Ben Kay is one of only four Englishmen to start two World Cup finals and won the one he played in Australia, so when he says Steve Borthwick’s side can ‘absolutely’ lift the William Webb Ellis Trophy next year Down Under, every fan should take note.
One of the most respected and knowledgeable figures in English rugby, the now 50-year-old was part of Sir Clive Woodward’s all-conquering team of 2003, got back to the final in 2007, and won it all at club level with Leicester Tigers too.
So, a year out from the World Cup, how do this England team emulate what his side achieved?
‘The key for England this season is psychology,’ Kay, now a pundit for TNT Sports’ PREM Rugby coverage and an independent non-executive director on the RFU board, tells Daily Mail Sport. ‘It’s about how they get their belief back.
‘England can absolutely win the World Cup next year. They’ve 100 per cent got the talent. But equally, they’ve got to go to Australia 100 per cent believing they can win it. They might say they do now, but deep down they probably don’t believe it. They’ve got a year to sort that out. It’s absolutely doable.’
But England face a race against time in their bid to upset the likes of South Africa, New Zealand and France, even with a favourable draw that pits them against Wales, Tonga and Zimbabwe in the pool stages before a likely last-16 clash with Italy.
Ben Kay (right) was part of England’s all-conquering 2003 World Cup-winning side
He is now one of the most well-respected and knowledgeable figures in English rugby
The current England side have a long way to go to catch up to the likes of South Africa and win a World Cup of their own
Though as Italy proved in the spring, that’s no formality anymore. A first-ever defeat by the Azzurri led to England’s worst-ever Six Nations campaign, finishing fifth. The RFU’s subsequent decision to hand head coach Steve Borthwick a contract extension past that tournament went down like a bucket of cold sick with most supporters.
The Six Nations horror show came on the back of a 12-match winning streak. Things changed quickly and Borthwick’s stock fell as rapidly as it had risen.
‘It’s amazing what a few months can do, isn’t it?’ Kay says. ‘Going into the Six Nations, everyone was patting England on the back saying they’d got a genuine chance for the title. We all know what happened. It’s tough, because there is no doubt that will have dented them mentally. It’s how quickly they recover from that. England need to be bulletproof.
‘Let’s be honest. They’ve been really fortunate with the World Cup draw, so they’ve got a really good shot. Ahead of 2003, we were in a good place, but you only had to go back to 1999 or 2000 and it was very different. Then, like now, people said England couldn’t win when it mattered – they soon forget that after you’ve won something.
‘England are a lot further off now than we were at this stage back then. But the example of South Africa in 2019 is a good one here. Rassie Erasmus arrived in 2018 when the Springboks were struggling badly. They looked totally dominant 18 months later in 2019 and have gone on to win back-to-back World Cups.’
At the start of the new season, anticipation is already building for what is set to be a defining autumn campaign for England. Their No10 – Northampton’s Fin Smith – has admitted the team’s upcoming Nations Championship matches with Australia, Japan and New Zealand must come with an improvement in performance. Time is running out for England to get it right.
‘The PREM is a hugely enjoyable league to watch, but there might be a slight concern forming for me now that it’s not that similar to Test rugby,’ Kay says. ‘I hate to use this word, but I do enjoy the product. It’s a lot easier on the eye than when I was playing it. I would have loved to have played in this era.
‘Steve has probably been criticised most around his style of play. The PREM has developed an ability for elite English teams to play differently to the traditional English model. The traditional English mindset, which is certainly what I was used to, was don’t make mistakes.
Italy likely await in the World Cup last 16 next year, but after securing their first ever win over England in the Six Nations in March, that clash is no longer a formality
England fly-half Fin Smith plays in a free-flowing attack at Northampton but the shackles are on at international level
‘If you’re afraid of making mistakes, you’re never going to push yourself far enough. At Test level, you’ve got to have a mixture of both.
‘The problem England have faced was talk about Borthwick’s game plan being too negative. I actually think they have wanted to play. But there’s an element of having a confidence to throw the ball in the heat of the battle.’
In England’s Six Nations finale in Paris, that is exactly what they did, albeit in a last-gasp 48-46 defeat. That display showed what Borthwick’s men can do when the shackles are off, and was the sort of performance supporters want to see more regularly.
‘The big thing is that the players have to own it,’ Kay says. ‘Success comes from going to dark places, carrying those scars of defeat, and getting over it. Steve’s got to be thinking about doing a few things differently so he can inject more belief.
‘If England keep doing the same things, they will get the same results. South Africa have a mantra that they’re playing for a higher purpose. They see their team as the country’s leading light and they all buy into that. I think that’s interesting because England don’t have that. They need something to get behind.
‘In 2007, we spent time with the special forces. We were around people that were used to operating under pressure and in dark times. That sort of stuff rubs off.’
England may well already have a secret formula close to home. The arrival of Shaun Edwards – the most successful coach in men’s Six Nations history – as a consultant to England’s women’s side means the RFU finally have one of rugby’s greatest minds in their camp.
It is hard to escape the feeling that Borthwick must add Edwards’ winning mindset to his team this season. It is a priceless opportunity England can’t pass up, and Kay described Edwards’ Red Roses appointment as ‘very interesting’.
Steve Borthwick (second left) and Kay (right) were both part of the England team that reached the 2007 World Cup final
Kay believes that getting Shaun Edwards onto Borthwick’s staff would be ‘invaluable’
‘There are certain people within good squads that make a big difference and you can’t quite put your finger on why,’ he adds. ‘In the 2003 squad, Phil Pask – our physio – was one of those.
‘If you speak to anyone who has worked with Shaun, they all say he made you feel you could do something that little bit more. That can be invaluable.’
And Kay would know. He’s already won a World Cup Down Under.
Ben Kay is a pundit for PREM Rugby broadcaster TNT Sports
