[edit]
  Bowker, Barry (1978). England Rugby. Cassell. ISBN  978-0-304-30214-7 . 
 Collins, Tony (2009). A Social History of English Rugby Union. Routledge. ISBN  978-0-415-47660-7 . 
 Farmer, Stuart (2006). The Official England Rugby Miscellany. Vision Sports Publishing. ISBN  978-1-905326-12-9 . 
 Morgan, Michael (2002). "Optimizing the structure of elite competitions in professional sport – lessons from Rugby Union". Managing Leisure. 7: 41–60. doi:10.1080/13606710110117023. S2CID 153521834. 
 Palenski, Ron (2003). Century in Black – 100 Years of All Black Test Rugby. Hodder Moa Beckett Publishers. ISBN  978-1-86958-937-0 . 
 Tuck, Jason (2003). "The Men in White: Reflections on Rugby Union, the Media and Englishness".  International Review for the Sociology of Sport . 38 (2): 177–199. doi:10.1177/1012690203038002003. S2CID 143294820.  
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  ^   "Swing Low Sweet Chariot as an England Rugby Anthem". everyhit.com. Archived from the original on 23 June 2013. Retrieved 28 October 2009.
^    a       b       c       d     "England's Rose – The Official History". Unofficial England Rugby Union. 3 June 2005. Archived from the original on 29 October 2012. Retrieved 15 February 2007.
  ^   "Legal implications of the RFU's merchandise defeat – Marketing Week". archive.vn. 5 March 2021. Archived from the original on 5 March 2021. Retrieved 4 June 2022.
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  ^   "CONFIRMED | England announce they're dumping Canterbury for new kit provider". Ruck. 5 May 2020. Archived from the original on 24 July 2020. Retrieved 5 May 2020.
^    a       b     "Men's World Rankings". World Rugby. Retrieved 16 January 2023.
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  ^   "England squad for 2023 Six Nations". England Rugby. 16 January 2023. Retrieved 16 January 2023.
  ^   "Steve Borthwick appointed England men's head coach". England Rugby. 19 December 2022. Retrieved 16 January 2023.
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  ^   "Evans to join England coaching staff for Six Nations". England Rugby. 6 January 2023. Retrieved 16 January 2023.
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  ^  Gallagher, Brendan (17 November 2005). "Joining the legends an added bonus for Wood". The Daily Telegraph. London. Archived from the original on 26 January 2009. Retrieved 6 September 2007.
  ^   "Sixth Induction Dinner – 2007". International Rugby Hall of Fame. Archived from the original on 29 June 2012. Retrieved 3 October 2007.
^    a       b       c       d     "RWC legends inducted into IRB Hall of Fame" (Press release). International Rugby Board. 26 October 2011. Archived from the original on 27 October 2011. Retrieved 26 October 2011.
^    a       b     "Hancock and Cardiff inducted to Hall of Fame" (Press release). International Rugby Board. 6 May 2011. Archived from the original on 9 May 2011. Retrieved 7 May 2011.
^    a       b     "Legends inducted into IRB Hall of Fame" (Press release). International Rugby Board. 18 November 2013. Archived from the original on 3 December 2013. Retrieved 1 December 2013.
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  ^  Tuck (2003), pg 195.
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External links[edit]
 
Wikiquote has quotations related to   England  . 
  Official website
England national rugby union team - Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/England_national_rugby_union_team
https://www.jta.org/2018/07/02/global/jewish-rugby-team-argentina-wins-4th-straight-title
'Jewish rugby team' in Argentina wins 4th straight title - Jewish Telegraphic Agency
2018-07-02
Marcy Oster; JTA Staff
<div><div>
	 
	<p>BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (<a href="http://jta.org/">JTA</a>) — A rugby team in Argentina with a Jewish history and many Jewish fans won its fourth straight national league championship.</p>
<p>The Buenos Aires-based Hindu Club won the title Saturday by beating the Newman Club, 25-0.</p>
<p>Identified as the “Jewish rugby team” among the national rugby clubs, Hindu Club rugby fans display Israeli flags during some matches.</p>
<p>Despite having Jewish members and fans, Hindu club is not a Jewish institution. Hebraica is the only amateur rugby team in Argentina under the auspices of a Jewish institution, and on Sunday <a href="https://twitter.com/hebraicarugby/status/1013258236257095681">tweeted</a> congratulations to “our friends” of Hindu for the new title.</p>
	
<section>
<blockquote>
<p>Felicitaciones a los amigos de <a href="https://twitter.com/Club_Hindu?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Club_Hindu</a> por ganar el Nacional de Clubes. Salud Campeones! 🐘</p>
<p>— Hebraica Rugby (@hebraicarugby) <a href="https://twitter.com/hebraicarugby/status/1013258236257095681?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 1, 2018</a></p></blockquote>
</section>
<p>Since the 1960s, large numbers of Jewish families have joined the Hindu Club, a country club in Buenos Aires that takes its name from an Indian play performed by its founders. At matches, supporters sometimes dress up as Orthodox Jews or chant “We don’t have friends. We are black and Jews.”</p>
<p>“Black” in this context does not refer to people of African descent. Rather it is a slang term for those seen as being low class or having dark skin relative to the stereotype of blonde, aristocratic rugby players.</p>
<p>Some professional European soccer teams <a href="https://jta.org/2017/10/24/news-opinion/world/europe-has-a-jewish-soccer-team-problem">also are associated with Jews</a>, including Amsterdam’s Ajax and England’s Tottenham Hotspurs. Jewish fans of the teams present shows of solidarity, while opponents’ supporters have displayed anti-Semitism with chants and posters.</p>
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 Global

 ‘Jewish rugby team’ in Argentina wins 4th straight title

 July 2, 2018 10:58 am
 The Hindu rugby club celebrating after winning Argentina's National Rugby Championship at Estadio Jose Amalfitani in Buenos Aires, June 30, 2018. (Daniel Jayo/Getty Images)
 Advertisement

 BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (JTA) — A rugby team in Argentina with a Jewish history and many Jewish fans won its fourth straight national league championship.

 The Buenos Aires-based Hindu Club won the title Saturday by beating the Newman Club, 25-0.

 Identified as the “Jewish rugby team” among the national rugby clubs, Hindu Club rugby fans display Israeli flags during some matches.

 Despite having Jewish members and fans, Hindu club is not a Jewish institution. Hebraica is the only amateur rugby team in Argentina under the auspices of a Jewish institution, and on Sunday tweeted congratulations to “our friends” of Hindu for the new title.

 Felicitaciones a los amigos de @Club_Hindu por ganar el Nacional de Clubes. Salud Campeones! 🐘

 — Hebraica Rugby (@hebraicarugby) July 1, 2018

 Since the 1960s, large numbers of Jewish families have joined the Hindu Club, a country club in Buenos Aires that takes its name from an Indian play performed by its founders. At matches, supporters sometimes dress up as Orthodox Jews or chant “We don’t have friends. We are black and Jews.”

 “Black” in this context does not refer to people of African descent. Rather it is a slang term for those seen as being low class or having dark skin relative to the stereotype of blonde, aristocratic rugby players.

 Some professional European soccer teams also are associated with Jews, including Amsterdam’s Ajax and England’s Tottenham Hotspurs. Jewish fans of the teams present shows of solidarity, while opponents’ supporters have displayed anti-Semitism with chants and posters.

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BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (JTA) — A rugby team in Argentina with a Jewish history and many Jewish fans won its fourth straight national league championship.
The Buenos Aires-based Hindu Club won the title Saturday by beating the Newman Club, 25-0.
Identified as the “Jewish rugby team” among the national rugby clubs, Hindu Club rugby fans display Israeli flags during some matches.
Despite having Jewish members and fans, Hindu club is not a Jewish institution. Hebraica is the only amateur rugby team in Argentina under the auspices of a Jewish institution, and on Sunday tweeted congratulations to “our friends” of Hindu for the new title.
	
Felicitaciones a los amigos de @Club_Hindu por ganar el Nacional de Clubes. Salud Campeones! 🐘
— Hebraica Rugby (@hebraicarugby) July 1, 2018  
Since the 1960s, large numbers of Jewish families have joined the Hindu Club, a country club in Buenos Aires that takes its name from an Indian play performed by its founders. At matches, supporters sometimes dress up as Orthodox Jews or chant “We don’t have friends. We are black and Jews.”
“Black” in this context does not refer to people of African descent. Rather it is a slang term for those seen as being low class or having dark skin relative to the stereotype of blonde, aristocratic rugby players.
Some professional European soccer teams also are associated with Jews, including Amsterdam’s Ajax and England’s Tottenham Hotspurs. Jewish fans of the teams present shows of solidarity, while opponents’ supporters have displayed anti-Semitism with chants and posters.
'Jewish rugby team' in Argentina wins 4th straight title - Jewish Telegraphic Agency
https://www.jta.org/2018/07/02/global/jewish-rugby-team-argentina-wins-4th-straight-title?utm_content=buffer02a2f&utm_medium=social&utm_source=jtafacebook&utm_campaign=social
https://rugbylad.ie/top-20-best-rugby-players-world-just-named/
The Top 20 Best Rugby Players In The World Have Just Been Named
2021-12-07
Jason Hennessy
<div><div>
	
 
 <h2><a href="https://i1.wp.com/rugbylad.ie/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Dupont.jpg?ssl=1"></a></h2>
<h2><strong>Not an Irish player to be seen.</strong></h2>
<p>Rugby World are back with <strong><a href="https://www.rugbyworld.com/in-the-mag/current-issue/antoine-dupont-named-worlds-best-player-by-rugby-world-134417">their bi-annual list of the best rugby players in the world</a></strong> with not a single Ireland international managing to feature in their Top 20.</p>
<p>French scrumhalf Antoine Dupont is top of the list with New Zealand’s Ardie Savea in second and England’s Maro Itoje third. In total, there are five All Blacks, three Springboks, three English players, two Wallabies, a Scot and a Welshman in the Top 20.</p><div>	
<a href="https://i1.wp.com/rugbylad.ie/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/line.jpg"></a></div>
<p>How the likes of Tadhg Furlong and Robbie Henshaw haven’t made the Top 20 is crazy.</p>
<p>The selection panel included Rugby World columnist Stephen Jones, Wasps Women director of rugby Giselle Mather, Chris Jones from the BBC, Welsh broadcaster Lauren Jenkins, and Sportsbeat’s Paul Eddison.</p>
<p><a href="https://i2.wp.com/rugbylad.ie/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Itoje2.jpg?ssl=1"></a></p>
<p><strong>Rugby World’s Top 20</strong></p>
<p>1. Antoine Dupont (France)<br />
2. Ardie Savea (New Zealand)<br />
3. Maro Itoje (England)<br />
4. Michael Hooper (Australia)<br />
5. Taniela Tupou (Australia)<br />
6. Aaron Smith (New Zealand)<br />
7. Lukhanyo Am (South Africa)<br />
8. Cheslin Kolbe (South Africa)<br />
9. Tom Curry (England)<br />
10. Sam Whitelock (New Zealand)<br />
11. Abby Dow (England Women)<br />
12. Brodie Retallick (New Zealand)<br />
13. Rose Bernadou (France Women)<br />
14. Beauden Barrett (New Zealand)<br />
15. Richie Mo’unga (New Zealand)<br />
16. Jerry Tuwai (Fiji Sevens)<br />
17. Eben Etzebeth (South Africa)<br />
18. Hamish Watson (Scotland)<br />
19. Courtney Lawes (England)<br />
20. Josh Adams (Wales)</p>
<p>*The full Top 100 list is in the latest Rugby World magazine</p>
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 The Top 20 Best Rugby Players In The World Have Just Been Named

 by Jason Hennessy · Published December 7, 2021 · Updated December 7, 2021

 * About
 * Latest Posts

 Jason Hennessy

 Jason is the editor here at RugbyLAD and a proud Limerick man.

 Latest posts by Jason Hennessy ( see all )

 * Uncapped Player Set For Ireland Call-Up Following Injury Concern - January 30, 2023
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 * Eben Etzebeth Has Caterpillar Ruck Haters Swooning With Genius Try - January 21, 2023

 Not an Irish player to be seen.

 Rugby World are back with their bi-annual list of the best rugby players in the world with not a single Ireland international managing to feature in their Top 20.

 French scrumhalf Antoine Dupont is top of the list with New Zealand’s Ardie Savea in second and England’s Maro Itoje third. In total, there are five All Blacks, three Springboks, three English players, two Wallabies, a Scot and a Welshman in the Top 20.

 How the likes of Tadhg Furlong and Robbie Henshaw haven’t made the Top 20 is crazy.

 The selection panel included Rugby World columnist Stephen Jones, Wasps Women director of rugby Giselle Mather, Chris Jones from the BBC, Welsh broadcaster Lauren Jenkins, and Sportsbeat’s Paul Eddison.

 Rugby World’s Top 20

 1. Antoine Dupont (France)
 2. Ardie Savea (New Zealand)
 3. Maro Itoje (England)
 4. Michael Hooper (Australia)
 5. Taniela Tupou (Australia)
 6. Aaron Smith (New Zealand)
 7. Lukhanyo Am (South Africa)
 8. Cheslin Kolbe (South Africa)
 9. Tom Curry (England)
 10. Sam Whitelock (New Zealand)
 11. Abby Dow (England Women)
 12. Brodie Retallick (New Zealand)
 13. Rose Bernadou (France Women)
 14. Beauden Barrett (New Zealand)
 15. Richie Mo’unga (New Zealand)
 16. Jerry Tuwai (Fiji Sevens)
 17. Eben Etzebeth (South Africa)
 18. Hamish Watson (Scotland)
 19. Courtney Lawes (England)
 20. Josh Adams (Wales)

 *The full Top 100 list is in the latest Rugby World magazine

 #LADSWITHBALLS

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 * 
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 * 
Not an Irish player to be seen. 
Rugby World are back with  their bi-annual list of the best rugby players in the world  with not a single Ireland international managing to feature in their Top 20.
French scrumhalf Antoine Dupont is top of the list with New Zealand’s Ardie Savea in second and England’s Maro Itoje third. In total, there are five All Blacks, three Springboks, three English players, two Wallabies, a Scot and a Welshman in the Top 20. 	
  
How the likes of Tadhg Furlong and Robbie Henshaw haven’t made the Top 20 is crazy.
The selection panel included Rugby World columnist Stephen Jones, Wasps Women director of rugby Giselle Mather, Chris Jones from the BBC, Welsh broadcaster Lauren Jenkins, and Sportsbeat’s Paul Eddison.
   
 Rugby World’s Top 20 
1. Antoine Dupont (France)
2. Ardie Savea (New Zealand)
3. Maro Itoje (England)
4. Michael Hooper (Australia)
5. Taniela Tupou (Australia)
6. Aaron Smith (New Zealand)
7. Lukhanyo Am (South Africa)
8. Cheslin Kolbe (South Africa)
9. Tom Curry (England)
10. Sam Whitelock (New Zealand)
11. Abby Dow (England Women)
12. Brodie Retallick (New Zealand)
13. Rose Bernadou (France Women)
14. Beauden Barrett (New Zealand)
15. Richie Mo’unga (New Zealand)
16. Jerry Tuwai (Fiji Sevens)
17. Eben Etzebeth (South Africa)
18. Hamish Watson (Scotland)
19. Courtney Lawes (England)
20. Josh Adams (Wales)
*The full Top 100 list is in the latest Rugby World magazine
The Top 20 Best Rugby Players In The World Have Just Been Named
https://rugbylad.ie/top-20-best-rugby-players-world-just-named/
https://inside-politics.org/2012/06/29/why-stormers-rugby-supporters-are-statistically-the-best/
Why Stormers rugby supporters are statistically the best
2012-06-29
Inside Politics
<div><div>
<p><strong><a href="https://inside-politics.org/2012/06/29/why-stormers-rugby-supporters-are-statistically-the-best/stormers/"></a>FEATURE:</strong> That headline got your attention, didn’t it? (Apologies to Tina Turner). Here follows a lighthearted story for a Friday. I have put together all the attendance figures for South Africa’s home matches in this year’s Super 15 rugby competition. From the title you will have already guessed which team boasts the support base that turns out in the largest numbers but, if you’d like all the facts and figures, the best and the worst, here they all are – read on; well, unless you’re a Sharks fan, in which case you should probably be at the stadium.</p>
<p><strong>Why Stormers rugby supporters are statistically the best</strong></p>
<p>By: Gareth van Onselen<br/>
<br/>
<br/>
29 June 2012</p>
<p>A lighthearted, non-political story for a Friday; that is, assuming rugby isn’t political, which might well be a serious mistake on my part. In fact, I’m already regretting the ‘lighthearted’ reference.</p>
<p>Nevertheless, let me wade in. I look forward to the response.</p>
<p>While researching another story, I put together the attendance figures for all home South African 2012 Super 15 Rugby games, up to and including round 15. With three rounds to go, it’s enough for an almost definitive sample. I used <strong><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2012_Super_Rugby_season">the Wikipedia page</a></strong> on this year’s season to compile the facts, so they are not official figures, but these pages are usually maintained by fanatics and I’m pretty sure they are generally accurate (they are also the only composite set of such statistics I could find).</p>
<p>If anything, they are slightly inflated. <strong><a href="http://www.superxv.com/news/super15_rugby_news.asp?id=35685">SANZAR CEO Greg Peters recently reported</a></strong> that a total of 852 838 South African fans have attended the 32 home matches played to date (an average of 26 651 per match). Wikipedia’s total comes to 914 360 (average 28 574) – the difference perhaps being that Wikipedia relies on stadium announcements and some people might not actually turn up on the day (season ticket holders, for example), in which case the difference would be fairly distributed among the teams. At any rate, this isn’t science, and the broad trends stand.</p>
<p>Here is the long and the short of it:</p>
<p><a href="https://inside-politics.org/2012/06/29/why-stormers-rugby-supporters-are-statistically-the-best/2012superrugby/"></a></p>
<p><em>(To view the table full scale, right click on it and select ‘view image’)</em></p>
<p>You can read the individual attendance figures for each match below this article.</p>
<blockquote><p><strong>So, when it comes to attendance, the best South African supporters of the five South African Super 15 teams belong to: the Stormers.</strong></p></blockquote>
<p>To all you Stormers fans out there, well done – a box ticket with a full buffet for each of you; to all the rest of you – 80 minutes in a bucket seat with a damp sandwich.</p>
<p>At this stage, I admit to supporting the Stormers myself. Now, should you not support the Stormers (?) and this admission leads you to think I might somehow have doctored the stats, please, feel free to double check them – although you should know Stormers supporters don’t do that kind of thing; Bulls supporters on the other hand, well, that’s another story.</p>
<p>Here is a summary of the key facts with three rounds to go:</p>
<p>• On average, 42 729 Stormers supporters go to each home Super 15 match – the highest average not just among South African teams but every team in the Super 15 (i.e. including the New Zealand and Australian teams).<br/>
• The Stormers also averaged the most supporters per game out of every team in 2011, with 41 850.<br/>
• The Stormers average just over 7 000 more people per game than the Bulls, who average 35 658 in second place; and some 23 700 more than the average number of Cheetah supporters per game, in last place.<br/>
• A total of 256 374 Stormers fans have watched their team live; 42 000 more than the second place Bulls supporters, with 213 948.<br/>
• On average, DHL Newlands is 82% full per match; Loftus Versfeld, 69% full and the other three stadiums come in at around 40% of their capacity.</p>
<p>Just before leaving you all to marvel at the glory that is the Stormers support base, I suppose I should add a disclaimer, before someone from the Free State threatens me.</p>
<p>Compared to Cape Town, Johannesburg, Pretoria and Durban, Bloemfontein has by far the smallest population, as this approximate breakdown by metro demonstrates:</p>
<p>• Mangaung: 850 000<br/>
• Cape Town: 3 500 000<br/>
• Johannesburg: 3 890 000<br/>
• Tshwane: 2 370 000<br/>
• eThekwini 3 500 000</p>
<p>More people equate to more potential supporters and, given the fact Mangaung is so small in comparison, it must be said those Free Staters do put on a good show. Unfortunately I cannot award them first place but, on those facts, I would suggest they are a strong second.</p>
<p>By the same logic, the Lions and the Sharks (and, indeed, the Bulls – if you consider Johannesburg and Tshwane are effectively one city) fair rather badly. Both have populations equal to or greater than Cape Town, but pull in some 18 000 fewer supporters per match.</p>
<p>Then again, I am not accounting for quality and, as everyone knows, if it’s good rugby you are after, well, Newlands is the place to go!</p>
<p><strong>List of individual South African home 2012 Super 15 matches so far</strong></p>
<p><strong>Bulls</strong></p>
<p>1. Bulls v. Sharks, Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria, Attendance: 48 112<br/>
2. Bulls v. Blues, Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria, Attendance: 31 582<br/>
3. Bulls v. Reds, Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria, Attendance: 23 541<br/>
4. Bulls v. Crusaders, Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria, Attendance: 34 135<br/>
5. Bulls v. Brumbies, Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria, Attendance: 26 578<br/>
6. Bulls v. Stormers, Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria, Attendance: 50 000</p>
<p><strong>Stormers</strong></p>
<p>1. Stormers v. Hurricanes, DHL Newlands, Cape Town, Attendance: 36 825<br/>
2. Stormers v. Sharks, DHL Newlands, Cape Town, Attendance: 40 702<br/>
3. Stormers v. Blues, DHL Newlands, Cape Town, Attendance: 38 041<br/>
4. Stormers v. Bulls, DHL Newlands, Cape Town, Attendance: 45 000<br/>
5. Stormers v. Cheetahs, DHL Newlands, Cape Town, Attendance: 47 890<br/>
6. Stormers v. Waratahs, DHL Newlands, Cape Town, Attendance: 47 916</p>
<p><strong>Sharks</strong></p>
<p>1. Sharks v. Lions, Mr Price Kings Park, Durban, Attendance: 23 905<br/>
2. Sharks v. Reds, Mr Price Kings Park, Durban, Attendance: 21 479<br/>
3. Sharks v. Chiefs, Mr Price Kings Park, Durban, Attendance: 26 773<br/>
4. Sharks v. Highlanders, Mr Price Kings Park, Durban, Attendance: 18 730<br/>
5. Sharks v. Force, Mr Price Kings Park, Durban, Attendance: 22 343<br/>
6. Sharks v. Stormers, Mr Price Kings Park, Durban, Attendance: 27 355</p>
<p><strong>Lions</strong></p>
<p>1. Lions v. Cheetahs, Coca-Cola Park, Johannesburg, Attendance: 20 245<br/>
2. Lions v. Hurricanes, Coca-Cola Park, Johannesburg, Attendance: 15 115<br/>
3. Lions v. Stormers, Coca-Cola Park, Johannesburg, Attendance: 30 376<br/>
4. Lions v. Crusaders, Coca-Cola Park, Johannesburg, Attendance: 14 677<br/>
5. Lions v. Bulls, Coca-Cola Park, Johannesburg, Attendance: 35 375<br/>
6. Lions v. Brumbies, Coca-Cola Park, Johannesburg, Attendance: 14 162<br/>
7. Lions v. Sharks, Coca-Cola Park, Johannesburg, Attendance: 40 274</p>
<p><strong>Cheetahs</strong></p>
<p>1. Cheetahs v. Bulls, Free State Stadium, Bloemfontein, Attendance: 30 242<br/>
2. Cheetahs v. Lions, Free State Stadium, Bloemfontein, Attendance: 15 713<br/>
3. Cheetahs v. Chiefs, Free State Stadium, Bloemfontein, Attendance: 17 163<br/>
4. Cheetahs v. Highlanders, Free State Stadium, Bloemfontein, Attendance: 16 026<br/>
5. Cheetahs v. Force, Free State Stadium, Bloemfontein, Attendance: 14 263<br/>
6. Cheetahs v. Sharks, Free State Stadium, Bloemfontein, Attendance: 23 835<br/>
7. Cheetahs v. Waratahs, Free State Stadium, Bloemfontein, Attendance: 15 987</p>
<p><strong>Other Posts:</strong><br/>
• <strong><a href="https://inside-politics.org/2012/06/26/the-best-of-inside-politics/">The best of Inside Politics</a></strong></p>
<p><em><strong>To follow Inside Politics by e-mail</strong> simply go to the bottom of the page and fill in your address. When you confirm it, you will receive an e-mail the moment any new post is loaded to the site.</em></p>
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 Why Stormers rugby supporters are statistically the best

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 FEATURE: That headline got your attention, didn’t it? (Apologies to Tina Turner). Here follows a lighthearted story for a Friday. I have put together all the attendance figures for South Africa’s home matches in this year’s Super 15 rugby competition. From the title you will have already guessed which team boasts the support base that turns out in the largest numbers but, if you’d like all the facts and figures, the best and the worst, here they all are – read on; well, unless you’re a Sharks fan, in which case you should probably be at the stadium.

 Why Stormers rugby supporters are statistically the best

 By: Gareth van Onselen


 29 June 2012

 A lighthearted, non-political story for a Friday; that is, assuming rugby isn’t political, which might well be a serious mistake on my part. In fact, I’m already regretting the ‘lighthearted’ reference.

 Nevertheless, let me wade in. I look forward to the response.

 While researching another story, I put together the attendance figures for all home South African 2012 Super 15 Rugby games, up to and including round 15. With three rounds to go, it’s enough for an almost definitive sample. I used the Wikipedia page on this year’s season to compile the facts, so they are not official figures, but these pages are usually maintained by fanatics and I’m pretty sure they are generally accurate (they are also the only composite set of such statistics I could find).

 If anything, they are slightly inflated. SANZAR CEO Greg Peters recently reported that a total of 852 838 South African fans have attended the 32 home matches played to date (an average of 26 651 per match). Wikipedia’s total comes to 914 360 (average 28 574) – the difference perhaps being that Wikipedia relies on stadium announcements and some people might not actually turn up on the day (season ticket holders, for example), in which case the difference would be fairly distributed among the teams. At any rate, this isn’t science, and the broad trends stand.

 Here is the long and the short of it:

 (To view the table full scale, right click on it and select ‘view image’)

 You can read the individual attendance figures for each match below this article.

 So, when it comes to attendance, the best South African supporters of the five South African Super 15 teams belong to: the Stormers.

 To all you Stormers fans out there, well done – a box ticket with a full buffet for each of you; to all the rest of you – 80 minutes in a bucket seat with a damp sandwich.

 At this stage, I admit to supporting the Stormers myself. Now, should you not support the Stormers (?) and this admission leads you to think I might somehow have doctored the stats, please, feel free to double check them – although you should know Stormers supporters don’t do that kind of thing; Bulls supporters on the other hand, well, that’s another story.

 Here is a summary of the key facts with three rounds to go:

 • On average, 42 729 Stormers supporters go to each home Super 15 match – the highest average not just among South African teams but every team in the Super 15 (i.e. including the New Zealand and Australian teams).
 • The Stormers also averaged the most supporters per game out of every team in 2011, with 41 850.
 • The Stormers average just over 7 000 more people per game than the Bulls, who average 35 658 in second place; and some 23 700 more than the average number of Cheetah supporters per game, in last place.
 • A total of 256 374 Stormers fans have watched their team live; 42 000 more than the second place Bulls supporters, with 213 948.
 • On average, DHL Newlands is 82% full per match; Loftus Versfeld, 69% full and the other three stadiums come in at around 40% of their capacity.

 Just before leaving you all to marvel at the glory that is the Stormers support base, I suppose I should add a disclaimer, before someone from the Free State threatens me.

 Compared to Cape Town, Johannesburg, Pretoria and Durban, Bloemfontein has by far the smallest population, as this approximate breakdown by metro demonstrates:

 • Mangaung: 850 000
 • Cape Town: 3 500 000
 • Johannesburg: 3 890 000
 • Tshwane: 2 370 000
 • eThekwini 3 500 000

 More people equate to more potential supporters and, given the fact Mangaung is so small in comparison, it must be said those Free Staters do put on a good show. Unfortunately I cannot award them first place but, on those facts, I would suggest they are a strong second.

 By the same logic, the Lions and the Sharks (and, indeed, the Bulls – if you consider Johannesburg and Tshwane are effectively one city) fair rather badly. Both have populations equal to or greater than Cape Town, but pull in some 18 000 fewer supporters per match.

 Then again, I am not accounting for quality and, as everyone knows, if it’s good rugby you are after, well, Newlands is the place to go!

 List of individual South African home 2012 Super 15 matches so far

 Bulls

 1. Bulls v. Sharks, Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria, Attendance: 48 112
 2. Bulls v. Blues, Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria, Attendance: 31 582
 3. Bulls v. Reds, Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria, Attendance: 23 541
 4. Bulls v. Crusaders, Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria, Attendance: 34 135
 5. Bulls v. Brumbies, Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria, Attendance: 26 578
 6. Bulls v. Stormers, Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria, Attendance: 50 000

 Stormers

 1. Stormers v. Hurricanes, DHL Newlands, Cape Town, Attendance: 36 825
 2. Stormers v. Sharks, DHL Newlands, Cape Town, Attendance: 40 702
 3. Stormers v. Blues, DHL Newlands, Cape Town, Attendance: 38 041
 4. Stormers v. Bulls, DHL Newlands, Cape Town, Attendance: 45 000
 5. Stormers v. Cheetahs, DHL Newlands, Cape Town, Attendance: 47 890
 6. Stormers v. Waratahs, DHL Newlands, Cape Town, Attendance: 47 916

 Sharks

 1. Sharks v. Lions, Mr Price Kings Park, Durban, Attendance: 23 905
 2. Sharks v. Reds, Mr Price Kings Park, Durban, Attendance: 21 479
 3. Sharks v. Chiefs, Mr Price Kings Park, Durban, Attendance: 26 773
 4. Sharks v. Highlanders, Mr Price Kings Park, Durban, Attendance: 18 730
 5. Sharks v. Force, Mr Price Kings Park, Durban, Attendance: 22 343
 6. Sharks v. Stormers, Mr Price Kings Park, Durban, Attendance: 27 355

 Lions

 1. Lions v. Cheetahs, Coca-Cola Park, Johannesburg, Attendance: 20 245
 2. Lions v. Hurricanes, Coca-Cola Park, Johannesburg, Attendance: 15 115
 3. Lions v. Stormers, Coca-Cola Park, Johannesburg, Attendance: 30 376
 4. Lions v. Crusaders, Coca-Cola Park, Johannesburg, Attendance: 14 677
 5. Lions v. Bulls, Coca-Cola Park, Johannesburg, Attendance: 35 375
 6. Lions v. Brumbies, Coca-Cola Park, Johannesburg, Attendance: 14 162
 7. Lions v. Sharks, Coca-Cola Park, Johannesburg, Attendance: 40 274

 Cheetahs

 1. Cheetahs v. Bulls, Free State Stadium, Bloemfontein, Attendance: 30 242
 2. Cheetahs v. Lions, Free State Stadium, Bloemfontein, Attendance: 15 713
 3. Cheetahs v. Chiefs, Free State Stadium, Bloemfontein, Attendance: 17 163
 4. Cheetahs v. Highlanders, Free State Stadium, Bloemfontein, Attendance: 16 026
 5. Cheetahs v. Force, Free State Stadium, Bloemfontein, Attendance: 14 263
 6. Cheetahs v. Sharks, Free State Stadium, Bloemfontein, Attendance: 23 835
 7. Cheetahs v. Waratahs, Free State Stadium, Bloemfontein, Attendance: 15 987

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 Published: 29 June 2012
 Filed Under: Sport
 Tags: 2012 : Attendance Figures : Bulls : Cheetahs : Coca-Cola Park : DHL Newlands : Free State Stadium : Home Matches : Lions : Loftus Versfeld : Mr Price Kings Park : SANZAR : Sharks : South Africa : Stormers : Super 15 Rugby

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 %d
FEATURE: That headline got your attention, didn’t it? (Apologies to Tina Turner). Here follows a lighthearted story for a Friday. I have put together all the attendance figures for South Africa’s home matches in this year’s Super 15 rugby competition. From the title you will have already guessed which team boasts the support base that turns out in the largest numbers but, if you’d like all the facts and figures, the best and the worst, here they all are – read on; well, unless you’re a Sharks fan, in which case you should probably be at the stadium.
 Why Stormers rugby supporters are statistically the best 
By: Gareth van Onselen
29 June 2012
A lighthearted, non-political story for a Friday; that is, assuming rugby isn’t political, which might well be a serious mistake on my part. In fact, I’m already regretting the ‘lighthearted’ reference.
Nevertheless, let me wade in. I look forward to the response.
While researching another story, I put together the attendance figures for all home South African 2012 Super 15 Rugby games, up to and including round 15. With three rounds to go, it’s enough for an almost definitive sample. I used  the Wikipedia page  on this year’s season to compile the facts, so they are not official figures, but these pages are usually maintained by fanatics and I’m pretty sure they are generally accurate (they are also the only composite set of such statistics I could find).
If anything, they are slightly inflated.  SANZAR CEO Greg Peters recently reported  that a total of 852 838 South African fans have attended the 32 home matches played to date (an average of 26 651 per match). Wikipedia’s total comes to 914 360 (average 28 574) – the difference perhaps being that Wikipedia relies on stadium announcements and some people might not actually turn up on the day (season ticket holders, for example), in which case the difference would be fairly distributed among the teams. At any rate, this isn’t science, and the broad trends stand.
Here is the long and the short of it:
   
 (To view the table full scale, right click on it and select ‘view image’) 
You can read the individual attendance figures for each match below this article.
  So, when it comes to attendance, the best South African supporters of the five South African Super 15 teams belong to: the Stormers.  
To all you Stormers fans out there, well done – a box ticket with a full buffet for each of you; to all the rest of you – 80 minutes in a bucket seat with a damp sandwich.
At this stage, I admit to supporting the Stormers myself. Now, should you not support the Stormers (?) and this admission leads you to think I might somehow have doctored the stats, please, feel free to double check them – although you should know Stormers supporters don’t do that kind of thing; Bulls supporters on the other hand, well, that’s another story.
Here is a summary of the key facts with three rounds to go:
• On average, 42 729 Stormers supporters go to each home Super 15 match – the highest average not just among South African teams but every team in the Super 15 (i.e. including the New Zealand and Australian teams).
• The Stormers also averaged the most supporters per game out of every team in 2011, with 41 850.
• The Stormers average just over 7 000 more people per game than the Bulls, who average 35 658 in second place; and some 23 700 more than the average number of Cheetah supporters per game, in last place.
• A total of 256 374 Stormers fans have watched their team live; 42 000 more than the second place Bulls supporters, with 213 948.
• On average, DHL Newlands is 82% full per match; Loftus Versfeld, 69% full and the other three stadiums come in at around 40% of their capacity.
Just before leaving you all to marvel at the glory that is the Stormers support base, I suppose I should add a disclaimer, before someone from the Free State threatens me.
Compared to Cape Town, Johannesburg, Pretoria and Durban, Bloemfontein has by far the smallest population, as this approximate breakdown by metro demonstrates:
• Mangaung: 850 000
• Cape Town: 3 500 000
• Johannesburg: 3 890 000
• Tshwane: 2 370 000
• eThekwini 3 500 000
More people equate to more potential supporters and, given the fact Mangaung is so small in comparison, it must be said those Free Staters do put on a good show. Unfortunately I cannot award them first place but, on those facts, I would suggest they are a strong second.
By the same logic, the Lions and the Sharks (and, indeed, the Bulls – if you consider Johannesburg and Tshwane are effectively one city) fair rather badly. Both have populations equal to or greater than Cape Town, but pull in some 18 000 fewer supporters per match.
Then again, I am not accounting for quality and, as everyone knows, if it’s good rugby you are after, well, Newlands is the place to go!
 List of individual South African home 2012 Super 15 matches so far 
 Bulls 
1. Bulls v. Sharks, Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria, Attendance: 48 112
2. Bulls v. Blues, Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria, Attendance: 31 582
3. Bulls v. Reds, Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria, Attendance: 23 541
4. Bulls v. Crusaders, Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria, Attendance: 34 135
5. Bulls v. Brumbies, Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria, Attendance: 26 578
6. Bulls v. Stormers, Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria, Attendance: 50 000
 Stormers 
1. Stormers v. Hurricanes, DHL Newlands, Cape Town, Attendance: 36 825
2. Stormers v. Sharks, DHL Newlands, Cape Town, Attendance: 40 702
3. Stormers v. Blues, DHL Newlands, Cape Town, Attendance: 38 041
4. Stormers v. Bulls, DHL Newlands, Cape Town, Attendance: 45 000
5. Stormers v. Cheetahs, DHL Newlands, Cape Town, Attendance: 47 890
6. Stormers v. Waratahs, DHL Newlands, Cape Town, Attendance: 47 916
 Sharks 
1. Sharks v. Lions, Mr Price Kings Park, Durban, Attendance: 23 905
2. Sharks v. Reds, Mr Price Kings Park, Durban, Attendance: 21 479
3. Sharks v. Chiefs, Mr Price Kings Park, Durban, Attendance: 26 773
4. Sharks v. Highlanders, Mr Price Kings Park, Durban, Attendance: 18 730
5. Sharks v. Force, Mr Price Kings Park, Durban, Attendance: 22 343
6. Sharks v. Stormers, Mr Price Kings Park, Durban, Attendance: 27 355
 Lions 
1. Lions v. Cheetahs, Coca-Cola Park, Johannesburg, Attendance: 20 245
2. Lions v. Hurricanes, Coca-Cola Park, Johannesburg, Attendance: 15 115
3. Lions v. Stormers, Coca-Cola Park, Johannesburg, Attendance: 30 376
4. Lions v. Crusaders, Coca-Cola Park, Johannesburg, Attendance: 14 677
5. Lions v. Bulls, Coca-Cola Park, Johannesburg, Attendance: 35 375
6. Lions v. Brumbies, Coca-Cola Park, Johannesburg, Attendance: 14 162
7. Lions v. Sharks, Coca-Cola Park, Johannesburg, Attendance: 40 274
 Cheetahs 
1. Cheetahs v. Bulls, Free State Stadium, Bloemfontein, Attendance: 30 242
2. Cheetahs v. Lions, Free State Stadium, Bloemfontein, Attendance: 15 713
3. Cheetahs v. Chiefs, Free State Stadium, Bloemfontein, Attendance: 17 163
4. Cheetahs v. Highlanders, Free State Stadium, Bloemfontein, Attendance: 16 026
5. Cheetahs v. Force, Free State Stadium, Bloemfontein, Attendance: 14 263
6. Cheetahs v. Sharks, Free State Stadium, Bloemfontein, Attendance: 23 835
7. Cheetahs v. Waratahs, Free State Stadium, Bloemfontein, Attendance: 15 987
 Other Posts: 
•  The best of Inside Politics  
  To follow Inside Politics by e-mail simply go to the bottom of the page and fill in your address. When you confirm it, you will receive an e-mail the moment any new post is loaded to the site.
Why Stormers rugby supporters are statistically the best
https://inside-politics.org/2012/06/29/why-stormers-rugby-supporters-are-statistically-the-best/
https://www.twitlonger.com/show/cgi0jm
TwitLonger
2011-08-19
None
<div><div>
 
 <p>OK, here's my idea of the Rugby League "Dream Team":<br />
1. S Tompkins<br />
2. Charnley<br />
3. Shenton<br />
4. Carmont<br />
5. Richards<br />
6. Chase (Lomax?)<br />
7. Leuleui<br />
8. Graham<br />
9. Roby<br />
10. Coley<br />
11. Westwood<br />
12. J Tompkins<br />
13. O'Loughlin<br />
Not my choice by the way, just my estimate of where the Wigan supporters club that make up the Rugby League journalists will go!</p>
 <p>
 <a href="https://www.twitlonger.com/post/Fivedogbob/104576067523706881"><i></i> Reply</a> ·
 <a href="#"><i></i> Report Post</a>
 </p>
 </div>||||I|||| Toggle navigation TwitLonger
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 * Write a Post

 Robert Bales · @Fivedogbob

 19th Aug 2011 from Twittelator Pro

 Tweet

 OK, here's my idea of the Rugby League "Dream Team":
 1. S Tompkins
 2. Charnley
 3. Shenton
 4. Carmont
 5. Richards
 6. Chase (Lomax?)
 7. Leuleui
 8. Graham
 9. Roby
 10. Coley
 11. Westwood
 12. J Tompkins
 13. O'Loughlin
 Not my choice by the way, just my estimate of where the Wigan supporters club that make up the Rugby League journalists will go!

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OK, here's my idea of the Rugby League "Dream Team":
1. S Tompkins
2. Charnley
3. Shenton
4. Carmont
5. Richards
6. Chase (Lomax?)
7. Leuleui
8. Graham
9. Roby
10. Coley
11. Westwood
12. J Tompkins
13. O'Loughlin
Not my choice by the way, just my estimate of where the Wigan supporters club that make up the Rugby League journalists will go!
 
    Reply ·
    Report Post
TwitLonger
https://www.twitlonger.com/show/cgi0jm
https://nextgenxv.com/2020/10/07/2020-global-top-20-rugby-schools/
Video: 2020 Global Top 20 Rugby Schools
2020-10-07
None
<div><div><p><strong>As we all know, 2020 has been a strange old year. That has been no different for rugby as the sport at all levels saw cancellations galore.</strong></p><p>At school level that was no different, South Africa barely saw any competition, while England, New Zealand, Ireland, and Australia all saw cancellations really curtail their seasons.</p><p>Nevertheless, in the spirit of keeping the debate and engagement in school rugby going strong, we took a look at the 2019/20 season in the northern hemisphere and the 2020 season in the southern hemisphere and tried to analyse what had happened as best we could to bring you our 2020 Global Top 20 Rugby Schools.</p><p>Debate was fierce between the NextGenXV team and added to by <a href="https://hstop200.com/">Herschelle from High School Top 200</a> in New Zealand as the case was made for all number of schools from around the world.</p><p>In the end the list compromised 5 Australian schools, 2 from Ireland, 5 from England, 6 from New Zealand, and 2 from Wales, reflecting the spread of quality school rugby across the globe this year despite a global pandemic getting in the way. South African schools were not considered for this particular list due to the lack of fixtures as a result of the pandemic.</p><p>Of course these things generate debate, though, and the debate still rages on here at NextGenXV even now. So please do watch the video below with the full 2020 Global Top 20 Rugby Schools, and then let us hear your thoughts, who would you have ranked where, who is missing that you think should be on the list? Perhaps your school should be ranked higher?</p><p>So let us hear your thoughts and comments on the comment section below or on @nextgenxv on Twitter and Instagram!</p><figure><p>
</p><figcaption><em>NextGenXV 2020 Global Top 20 Rugby Schools</em></figcaption></figure></div>||||I||||Skip to content
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 Video: 2020 Global Top 20 Rugby Schools

 * October 7, 2020

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 As we all know, 2020 has been a strange old year. That has been no different for rugby as the sport at all levels saw cancellations galore.

 At school level that was no different, South Africa barely saw any competition, while England, New Zealand, Ireland, and Australia all saw cancellations really curtail their seasons.

 Nevertheless, in the spirit of keeping the debate and engagement in school rugby going strong, we took a look at the 2019/20 season in the northern hemisphere and the 2020 season in the southern hemisphere and tried to analyse what had happened as best we could to bring you our 2020 Global Top 20 Rugby Schools.

 Debate was fierce between the NextGenXV team and added to by Herschelle from High School Top 200 in New Zealand as the case was made for all number of schools from around the world.

 In the end the list compromised 5 Australian schools, 2 from Ireland, 5 from England, 6 from New Zealand, and 2 from Wales, reflecting the spread of quality school rugby across the globe this year despite a global pandemic getting in the way. South African schools were not considered for this particular list due to the lack of fixtures as a result of the pandemic.

 Of course these things generate debate, though, and the debate still rages on here at NextGenXV even now. So please do watch the video below with the full 2020 Global Top 20 Rugby Schools, and then let us hear your thoughts, who would you have ranked where, who is missing that you think should be on the list? Perhaps your school should be ranked higher?

 So let us hear your thoughts and comments on the comment section below or on @nextgenxv on Twitter and Instagram!

 NextGenXV 2020 Global Top 20 Rugby Schools

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As we all know, 2020 has been a strange old year. That has been no different for rugby as the sport at all levels saw cancellations galore.  At school level that was no different, South Africa barely saw any competition, while England, New Zealand, Ireland, and Australia all saw cancellations really curtail their seasons. Nevertheless, in the spirit of keeping the debate and engagement in school rugby going strong, we took a look at the 2019/20 season in the northern hemisphere and the 2020 season in the southern hemisphere and tried to analyse what had happened as best we could to bring you our 2020 Global Top 20 Rugby Schools. Debate was fierce between the NextGenXV team and added to by Herschelle from High School Top 200 in New Zealand as the case was made for all number of schools from around the world. In the end the list compromised 5 Australian schools, 2 from Ireland, 5 from England, 6 from New Zealand, and 2 from Wales, reflecting the spread of quality school rugby across the globe this year despite a global pandemic getting in the way. South African schools were not considered for this particular list due to the lack of fixtures as a result of the pandemic. Of course these things generate debate, though, and the debate still rages on here at NextGenXV even now. So please do watch the video below with the full 2020 Global Top 20 Rugby Schools, and then let us hear your thoughts, who would you have ranked where, who is missing that you think should be on the list? Perhaps your school should be ranked higher? So let us hear your thoughts and comments on the comment section below or on @nextgenxv on Twitter and Instagram!  
  NextGenXV 2020 Global Top 20 Rugby Schools
Video: 2020 Global Top 20 Rugby Schools
https://nextgenxv.com/2020/10/07/2020-global-top-20-rugby-schools/