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England national rugby union team

May 13, 2023

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.

The England men’s 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 14 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.

England
EmblemRed Rose
UnionRugby Football Union
Head coachSteve Borthwick
CaptainOwen Farrell
Most capsBen Youngs (122)
Top scorerJonny Wilkinson (1,179)
Top try scorerRory Underwood (49)
Home stadiumTwickenham Stadium
First colours
Second colours
World Rugby ranking
Current6 (as of 20 March 2023)
Highest1 (2003, 2019)
Lowest8 (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
Appearances9 (First in 1987)
Best resultChampions🥇 (2003)
Websiteenglandrugby.com

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

Main article: History of the England national rugby union team

Early years

 
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

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.

England ended fourth in the 2023 Six Nations Championship. England defeated Italy (31-14) and Wales (10-20) but was beaten by Scotland (23-29), France (10-53) and Ireland (29-16).

Home stadium

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 1981 when a new South stand was built[65] and the 1990s when new North, East and West stands were built;[63] the South stand was replaced 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,[66] who won the match 41–20, dominating the England team in front of a record crowd of 82,076.[67]

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.[68]

England home matches outside Twickenham

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),[69] 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 [70]
17 October 1992   Canada 26–13 Wembley Stadium, London [71]
22 November 1997   New Zealand 8–25 Old Trafford, Manchester [72]
14 November 1998   Netherlands 110–0 McAlpine Stadium, Huddersfield [73]
22 November 1998   Italy 23–15 McAlpine Stadium, Huddersfield [73]
6 June 2009   Argentina 37–15 Old Trafford, Manchester[a] [72]
10 October 2015   Uruguay 60–3 Etihad Stadium, Manchester[b] [74]
6 September 2019   Italy 37–0 St James' Park, Newcastle upon Tyne [75]

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.[76]
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.[77][78]

"Swing Low, Sweet Chariot"

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.[79][80] Since then "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot" became a song to sing at England home games.[81] 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.[82]

Strip

 
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.[83] The white kit worn by the national team was taken from the kit used at Rugby School.[83] 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.[83] The Wright design is thought to have been used without minor alteration until the late 1990s.[83] It was not until 1997 that the rose was modernised,[84] when Nike became the official strip supplier (with the stem section of the rose being green rather than brown as previously).[85]

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.[86]

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.[87]

Kit providers

Year Kit manufacturer Main shirt sponsor
1960s   Lillywhites[88]
1970s—1983   Umbro[89]
1984—1990   Bukta
1991–1997   Cotton Traders BT Cellnet (1996-Jun 2002)
1997–2012   Nike O2 (Jun 2002-present)
2012–2020   Canterbury[90]
2020–present   Umbro[91][92]

Record

Six Nations

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 127 94 129 24 129 129
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 5 0 0 6
Overall 29 (10) 18 (8) 15 (8) 0 (0) 14 (8) 28 (11)
Grand Slams
Home Nations — — — — — 2[93]
Five Nations 11 6 1 — 3 6
Six Nations 2 4 3 0 0 4
Overall 13 10 4 0 3 12
Triple Crowns
Home Nations 5 — 2 — 7 6
Five Nations 16 — 4 — 3 11
Six Nations 5 — 7 — 0 5
Overall 26 — 13 — 10 22
Wooden Spoons
Home Nations 7 — 10 — 5 6
Five Nations 10 12 15 — 15 10
Six Nations 0 1 0 18 4 1
Overall 17 13 25 18 24 17

Note: England are the only team to have won more than two successive grand slams, on more than one occasion, 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

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

Men's World Rugby Rankings
Top 20 as of 10 April 2023[94]
Rank Change* Team Points
1     Ireland 091.82
2     France 090.47
3     New Zealand 088.98
4     South Africa 088.97
5     Scotland 082.77
6     England 082.12
7     Australia 081.80
8     Argentina 080.72
9     Wales 078.08
10     Japan 077.39
11     Georgia 076.23
12     Samoa 076.03
13     Fiji 074.84
14     Italy 074.63
15     Tonga 071.21
16     Portugal 067.62
17     Uruguay 066.24
18     United States 065.92
19     Romania 065.85
20     Spain 064.05
21     Namibia 061.60
22     Chile 060.89
23     Canada 060.46
24     Hong Kong 059.66
25     Russia 058.06
26     Netherlands 055.84
27  1   Switzerland 055.72
28  1   Brazil 055.23
29     Belgium 054.58
30     Korea 052.62
* Change from the previous week
England's historical rankings
See or edit source data.
Source: World Rugby[94]
Graph updated to 10 April 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.[95] 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 432 of their 777 Test Matches, with a winning record of 58.94%. Below is a summary table of capped England matches up to 18 March 2023. 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 110 60 7 43 57.73% 1,787 1,477 365
  Georgia 3 3 0 0 100.00% 165 16 149
  Ireland 140 80 8 52 60.00% 1,730 1,263 497
  Italy 30 30 0 0 100.00% 1,197 356 841
  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 141 76 19 46 60.64% 1,733 1,291 451
  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 139 67 12 60 52.52% 1,882 1,705 177
Total 777 432 52 293 58.94% 13,933 10,268 4,562

Players

Current squad

On 19 December 2022, former England captain and Leicester Tigers head coach Steve Borthwick was appointed as England head coach by the RFU.[96] He replaced Eddie Jones, who was sacked from the role on 6 December 2022.[97]

On 16 January 2023, Borthwick named a 36-player England squad for the 2023 Six Nations Championship.[98]

Caps and clubs updated to: 18 March 2023

Player Position Date of birth (age) Caps Club/province
Jamie George Hooker (1990-10-20) 20 October 1990 (age 32) 77   Saracens
Jack Walker Hooker (1996-05-06) 6 May 1996 (age 27) 3   Harlequins
George McGuigan Hooker (1993-03-30) 30 March 1993 (age 30) 0   Gloucester
Dan Cole Prop (1987-05-09) 9 May 1987 (age 36) 100   Leicester Tigers
Mako Vunipola Prop (1991-01-14) 14 January 1991 (age 32) 79   Saracens
Kyle Sinckler Prop (1993-03-30) 30 March 1993 (age 30) 61   Bristol Bears
Ellis Genge Prop (1995-02-16) 16 February 1995 (age 28) 48   Bristol Bears
Joe Heyes Prop (1999-04-13) 13 April 1999 (age 24) 7   Leicester Tigers
Bevan Rodd Prop (2000-08-26) 26 August 2000 (age 22) 2   Sale Sharks
Maro Itoje Lock (1994-10-28) 28 October 1994 (age 28) 67   Saracens
Jonny Hill Lock (1994-06-08) 8 June 1994 (age 28) 19   Sale Sharks
Nick Isiekwe Lock (1998-04-20) 20 April 1998 (age 25) 11   Saracens
Ollie Chessum Lock (2000-09-06) 6 September 2000 (age 22) 9   Leicester Tigers
David Ribbans Lock (1995-08-29) 29 August 1995 (age 27) 5   Northampton Saints
Courtney Lawes Flanker (1989-02-23) 23 February 1989 (age 34) 97   Northampton Saints
Lewis Ludlam Flanker (1995-12-08) 8 December 1995 (age 27) 19   Northampton Saints
Ben Earl Flanker (1998-01-07) 7 January 1998 (age 25) 15   Saracens
Jack Willis Flanker (1996-12-24) 24 December 1996 (age 26) 10   Toulouse
Ben Curry Flanker (1998-06-15) 15 June 1998 (age 24) 5   Sale Sharks
Sam Simmonds Number 8 (1994-11-10) 10 November 1994 (age 28) 18   Exeter Chiefs
Alex Dombrandt Number 8 (1997-04-29) 29 April 1997 (age 26) 14   Harlequins
Ben Youngs Scrum-half (1989-09-05) 5 September 1989 (age 33) 122   Leicester Tigers
Jack van Poortvliet Scrum-half (2001-05-15) 15 May 2001 (age 21) 12   Leicester Tigers
Alex Mitchell Scrum-half (1997-05-25) 25 May 1997 (age 25) 5   Northampton Saints
Owen Farrell (c) Fly-half (1991-09-24) 24 September 1991 (age 31) 106   Saracens
Marcus Smith Fly-half (1999-02-14) 14 February 1999 (age 24) 21   Harlequins
Fin Smith Fly-half (2002-05-11) 11 May 2002 (age 21) 0   Northampton Saints
Elliot Daly Centre (1992-10-08) 8 October 1992 (age 30) 57   Saracens
Henry Slade Centre (1993-03-19) 19 March 1993 (age 30) 56   Exeter Chiefs
Manu Tuilagi Centre (1991-05-18) 18 May 1991 (age 31) 51   Sale Sharks
Joe Marchant Centre (1996-07-16) 16 July 1996 (age 26) 15   Harlequins
Ollie Lawrence Centre (1999-09-18) 18 September 1999 (age 23) 11   Bath
Dan Kelly Centre (2001-06-16) 16 June 2001 (age 21) 1   Leicester Tigers
Anthony Watson Wing (1994-02-26) 26 February 1994 (age 29) 55   Leicester Tigers
Max Malins Wing (1997-01-07) 7 January 1997 (age 26) 18   Saracens
Ollie Hassell-Collins Wing (1999-01-17) 17 January 1999 (age 24) 2   London Irish
Cadan Murley Wing (1999-07-31) 31 July 1999 (age 23) 0   Harlequins
Freddie Steward Fullback (2000-12-05) 5 December 2000 (age 22) 22   Leicester Tigers
Henry Arundell Fullback (2002-11-08) 8 November 2002 (age 20) 7   London Irish
Tommy Freeman Fullback (2001-03-05) 5 March 2001 (age 22) 3   Northampton Saints

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.[103]

On 6 February 2023, Borthwick named a revised 36-player squad for the second round fixture against Italy on 12 February 2023, which included a number of players returning from injury.[104]

On 19 February 2023, Borthwick named an altered 36-player squad for the third round fixture against Wales on 25 February 2023, which recalled several veterans and two uncapped players.[105]

On 28 February 2023, Borthwick named a 26-player training squad for the fallow week ahead of the fourth round fixture against France on 11 March 2023, with a recall for Jonny May.[106]

On 13 March 2023, Borthwick named the final 36-player squad ahead of the last round fixture against Ireland on 18 March 2023, with new call-ups in place of Ollie Chessum and Ollie Lawrence, who withdrew because of injury.[107]

Player Position Date of birth (age) Caps Club/province
Tom Dunn Hooker (1992-11-12) 12 November 1992 (age 30) 3   Bath
Will Collier Prop (1991-05-05) 5 May 1991 (age 32) 2   Harlequins
Tom Curry Flanker (1998-06-15) 15 June 1998 (age 24) 46   Sale Sharks
George Martin Flanker (2001-06-18) 18 June 2001 (age 21) 1   Leicester Tigers
George Ford Fly-half (1993-03-16) 16 March 1993 (age 30) 84   Sale Sharks
Fraser Dingwall Centre (1999-04-07) 7 April 1999 (age 24) 0   Northampton Saints
Guy Porter Centre (1997-01-23) 23 January 1997 (age 26) 4   Leicester Tigers
Jonny May Wing (1990-04-01) 1 April 1990 (age 33) 72   Gloucester

Notable players

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.[108][109]

Seven former England internationals are also members of the IRB Hall of Fame. Four of them – Johnson,[110] Alan Rotherham, Harry Vassall[111] and Robert Seddon[112] – 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.[110] Another former England player, Alfred St. George Hamersley, was inducted for achievements as both a player and a rugby administrator.[113]

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.[114]

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.[115]

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.[116]

Described as arguably "the greatest forward" to play for England,[117] Martin Johnson played 84 Tests for England, and 8 Tests for the British and Irish Lions.[118] 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.[119] 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.[117] 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).[110]

Jason Leonard, also known as "The Fun Bus",[120] 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.[121] 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.[121]

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".[111]

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.[110]

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.[113] 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.[112]

Individual records

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

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.[122] 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.[123]

Club versus country

 
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.[124] 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.[125] 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.[126] The clubs also withdrew from the 1998–99 Heineken Cup.[127]

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.[128] 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."[129] Andy Robinson, Woodward's successor, blamed the lack of control over players for his team's unsuccessful record.[130] 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.[131] 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.[132]

Coaches

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.[133] 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 To: 19 March 2023

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[134] 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[135] 83 59 2 22 071.1
  Andy Robinson 15 October 2004 – 29 November 2006[136][137] 22 9 0 13 040.9
  Brian Ashton 20 December 2006 – 1 June 2008[138] 22 12 0 10 054.5
  Rob Andrew[a] 1 June 2008 – 30 June 2008[139] 2 0 0 2 000.0
  Martin Johnson 1 July 2008[139] – 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[140] 81 59 2 20 072.8
  Steve Borthwick 19 December 2022 – Present 5 2 0 3 040.0

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

Note: Richard Cockerill served briefly as interim head coach, following the dismissal of Eddie Jones, until the appointment of Steve Borthwick. No tests were played during Cockerill's 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

England's autumn internationals are televised live by Prime Video. Highlights of the autumn tests are broadcast by the BBC. As of 2023, all Six Nations games are broadcast free-to-air on the BBC and ITV.

See also

Bibliography

  • 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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May 13, 2023
england, national, rugby, union, team, confused, with, england, national, rugby, league, team, this, article, about, team, women, team, england, women, national, rugby, union, team, england, national, rugby, union, team, represents, england, international, rug. 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 The England men s 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 14 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 EnglandEmblemRed RoseUnionRugby Football UnionHead coachSteve BorthwickCaptainOwen FarrellMost capsBen Youngs 122 Top scorerJonny Wilkinson 1 179 Top try scorerRory Underwood 49 Home stadiumTwickenham StadiumFirst coloursSecond coloursWorld Rugby rankingCurrent6 as of 20 March 2023 Highest1 2003 2019 Lowest8 2009 2015 First international Scotland 1 0 England Edinburgh Scotland 27 March 1871 Biggest winEngland 134 0 Romania London England 17 November 2001 Biggest defeat Australia 76 0 England Brisbane Australia 6 June 1998 World CupAppearances9 First in 1987 Best resultChampions 2003 Websiteenglandrugby comThe 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 Contents 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 linksHistory EditMain 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 England ended fourth in the 2023 Six Nations Championship England defeated Italy 31 14 and Wales 10 20 but was beaten by Scotland 23 29 France 10 53 and Ireland 29 16 Home stadium EditMain 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 1981 when a new South stand was built 65 and the 1990s when new North East and West stands were built 63 the South stand was replaced 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 66 who won the match 41 20 dominating the England team in front of a record crowd of 82 076 67 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 68 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 69 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 70 17 October 1992 Canada 26 13 Wembley Stadium London 71 22 November 1997 New Zealand 8 25 Old Trafford Manchester 72 14 November 1998 Netherlands 110 0 McAlpine Stadium Huddersfield 73 22 November 1998 Italy 23 15 McAlpine Stadium Huddersfield 73 6 June 2009 Argentina 37 15 Old Trafford Manchester a 72 10 October 2015 Uruguay 60 3 Etihad Stadium Manchester b 74 6 September 2019 Italy 37 0 St James Park Newcastle upon Tyne 75 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 76 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 77 78 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 79 80 Since then Swing Low Sweet Chariot became a song to sing at England home games 81 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 82 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 83 The white kit worn by the national team was taken from the kit used at Rugby School 83 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 83 The Wright design is thought to have been used without minor alteration until the late 1990s 83 It was not until 1997 that the rose was modernised 84 when Nike became the official strip supplier with the stem section of the rose being green rather than brown as previously 85 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 86 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 87 Kit providers Edit Year Kit manufacturer Main shirt sponsor1960s Lillywhites 88 1970s 1983 Umbro 89 1984 1990 Bukta1991 1997 Cotton Traders BT Cellnet 1996 Jun 2002 1997 2012 Nike O2 Jun 2002 present 2012 2020 Canterbury 90 2020 present Umbro 91 92 Record EditSix 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 WalesTournaments 127 94 129 24 129 129Outright 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 5 0 0 6Overall 29 10 18 8 15 8 0 0 14 8 28 11 Grand SlamsHome Nations 2 93 Five Nations 11 6 1 3 6Six Nations 2 4 3 0 0 4Overall 13 10 4 0 3 12Triple CrownsHome Nations 5 2 7 6Five Nations 16 4 3 11Six Nations 5 7 0 5Overall 26 13 10 22Wooden SpoonsHome Nations 7 10 5 6Five Nations 10 12 15 15 10Six Nations 0 1 0 18 4 1Overall 17 13 25 18 24 17Note England are the only team to have won more than two successive grand slams on more than one occasion 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 QualificationYear 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 qualifiedTotal Champions 50 36 0 14 1569 783 2 2 0 0 133 15 Champions Runners up Third place Fourth place Home venueSee 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 Rankingsvte Top 20 as of 10 April 2023 94 Rank Change Team Points1 Ireland 0 91 822 France 0 90 473 New Zealand 0 88 984 South Africa 0 88 975 Scotland 0 82 776 England 0 82 127 Australia 0 81 808 Argentina 0 80 729 Wales 0 78 0810 Japan 0 77 3911 Georgia 0 76 2312 Samoa 0 76 0313 Fiji 0 74 8414 Italy 0 74 6315 Tonga 0 71 2116 Portugal 0 67 6217 Uruguay 0 66 2418 United States 0 65 9219 Romania 0 65 8520 Spain 0 64 0521 Namibia 0 61 6022 Chile 0 60 8923 Canada 0 60 4624 Hong Kong 0 59 6625 Russia 0 58 0626 Netherlands 0 55 8427 1 Switzerland 0 55 7228 1 Brazil 0 55 2329 Belgium 0 54 5830 Korea 0 52 62 Change from the previous weekEngland s historical rankingsGraphs are temporarily unavailable due to technical issues See or edit source data Source World Rugby 94 Graph updated to 10 April 2023When 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 95 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 432 of their 777 Test Matches with a winning record of 58 94 Below is a summary table of capped England matches up to 18 March 2023 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 110 60 7 43 57 73 1 787 1 477 365 Georgia 3 3 0 0 100 00 165 16 149 Ireland 140 80 8 52 60 00 1 730 1 263 497 Italy 30 30 0 0 100 00 1 197 356 841 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 141 76 19 46 60 64 1 733 1 291 451 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 139 67 12 60 52 52 1 882 1 705 177Total 777 432 52 293 58 94 13 933 10 268 4 562Players EditCurrent 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 96 He replaced Eddie Jones who was sacked from the role on 6 December 2022 97 On 16 January 2023 Borthwick named a 36 player England squad for the 2023 Six Nations Championship 98 Head coach Steve Borthwick 99 Defence coach Kevin Sinfield 100 Attack coach Nick Evans 101 Forwards coach Richard Cockerill 102 Caps and clubs updated to 18 March 2023 Player Position Date of birth age Caps Club provinceJamie George Hooker 1990 10 20 20 October 1990 age 32 77 SaracensJack Walker Hooker 1996 05 06 6 May 1996 age 27 3 HarlequinsGeorge McGuigan Hooker 1993 03 30 30 March 1993 age 30 0 GloucesterDan Cole Prop 1987 05 09 9 May 1987 age 36 100 Leicester TigersMako Vunipola Prop 1991 01 14 14 January 1991 age 32 79 SaracensKyle Sinckler Prop 1993 03 30 30 March 1993 age 30 61 Bristol BearsEllis Genge Prop 1995 02 16 16 February 1995 age 28 48 Bristol BearsJoe Heyes Prop 1999 04 13 13 April 1999 age 24 7 Leicester TigersBevan Rodd Prop 2000 08 26 26 August 2000 age 22 2 Sale SharksMaro Itoje Lock 1994 10 28 28 October 1994 age 28 67 SaracensJonny Hill Lock 1994 06 08 8 June 1994 age 28 19 Sale SharksNick Isiekwe Lock 1998 04 20 20 April 1998 age 25 11 SaracensOllie Chessum Lock 2000 09 06 6 September 2000 age 22 9 Leicester TigersDavid Ribbans Lock 1995 08 29 29 August 1995 age 27 5 Northampton SaintsCourtney Lawes Flanker 1989 02 23 23 February 1989 age 34 97 Northampton SaintsLewis Ludlam Flanker 1995 12 08 8 December 1995 age 27 19 Northampton SaintsBen Earl Flanker 1998 01 07 7 January 1998 age 25 15 SaracensJack Willis Flanker 1996 12 24 24 December 1996 age 26 10 ToulouseBen Curry Flanker 1998 06 15 15 June 1998 age 24 5 Sale SharksSam Simmonds Number 8 1994 11 10 10 November 1994 age 28 18 Exeter ChiefsAlex Dombrandt Number 8 1997 04 29 29 April 1997 age 26 14 HarlequinsBen Youngs Scrum half 1989 09 05 5 September 1989 age 33 122 Leicester TigersJack van Poortvliet Scrum half 2001 05 15 15 May 2001 age 21 12 Leicester TigersAlex Mitchell Scrum half 1997 05 25 25 May 1997 age 25 5 Northampton SaintsOwen Farrell c Fly half 1991 09 24 24 September 1991 age 31 106 SaracensMarcus Smith Fly half 1999 02 14 14 February 1999 age 24 21 HarlequinsFin Smith Fly half 2002 05 11 11 May 2002 age 21 0 Northampton SaintsElliot Daly Centre 1992 10 08 8 October 1992 age 30 57 SaracensHenry Slade Centre 1993 03 19 19 March 1993 age 30 56 Exeter ChiefsManu Tuilagi Centre 1991 05 18 18 May 1991 age 31 51 Sale SharksJoe Marchant Centre 1996 07 16 16 July 1996 age 26 15 HarlequinsOllie Lawrence Centre 1999 09 18 18 September 1999 age 23 11 BathDan Kelly Centre 2001 06 16 16 June 2001 age 21 1 Leicester TigersAnthony Watson Wing 1994 02 26 26 February 1994 age 29 55 Leicester TigersMax Malins Wing 1997 01 07 7 January 1997 age 26 18 SaracensOllie Hassell Collins Wing 1999 01 17 17 January 1999 age 24 2 London IrishCadan Murley Wing 1999 07 31 31 July 1999 age 23 0 HarlequinsFreddie Steward Fullback 2000 12 05 5 December 2000 age 22 22 Leicester TigersHenry Arundell Fullback 2002 11 08 8 November 2002 age 20 7 London IrishTommy Freeman Fullback 2001 03 05 5 March 2001 age 22 3 Northampton SaintsOn 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 103 On 6 February 2023 Borthwick named a revised 36 player squad for the second round fixture against Italy on 12 February 2023 which included a number of players returning from injury 104 On 19 February 2023 Borthwick named an altered 36 player squad for the third round fixture against Wales on 25 February 2023 which recalled several veterans and two uncapped players 105 On 28 February 2023 Borthwick named a 26 player training squad for the fallow week ahead of the fourth round fixture against France on 11 March 2023 with a recall for Jonny May 106 On 13 March 2023 Borthwick named the final 36 player squad ahead of the last round fixture against Ireland on 18 March 2023 with new call ups in place of Ollie Chessum and Ollie Lawrence who withdrew because of injury 107 Player Position Date of birth age Caps Club provinceTom Dunn Hooker 1992 11 12 12 November 1992 age 30 3 BathWill Collier Prop 1991 05 05 5 May 1991 age 32 2 HarlequinsTom Curry Flanker 1998 06 15 15 June 1998 age 24 46 Sale SharksGeorge Martin Flanker 2001 06 18 18 June 2001 age 21 1 Leicester TigersGeorge Ford Fly half 1993 03 16 16 March 1993 age 30 84 Sale SharksFraser Dingwall Centre 1999 04 07 7 April 1999 age 24 0 Northampton SaintsGuy Porter Centre 1997 01 23 23 January 1997 age 26 4 Leicester TigersJonny May Wing 1990 04 01 1 April 1990 age 33 72 GloucesterNotable 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 108 109 Seven former England internationals are also members of the IRB Hall of Fame Four of them Johnson 110 Alan Rotherham Harry Vassall 111 and Robert Seddon 112 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 110 Another former England player Alfred St George Hamersley was inducted for achievements as both a player and a rugby administrator 113 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 114 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 115 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 116 Described as arguably the greatest forward to play for England 117 Martin Johnson played 84 Tests for England and 8 Tests for the British and Irish Lions 118 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 119 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 117 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 110 Jason Leonard also known as The Fun Bus 120 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 121 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 121 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 111 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 110 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 113 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 112 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 EditPennyhill 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 122 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 123 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 124 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 125 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 126 The clubs also withdrew from the 1998 99 Heineken Cup 127 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 128 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 129 Andy Robinson Woodward s successor blamed the lack of control over players for his team s unsuccessful record 130 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 131 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 132 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 133 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 To 19 March 2023 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 134 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 135 83 59 2 22 0 71 1 Andy Robinson 15 October 2004 29 November 2006 136 137 22 9 0 13 0 40 9 Brian Ashton 20 December 2006 1 June 2008 138 22 12 0 10 0 54 5 Rob Andrew a 1 June 2008 30 June 2008 139 2 0 0 2 00 0 0 Martin Johnson 1 July 2008 139 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 140 81 59 2 20 0 72 8 Steve Borthwick 19 December 2022 Present 5 2 0 3 0 40 0a Rob Andrew coached the team for the 2008 summer tests in New Zealand in Martin Johnson s absence Note Richard Cockerill served briefly as interim head coach following the dismissal of Eddie Jones until the appointment of Steve Borthwick No tests were played during Cockerill s 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 EditEngland s autumn internationals are televised live by Prime Video Highlights of the autumn tests are broadcast by the BBC As of 2023 all Six Nations games are broadcast free to air on the BBC and ITV See also EditEngland national under 20 rugby union team England national rugby sevens team England 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