Steve Borthwick has accepted his team’s fourth-place finish in his first Six Nations in charge, acknowledging that they need to learn and learn quickly.
The England boss believes that having the team in camp for a longer period before the World Cup will help the players better understand how he wants them to play.
“We’ve got to learn and we’ve got to learn fast,” he said.
“The Six Nations has been five intense games,
“You have one main training session a week. We’ve seen some growth here but I think we’ll see more in that period [before the World Cup].”
“I can’t do anything about the past. I can only do something about the future. We are working really hard to put England in the best position possible and I’m excited about what these players can do at the World Cup.”
Despite beating Italy and Wales, England was outclassed by France in a record defeat at Twickenham but put up a good fight in their loss to Grand Slam champions Ireland.
Borthwick admitted that England is not where it could be in comparison to other teams who have used the four-year World Cup cycle well, but he remains optimistic about what his players can achieve in the future, saying that he can only do something about the future and is working hard to put England in the best position possible.
How England should line-up for World Cup:
15. Freddie Steward (Leicester Tigers)
14. Anthony Watson (Leicester Tigers)
13. Elliot Daly (Saracens) for Henry Slade (Exeter Chiefs)
12. Ollie Lawrence (Bath Rugby) for Manu Tuilagi (Sale Sharks)
11. Christian Wade (Racing 92) for Henry Arundell (London Irish)
He’s since impressed in the Top 14 so much that former teammate Danny Cipriani believes he’s the best English winger in the world.
The fly-half wrote on Twitter: “This fella has left the country, had 4 years in a serious professional sport, come back and is still the best winger in England.