Former England head coach Clive Woodward has a hopeful prediction for the country's World Cup finish despite being given a Six Nations reality check.
Head coach Steve Borthwick was brought in to replace Eddie Jones, who was sacked in December following a disappointing run of Autumn internationals results. However, the size of Borthwick's job as England boss was made clear during Six Nations defeats by Scotland, France and winners Ireland.
The team will now begin preparations ahead of this year's World Cup in France when they meet Argentina in their first match on September 9 - followed by group games against Japan, Chile and Samoa.
World Cup-winning head coach Woodward is optimistic about England's ambitions due to being on the favourable half of the draw, which would likely see the group qualifiers play Australia or Wales in the quarter-final.
England beat a lowly Wales during the Six Nations with Warren Gatland's side winning just one of their five matches.
"Steve Borthwick and his team have so much work to do," said Woodward in his column for the Daily Mail. "The Six Nations has been a big reality check and showed how far England are behind Ireland and France.
"But it is not too late for England to compete at the World Cup and the main reason I say that is because they are in the right side of the draw. Realistically, England will have to beat Argentina to top their pool and then either Australia or Wales to reach a semi-final.
"That is eminently achievable. However, to do so England need to get their star players back to their best. That did not happen in the Six Nations."
World Cup hosts France were left “astounded” by how soft England were trouncing them 53-10 at Twickenham earlier this month as skipper Owen Farrell was controversially replaced by Marcus Smith.
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However, Borthwick recalled Farrell for England's defeat in Ireland on Saturday during an improved performance - not helped by Freddie Steward's first half red card.
Woodward noticed a "big improvement" during England's final Six Nations match but said certain players need to improve their performances.
"Maro Itoje is a talisman for England but he had a very poor tournament," Woodward added. "It is amazing how good a coach you are when your best players are going well.
"That is not the case with England right now. Borthwick will have a lot of thinking to do in the coming weeks and months. He has had a steep learning curve in his first campaign in charge but he will be all the better for it, even if he doesn’t feel it right now.
"A big part of the improvement we saw at the Aviva Stadium was down to Owen Farrell, whose leadership provided clarity for the team that was badly missing against France."
