England have been slammed by their own media while the All Blacks and Ireland have been given a near-perfect diagnosis in a “health check” of the leading rugby teams a year out from the World Cup.
The Times was scathing in its assessment of Eddie Jones’ England team as it went through what it sees as the nine top teams heading into the tournament in Japan.
“Terrible” England received a 4/10 rating with only the “woeful” Wallabies lower at 3/10. Defending champions New Zealand and Six Nations champions Ireland both received 9/10.
The Times‘ leading rugby correspondent Owen Slot was highly critical of the English situation.
He labelled the team’s form “terrible” with five losses in a row “marginally rescued by a dead-rubber victory over an experimental Springbok team”.
“Eddie Jones says England are on track, but his opinion is not borne out on the pitch.”
Here’s how The Times rated the top teams (points out of 10): New Zealand 9, Ireland 9, Wales 8, South Africa 7, Argentina 7, Scotland 7, France 5, England 4, Australia 3.
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