ENGLAND INTRODUCTION
What a comeback! Four years after England were knocked out in the pool phase as hosts of Rugby World Cup 2015, the team were able to rebuild to reach the final of the 2019 edition, dominating New Zealand in the semi-final (19-7) along the way.
In France in 2023, England will want to go one better and demonstrate that they can prevail once more. England will be able to rely on a talented generation which shone in Japan, including captain Owen Farrell, Maro Itoje, and Tom Curry, a real revelation of the tournament in the back-row.
England will be keen to walk in the footsteps of the likes of Martin Johnson, Jason Robinson and Lawrence Dallaglio, who helped England become world champions in Australia in 2003 after an unforgettable drop goal from fly-half Jonny Wilkinson in the final minute of extra-time. To date, England remain the only nation from the northern hemisphere to lift the Webb Ellis Cup. Can they do so once more, two decades on?