Disaster averted, but England’s Rugby World Cup medal papers over cracks

While third place was a victory for bloody-mindedness, Steve Borthwick now needs to plan for the long-term futureIn the coming weeks, under the cloak of anonymity upon which they apparently insist, the Rugby Football Union’s panel of experts will convene to review the World Cup campaign. Players will be invited to give their feedback, presentations will be made to board members, and boxes will be ticked.To save them some time, file this campaign under “disaster averted”. An ageing, proud squad gave it a lash but ultimately came up short against the eventual champions. The RFU chief executive, Bill Sweeney, said: “I think we did a brilliant job of managing expectations.”