England finished fourth in last year’s edition in Mapletoft’s first tournament in charge, with their last triumph coming in 2016 when they beat Ireland in the final 45-21.
Following a pool-stage draw with Ireland 34-34, England swept aside Fiji 53-7 and drew with Australia 2222 before coming unstuck in the semi-finals 52-31 against eventual winners France.
England ended their campaign with a 3rd-place loss to South Africa 22-15 but with a new group and a devastating set piece, there’s reasons for optimism that the Red Rose could be a force in South Africa.
Leicester Tigers versatile forward Finn Carnduff, who can operate in the second row and back row, became the first England U20s player in three years to lead his nation to Six Nations glory back in March.
Carnduff continues his captaincy this summer as the squad’s most experienced player with 15 competitive caps.
In the victorious Six Nations campaign that saw comprehensive wins over Italy, Wales and Scotland before a 32-32 draw with Ireland and then a thrilling 45-31 victory away in France to seal the title, 22 current squad members earned caps in the Championship and recently 18 of the squad made senior competitive appearances for their clubs in the 2023/24 season.
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة June 23, 2024 من The Rugby Paper.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك ? تسجيل الدخول
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة June 23, 2024 من The Rugby Paper.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك? تسجيل الدخول
England's outsiders deserve a chance niveste cu
IT’S just six weeks before the start of the 2025 Six Nations, and since Steve Borthwick became England head coach his main message to the media has been we want to get better. However, by the end of the autumn series, Borthwick had become a bit more critical, saying that England were not fit enough, and were not carrying what they had been doing in training into matches.
Defeats will spur us on - Randall
HARRY Randall believes Bristol’s two Champions Cup defeats against Leinster and La Rochelle this month will help them in their quest to win the Premiership for the first time.
Steward leads calls for Cheika to stay at Tigers
MICHAEL Cheika will hold talks with Leicester after Christmas over his future having signed a one-year contract with the East Midlands club.
Speedster Ollie ends the year on a high
OLLIE Sleightholme will not be among those glad to see the back of 2024 – a year in which he made his England debut, marked the birth of his daughter, Lyra, and won the Premiership with Northampton.
Willis: I'm loving my life with Toulouse
WHILE some sides would consider the tag of defending champions as a target on their backs, it appears Toulouse see it more as a badge of honour having started their European campaign in ominous fashion.
Call to axe Sweeney 'as soon as possible'
BILL Sweeney’s tenure as RFU chief executive is in a precarious position after Bill Beaumont’s announcement as an interim RFU Board Chairman resulted in increased unrest among over 200 clubs calling for a Special General Meeting.
Ring fence has made English rugby go soft
THE most positive aspect to come out of the opening round of the European Cup was that, despite six out of the eight English clubs losing, it can get better and relatively quickly.
The global travellers who light up game
THERE is nothing especially funny about short-term memory loss, but it may just have an upside when it comes to rugby.
Battling Bath looking to revive cup campaign
JOHANN van Graan is braced to take on the Italian national team in all but name as Bath look to revive their Champions Cup campaign.
Off-target Gloucester get lesson in finishing
KIWI Michael Ruru scored two early tries and put in a silky display as Vannes created a famous night in their history, securing a first ever Challenge Cup win over a misfiring Gloucester.
