 | |||
| Emblem | Red Rose | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Union | Rugby Football Union[1] | ||
| Head coach | Steve Borthwick[2] | ||
| Captain | Maro Itoje[3] | ||
| Mostcaps | Ben Youngs (127)[4] | ||
| Top scorer | Owen Farrell (1,237)[5] | ||
| Top try scorer | Rory Underwood (49) | ||
| Home stadium | Twickenham Stadium[6] | ||
| |||
| World Rugby ranking | |||
| Current | 6 (as of 17 March 2025) | ||
| Highest | 1 (2003, 2019) | ||
| Lowest | 8 (2009, 2015, 2023) | ||
| First international | |||
 Scotland1–0England (Edinburgh,Scotland; 27 March 1871) | |||
| Biggest win | |||
England 134–0Romania  (London,England; 17 November 2001) | |||
| Biggest defeat | |||
 Australia 76–0England(Brisbane,Australia; 6 June 1998) | |||
| World Cup | |||
| Appearances | 10 (first in1987) | ||
| Best result | Champions (2003) | ||
| Website | englandrugby.com | ||
TheEngland national rugby union team represents theRugby Football Union (RFU) in internationalrugby union. They compete in the annualSix Nations Championship withFrance,Ireland,Italy,Scotland andWales. England have won the championship on 29 occasions (as well as sharing 10 victories), winning theGrand Slam 14 times and theTriple Crown 26 times, making them the most successful outright winners in the tournament's history. They are currently the only team from theNorthern Hemisphere to win theRugby World Cup, having won the tournament in2003, and have been runners-up on three further occasions.
The history of the team extends back to 1871 when the English rugby team played theirfirst official test match, losing 0–1 to Scotland. England dominated the early Home Nations Championship (now the Six Nations Championship) which started in 1883. Following theschism of rugby football in 1895 into union and league, England did not win the Championship again until 1910. They first played againstNew Zealand in 1905,South Africa in 1906, andAustralia in 1909. England was one of the teams invited to take part in the inaugural Rugby World Cup in1987. They progressed to the final in the second tournament in1991, but lost to the eventual champions Australia. Following their Grand Slam in2003, England went on to win the2003 Rugby World Cup, defeating Australia in extra time. They contested the final again in2007 in defence of their title but lost to South Africa. They reached the final for the fourth time in2019, but lost to South Africa.
England players traditionally wear a white shirt with a rose embroidered on the chest, white shorts, and navy blue socks with a white trim. England's home ground isTwickenham Stadium where they first played in 1910. The team is administered by the RFU. Five former players have been inducted into theInternational Rugby Hall of Fame. One of them is also a member of theIRB Hall of Fame. Seven other former players are members of the IRB Hall of Fame, four solely for their accomplishments as players, two solely for their achievements in other roles in the sport, and one for achievements both as a player and administrator. They have been branched in many different squads since the start of England Rugby, such as junior teams andwomen's teams.
The expansion of rugby in the first half of the 19th century was driven by former pupils from many of England'spublic schools, especiallyRugby, who, upon finishing school, took the game with them to universities, to London, and to the counties.[7]England's first international match was againstScotland on 27 March 1871; not only was this England's first match, but it is also noted as being the first rugby union international.[8] Scotland won the match by one goal and a try to England's one unconverted try,[9][10] in front of a crowd of 4,000 people atRaeburn Place, Edinburgh.[11] A subsequent international took place atthe Oval in London on 5 February 1872, when England defeated Scotland by a goal, adrop goal and two tries to Scotland's one drop goal.[12][13] The early matches did not use a structured points system; this would not be introduced until after 1890 when a suitable format for the scoring system had been devised.[10] Up until 1875, international rugby matches were decided by the number of goals scored (conversions and dropped goals), but from 1876 the number of tries scored could be used to decide a match if the teams were level on goals.[14]
In 1875, England played their first game againstIreland at the Oval, winning by one goal, one drop goal and one try to nil;[10] this was Ireland's first test match.[15][16] England defeated Scotland in 1880 to become the first winners of theCalcutta Cup.[17][18] Their first match againstWales was played on 19 February 1881 at Richardson's Field inBlackheath,[18][19] where England recorded their largest victory, winning by seven goals, six tries, and one drop goal to nil,[10] and scoring 13 tries in the process.[19] The subsequent meeting the following year atSt. Helen's in Swansea was a closer contest, with England defeating Wales by two goals and four tries to nil.[10][20] Two years later, England emerged as the inaugural winners at the firstHome Nations championship.[21] In 1889, they played their first match against a non-home nations team when they defeated theNew Zealand Natives at Rectory Field in Blackheath[22][23] by one goal and four tries to nil.[10] England shared the Home Nations trophy with Scotland in 1890.[24]
England first playedNew Zealand (known as the "All Blacks") in 1905 atCrystal Palace in London. New Zealand scored five tries, worth three points at the time, to win 15–0.[25] England playedFrance for the first time in March 1906 in Paris, winning 35–8, and later that year they first facedSouth Africa (known as the "Springboks"), again at Crystal Palace.James Peters was withdrawn from the England squad when the South Africans refused to play against a black player;[26] the match was drawn 3–3. England first playedAustralia (known as the "Wallabies") in January 1909 at Blackheath's Rectory Field, where they were defeated 9–3.[27]
The year 1909 saw the opening ofTwickenham Stadium as the RFU's new home, heralding a golden era for English rugby union. England's first international at Twickenham in 1910 brought them victory over Wales on their way to winning theInternational Championship (known from then as the Five Nations) for the first time since1892. Although England did not retain the Five Nations title in 1911, they did share it (with Ireland) in 1912. England then achieved their first Five NationsGrand Slam in 1913, another in 1914, and a third in 1921 after the First World War. A further two consecutive Grand Slams followed for the England team in 1924 and 1925,[28] this despite having started 1925 with an 17–11 loss to the "Invincibles" in front of 60,000 fans at Twickenham.[29]
After winning a sixth Grand Slam in 1928, England were subjected to a7–0 defeat by the Springboks in front of 70,000 spectators at Twickenham in January 1932. Following the expulsion of France from the International Championship in 1931 due to professionalism, which reverted the Five Nations tournament back to the Home Nations,[30] England proceeded to win the 1934 and 1937 championships with aTriple Crown, and achievedtheir first victory over the All Blacks at Twickenham in January 1936.[31][32]
When the Five Nations resumed with the readmission of France in 1947 after the Second World War, England shared the championship with Wales. The early Five Nations competitions of the 1950s were unsuccessful for England, winning one match in the 1950 and 1951 championships.[28] England won the 1953 Five Nations, and followed this up with a Grand Slam in 1957, and win in 1958. England broke France's four-championship streak by winning the 1963 Championship.[28] After this victory, England played three Tests in the Southern Hemisphere and lost all three: 21–11 and 9–6 against the All Blacks, and 18–9 against Australia.[33] England did not win a single match in 1966, and managed only a draw with Ireland. They did not win another Championship that decade.
Don White was appointed as England's first coach in 1969. According to former Northampton playerBob Taylor, "Don was chosen because he was the most forward-thinking coach in England".[34] His first match in charge was an 11–8 victory over South Africa at Twickenham in 1969.[citation needed] Of the eleven games England played with White in charge they won three, and drew one and lost seven. He resigned as England coach in 1971.[citation needed]
England had wins against Southern Hemisphere teams in the 1970s; with victories over South Africa in 1972, New Zealand in 1973 and Australia in 1973 and 1976. The1972 Five Nations Championship was not completed due tothe Troubles in Northern Ireland when Scotland and Wales refused to play their Five Nations away fixtures in Ireland. England played in Dublin in 1973 and were given a standing ovation lasting five minutes. After losing 18–9 atLansdowne Road, the England captain,John Pullin famously stated, "We might not be very good but at least we turned up."[35]
England started the following decade with a Grand Slam victory in the 1980 Five Nations – their first for 23 years.[36] However in the1983 Five Nations Championship, England failed to win a game and picked up thewooden spoon.[37] In the firstRugby World Cup in New Zealand and Australia, England were grouped inpool A alongside Australia,Japan and theUnited States. England lost their first game 19–6 against Australia. They went on to defeat Japan and the United States, and met Wales in their quarter-final, losing the match 16–3.[38]
In 1989, England won matches againstRomania andFiji, followed by victories in their first three Five Nations games of 1990. They lost to Scotland in their last game however, giving Scotland a Grand Slam. England recovered in the following year by winning their first Grand Slam since 1980. England hosted the1991 World Cup and were in pool A, along with the All Blacks,Italy and the United States. Although they lost to the All Blacks in pool play, they qualified for a quarter-final going on to defeat France 19–10. England then defeated Scotland 9–6 to secure a place in the final against Australia which they lost 12–6.[39]
The next year, England completed another Grand Slam and did not lose that year, including a victory over the Springboks. In the lead up to the1995 World Cup in South Africa, England completed another Grand Slam – their third in five years. In the World Cup, England defeatedArgentina, Italy andSamoa in pool play and then defeated Australia 25–22 in their quarter-final. England's semi-final was dominated by the All Blacks and featured four tries, now worth five points each, byJonah Lomu; England lost 45–29.[40] They then lost the third-place play-off match against France.[41]
England won their 20th Triple Crown title in 1997, but came second in the1997 Five Nations Championship after a narrow defeat to France atTwickenham. SirClive Woodward replacedJack Rowell as the England head coach later that year. On 6 December 1997, England drew with New Zealand at Twickenham, after beingheavily defeated bySouth Africa at the same venue the week before and byNew Zealand in Manchester two weeks previously. In 1998,England toured Australia, New Zealand and South Africa; many of the experienced players were unavailable for what was to become nicknamed the "Tour from Hell" during which England lost all of their matches including a punishing defeat by the Wallabies.[42][43] In the last Five Nations match on 11 April 1999, with England poised to win the championship, Welsh centreScott Gibbs sliced through six English tackles to score a try in the last minute, and the ensuing conversion byNeil Jenkins handed the finalFive Nations title to Scotland.[citation needed]
England commenced the new millennium by winning the inauguralSix Nations Championship, although they lost their last match to Scotland.[44] They successfully defended their titlethe following year, but missed out on the Grand Slam by losing (14–20) to Ireland in a postponed match at Lansdowne Road.[45] Although France won the2002 Six Nations Championship, England defeated the other Home Nations teams to win the Triple Crown.[46] In 2002, Englandbeat Argentina (26–18) in Buenos Aires,[47] and in theAutumn internationals they defeated New Zealand (31–28),[48] Australia (32–31),[49] and South Africa (53–3) at Twickenham.[50] At the2003 Six Nations Championship, England won the Grand Slam for the first time since 1995,[citation needed] followed by wins over Australia and the All Blacks on theirJune summer tour.[citation needed]
Going into the2003 World Cup as one of the tournament favourites,[51] England reached thefinal on 22 November 2003 against host Australia. The game went into extra time with the score tied at 14–14, after one penalty apiece and with just seconds to spare, a match-winning drop goal by fly-halfJonny Wilkinson brought the final score to 20–17, making England rugby world champions for the first time. Not only was this England's first Rugby World Cup victory, but it was the nation's first world title since theEngland national football team won the1966 FIFA World Cup. On 8 December, the England team were greeted by 750,000 supporters on a victory parade through London before meeting QueenElizabeth II atBuckingham Palace.[52]
England finished third in the2004 Six Nations Championship after losing their matches to both France and Ireland.[53] Clive Woodward resigned as head coach on 2 September andAndy Robinson was appointed to replace him.[54] Robinson's firstSix Nations campaign in 2005 resulted in fourth place for England,[55] and although they defeated Australia at Twickenham in theAutumn internationals,[56] this was followed by a loss to the All Blacks.[57]
A loss to South Africa in the2006 Autumn internationals[58] was England's eighth defeat in nine test matches, their worst losing streak. Andy Robinson resigned as head coach after this run, and attack coachBrian Ashton was appointed as his replacement in December.[59] England started the2007 Six Nations Championship with a Calcutta Cup victory over Scotland.[60] That year's championship included a historic match atCroke Park which England lost (13–43), their heaviest defeat against Ireland.[61]
At the2007 World Cup, England were grouped in Pool A with Samoa,Tonga, South Africa, and the United States. They progressed to the knockout stage despite a 36–0 loss to South Africa, and narrowly defeated Australia in the quarter-finals. England then faced hosts France in the semi-finals and triumphed (14–9) to qualify for the final, where they were subjected to a second defeat by the Springboks at this World Cup, losing the match 15–6. England followed up their World Cup disappointment with two consecutive second-place finishes in the Six Nations Championship, behind Wales (2008) and Ireland (2009). Former England team captainMartin Johnson took up the job of head coach in July 2008 but, unable to replicate his on-field success in the management role, he resigned in November 2011 following a miserableRugby World Cup which featured a series of on- and off-field controversies and ended in quarter-final defeat by France.[citation needed]
In March 2012, theRugby Football Union appointedStuart Lancaster, the former Elite Rugby Director atLeeds Carnegie, as England's head coach.[62] He had previously been employed in the position on a short-term basis, assisted by existing forwards coachGraham Rowntree, andAndy Farrell. Lancaster was considered a success in his first campaign as head coach: defending champions England took second place in the2012 Six Nations Championship after losing to Wales at Twickenham, but successfully defended the Calcutta Cup by defeating Scotland atMurrayfield. England finished the year on a high when they beat World Cup holders New Zealand at Twickenham in theAutumn internationals; the England team dominated the match and completely outplayed the All Blacks, who had been unbeaten in 20 matches.[63]
At the2013 Six Nations Championship, England again finished in second place behind Wales, and were deprived of the opportunity to win the Grand Slam for the first time since 2003 when they were defeated 30–3 by Wales in Cardiff. It was the first time since 1974 that every team in the Six Nations managed to win at least three competition points (the equivalent of a win and a draw, or three draws). However, England retained the Calcutta Cup by defeating Scotland at Twickenham. Lancaster took an experimental side on asummer tour of Argentina in 2013; after beating aSouth American XV on 2 June, England achieved a 2–0 series victory over Argentina, their first away series win againstthe Pumas for 32 years.[64]
In 2015, England hosted theRugby World Cup, but were eliminated in the pool stage.[65] Despite this setback, and following the appointment of new head coachEddie Jones, England won the Grand Slam in the2016 Six Nations Championship, and remained unbeaten for the whole of 2016, including a series whitewash of Australia in Sydney. They went on to equal the world record of 18 consecutive test wins with a 61–21 victory over Scotland in securing the2017 Six Nations Championship.[citation needed]
2018 began well for England, seeing off a spirited challenge from Italy, and winning a tight contest against Wales in the first two rounds of theSix Nations. However, it was not until June before England recorded another win, as the team lost their remaining games against Scotland, France and eventual Grand Slam winners Ireland at home in Twickenham. On theirsummer tour of South Africa, England lost the first two matches, before winning the third test against a mostly second-string Springbok side. That autumn, after adding former New Zealand and United States coachJohn Mitchell to the coaching setup, England won the return match against South Africa by a single point, and lost an equally close contest with New Zealand, both in controversial circumstances.[66][67] England rounded out the year with wins over Japan and Australia. The win over Australia continued an unbroken run of victories over the Wallabies under former Australia coach Eddie Jones.[citation needed]
England finished second in the2019 Six Nations Championship. They beat Ireland, France, Italy but lost to Wales and drew 38–38 with Scotland after leading 31–0. In the2019 Rugby World Cup warm-up matches they defeated Wales at Twickenham before losing in Cardiff. They then recorded their largest win over Ireland with a 57–15 victory at Twickenham before defeating Italy atSt James' Park. In the2019 Rugby World Cup, England became the first team to qualify for the quarter-finals following a win over Argentina inChōfu. After their final match was cancelled due toTyphoon Hagibis, England toppedPool C and faced Australia in the quarter-finals. England won the quarter-final, recording a seventh consecutive victory over Australia which resulted in the Wallabies largest ever Rugby World Cup defeat. England then defeated New Zealand in the semi-final, equalling New Zealands largest Rugby World Cup defeat with a victory in which the All Blacks were kept scoreless for 57 minutes. On 2 November 2019, England were defeated (12–32) by South Africa in the2019 Rugby World Cup final.
In the2020 Six Nations Championship, England were defeated in their opening game against France in Paris before recording victories against Scotland at Murrayfield and Ireland and Wales at Twickenham. The tournament was then halted due to theCOVID-19 pandemic and resumed with the matches played in empty stadiums in October. In the postponed matches, England recorded a bonus point win over Italy in Rome before France defeated Ireland by eight points which meant that England won the championship on points difference. Due to the pandemic, the scheduled 2020 Autumn Internationals were replaced by theAutumn Nations Cup. England defeated Georgia, Wales and Ireland before facing France in the final match, winning after extra time at Twickenham to secure the tournament.
England finished fifth in the2021 Six Nations Championship, beating France and Italy but losing to all three home nations for the first time since 1976 and conceding defeat to Scotland at Twickenham for the first time since 1983. In the2021 Autumn Internationals, England played three matches at Twickenham. They secured a victory over Tonga, recorded their 8th consecutive victory over Australia (32–15) and also beat the current World Champions South Africa (27–26).
England finished third in the2022 Six Nations Championship after defeating Italy and Wales but lost Ireland, France and Scotland. In the2022 tour of Australia, England faced the Wallabies in a three-test series. They lost the first test match in Perth, but won the last two test matches in Brisbane, and in Sydney to win the test series 2–1. In the2022 Autumn Internationals they lost to Argentina, beat Japan, drew with New Zealand, and lost to South Africa.
England finished fourth in the2023 Six Nations Championship. England defeated Italy and Wales but was beaten by Scotland, France and Ireland. At the2023 Rugby World Cup, England beat Argentina, Japan, Chile, and Samoa to go undefeated in the pool stage. In the quarter-final, they defeated Fiji before losing to the eventual champions South Africa in the semi-final. They ended their campaign with a win over Argentina in the bronze final to finish the tournament in third place.
England finished third in the2024 Six Nations Championship. They defeated Italy, Wales and Ireland, but lost to Scotland and France. In the2024 English tour of New Zealand, England faced the All Blacks in a two-test series. They were defeated in both test matches in Dunedin and in Auckland. In the2024 Autumn Internationals, England lost to New Zealand, Australia, South Africa, but won against Japan.
Twickenham is the largest dedicated rugby stadium in the world. In the early years, the English rugby team used a number of venues in several different locations around England before settling at Twickenham Stadium in 1910. After sell-out matches atCrystal Palace against New Zealand in 1905 and South Africa in 1906, theRugby Football Union (RFU) decided to invest in their own ground and arranged for sportsman and entrepreneurBilly Williams to find a home ground for English Rugby. The land for the ground was purchased in 1907 for£5,572 12s and 6d, and construction began the following year.[68]
The first international test match at Twickenham took place on the 15th of January 1910 between England and Wales. The home team won (11–6), beating Wales for the first time since 1898.[69] The stadium was expanded in 1927 and again in 1932, but there were no further upgrades until 1981 when a new South stand was built[70] and the 1990s when new North, East and West stands were built;[68] the South stand was replaced in 2005 and 2006 to make the stadium into a complete bowl. England played their first test match at the redeveloped Twickenham on the 5th of November 2006 against the All Blacks,[71] losing the test match (20–41), in front of a record crowd of 82,076.[72]
The pitch at Twickenham was replaced in June 2012 with a hybrid 'Desso' type, which uses artificial fibres entwined with real grass. This type of pitch surface is particularly hard wearing in wet conditions.[73]
Although England have played home matches almost exclusively at Twickenham since 1910, they have occasionally used alternative English venues. England home matches have been hosted at Leicester'sWelford Road (1923), London'sWembley Stadium (1992),Old Trafford (1997 and 2009), Huddersfield'sMcAlpine Stadium (twice in 1998),[74] Manchester'sEtihad Stadium (2015), andSt James' Park in Newcastle upon Tyne (2019).
| Date | Team | Result | Venue | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2nd December 1905 |  New Zealand | 0–15 | Crystal Palace,London | [75] |
| 10 February 1923 |  Ireland | 23–5 | Welford Road, Leicester | [76] |
| 17 October 1992 |  Canada | 26–13 | Wembley Stadium, London | [77] |
| 22 November 1997 | New Zealand | 8–25 | Old Trafford, Manchester | [78] |
| 14 November 1998 |  Netherlands | 110–0 | McAlpine Stadium, Huddersfield | [79] |
| 22 November 1998 |  Italy | 23–15 | McAlpine Stadium, Huddersfield | [79] |
| 6 June 2009 |  Argentina | 37–15 | Old Trafford, Manchester[a] | [78] |
| 10 October 2015 |  Uruguay | 60–3 | Etihad Stadium, Manchester[b] | [80] |
| 6 September 2019 | Italy | 37–0 | St James' Park, Newcastle upon Tyne | [81] |
a The first of a two-test series, this match was originally scheduled to be held in Argentina but moved by theArgentine Rugby Union for financial reasons.[82]
b This was a Pool A match at the2015 Rugby World Cup.
England also played a Five Nations match against Wales at Wembley Stadium on 11 April 1999. Wales was the "home team" on this occasion because Wembley was being used as a temporary base while theirnew stadium in Cardiff was being constructed. Wales won the match (32–31).[83][84]
"Swing Low, Sweet Chariot" is commonly sung at England fixtures, especially at Twickenham. In the last match of the 1988 season, against Ireland, three of England's tries were scored byChris Oti. A group of boys from the Benedictine schoolDouai, following a tradition at their school games, sang the song on his final try, and other spectators around the ground joined in.[85][86] Since then "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot" became a song to sing at England home games.[87] In 1991, the RFU marketing director Mike Coley wanted the team to launch a song leading up to that year's Rugby World Cup. He had wanted to use "Jerusalem", but it was used in theRugby League Challenge Cup final that year, so the song was changed at short notice to "Swing Low".[citation needed] There were a number of versions recorded and the version released did reach the top 40 in theUK Singles Chart during the competition.[88]
England rugby union players typically wear all-white jerseys and white shorts, with predominantly navy blue socks. The emblem on the jerseys is a redrose. As of July 2023, the strip is manufactured byUmbro and the shirt sponsor isO2. Theaway strip is usually red or dark grey (described as "anthracite");[89] prior to the introduction of the grey strip, red was the traditional change colour. Navy blue has also been used in the past and was reintroduced for the 2016–17 and 2020–21 seasons.[90] Purple was used during the 2009 autumn internationals, reflecting the traditional colour of the original Englandtracksuits from the 1960s until the 1980s.[91] The away strip was black for the first time during the2011 Rugby World Cup. About that kit, the RFU stated that they had requested approval from the New Zealand Union, which said "it has no qualms with England wearing the strip".[92]
TheRugby Football Union (RFU) had created the national side's emblem prior to an English team being sent toEdinburgh to play a Scottish side. A red rose was chosen to be the side's emblem.[93] The white kit worn by the national team was taken from the kit used atRugby School.[93] Alfred Wright, an employee of the Rugby Football Union, is credited with the standardisation and new design of the rose, which up until 1920 had undergone many variations in its depiction.[93] The Wright design is thought to have been used without minor alteration until the late 1990s.[93] It was not until 1997 that the rose was modernised,[94] whenNike became the official strip supplier (with the stem section of the rose being green rather than brown as previously).[95]
In 2003, England first used a skin-tight strip. This was intended to make it more difficult for the opposition to grasp the shirt when tackling.[96]
| Year | Kit manufacturer | Main shirt sponsor |
|---|---|---|
| 1960s | Lillywhites[97] | — |
| 1970s–1983 | Umbro[98] | — |
| 1984–1990 | Bukta | — |
| 1991–1997 | Cotton Traders | BT Cellnet (1996–June 2002) |
| 1997–2012 |  Nike[99] | O2 (June 2002–present) |
| 2012–2020 | Canterbury[100] | |
| 2020–2025 | Umbro[101][102] | |
| 2025-present | Castore |
England competes annually in theSix Nations Championship, which is played against five other European nations:France,Ireland,Italy,Scotland, andWales. The Six Nations started out as the Home Nations Championship in 1883 which England won with aTriple Crown. England have won the title outright 29 times (a record for the tournament) and shared victory ten times. Their longest wait between championships was 18 years (1892–1910). During the Six Nations, England also contests theCalcutta Cup with Scotland (which England first won in 1880) and theMillennium Trophy with Ireland (which England first won in 1988). The matches between England and France are traditionally known as "Le Crunch".
England |  France | Ireland | Italy | Scotland |  Wales | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tournaments | 130 | 96 | 132 | 27 | 132 | 132 |
| Outright wins (shared wins) | ||||||
| Home Nations | 5 (4) | — | 4 (3) | — | 9 (2) | 7 (3) |
| Five Nations | 17 (6) | 12 (8) | 6 (5) | — | 5 (6) | 15 (8) |
| Six Nations | 7 | 7 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| Overall | 29 (10) | 19 (8) | 16 (8) | 0 (0) | 14 (8) | 28 (11) |
| Grand Slams | ||||||
| Home Nations | — | — | — | — | — | 2[103] |
| Five Nations | 11 | 6 | 1 | — | 3 | 6 |
| Six Nations | 2 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| Overall | 13 | 10 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 12 |
| Triple Crowns | ||||||
| Home Nations | 5 | — | 2 | — | 7 | 6 |
| Five Nations | 16 | — | 4 | — | 3 | 11 |
| Six Nations | 5 | — | 9 | — | 0 | 5 |
| Overall | 26 | — | 15 | — | 10 | 22 |
| Wooden Spoons | ||||||
| Home Nations | 7 | — | 10 | — | 5 | 6 |
| Five Nations | 10 | 12 | 15 | — | 15 | 10 |
| Six Nations | 0 | 1 | 0 | 18 | 4 | 4 |
| Overall | 17 | 13 | 25 | 18 | 24 | 20 |
Note: England are the only team to have won more than two successive grand slams, on more than one occasion, doing so in 1913–1914, 1923–1924 and 1991–1992; while Wales and France the only other teams to have done so twice, in 1908–1909 for Wales and 1997–1998 for France.
Australia –2016,2022 Argentina –1981,2002,2013,2017
Japan –1971,1979
Fiji –1973,1989,1991 United States –2001 Canada –2001 Romania –1989
Ceylon –1971England have previously played one or more series against these nations, but have never won an overall test series against them:
| Rugby World Cuprecord | Qualification | ||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Round | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | Squad | Head coach | Pos | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | |
| 1987 | Quarter-finals | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 103 | 48 | Squad | M. Green | Invited | |||||||
| 1991 | Runners–up | 6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 119 | 61 | Squad | G. Cooke | Automatically qualified | |||||||
 1995 | Fourth place | 6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 158 | 146 | Squad | J. Rowell | Automatically qualified | |||||||
| 1999 | Quarter-finals | 5 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 250 | 115 | Squad | C. Woodward | 1st | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 133 | 15 | |
| 2003 | Champions | 7 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 327 | 88 | Squad | C. Woodward | Automatically qualified | |||||||
| 2007 | Runners–up | 7 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 140 | 122 | Squad | B. Ashton | Automatically qualified | |||||||
| 2011 | Quarter-finals | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 149 | 53 | Squad | M. Johnson | Automatically qualified | |||||||
| 2015 | Pool stage | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 133 | 75 | Squad | S. Lancaster | Automatically qualified | |||||||
| 2019 | Runners–up | 7 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 190 | 75 | Squad | E. Jones | Automatically qualified | |||||||
| 2023 | Third place | 7 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 221 | 102 | Squad | S. Borthwick | Automatically qualified | |||||||
| 2027 | Qualifed | Automatically qualified | |||||||||||||||
| 2031 | To be determined | To be determined | |||||||||||||||
| Total | — | 58 | 42 | 1 | 15 | 1790 | 885 | — | — | — | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 133 | 15 | |
| |||||||||||||||||
DuringTyphoon Hagibis; England v France was to be cancelled and recorded as 0–0 draw
England have contested everyRugby World Cup since the tournament began in1987, reaching the final four times and winning the title in the2003 tournament.
In theinaugural tournament, England finished second in their pool before losing to Wales (3–16) in the quarter-finals. They again finished pool runners-up in1991 but bounced back to beat France (19–10) in the quarter-finals, and then Scotland (9–6) in the semi-finals, en route to a (6–12) defeat to Australia in the final at Twickenham on 2 November 1991.
In1995, England topped their pool and defeated Australia (25–22) at the quarter-final stage before being beaten by the All Blacks (29–45) in the semi-finals. They lost their bronze medal match (9–19) to France.
In the1999 tournament, England again finished second in their pool. Although they proceeded to win a play-off game against Fiji (45–24), they went out of the tournament in the quarter-finals, losing (21–44) to South Africa.
England topped their pool in2003 and progressed to the playoffs. They beat Wales (28–17) and France (24–7) in the quarter and semi-finals. With a drop goal in the last minute of extra time, England won the final (20–17) against Australia in Sydney on 22 November 2003.
England made a poor start to their title defence in2007, with a below par victory over the United States and a heavy (0–36) defeat to South Africa, leaving the title holders on the brink of elimination at the pool stage. Improved performances against Samoa and Tonga ensured that England again reached the knockout stage as pool runners-up. They defeated Australia (12–10) in the quarter-finals, and beat France (14–9) in the semi-finals. The victory over France gave England the chance to play in their 2nd consecutive final. In the final, held in Paris on 20 October, England lost (6–15) to South Africa, their second defeat by the Springboks during the 2007 tournament.
England topped their pool in2011. They reached the quarter-finals but were defeated (12–19) to France.
In2015, England became the first host nation to fail to qualify for the knockout stage, after losing to Wales and Australia in the pool stage.
In2019, England topped their pool. They defeated Australia (40–19) and New Zealand (19–7) in the knockout stage. On 2 November 2019, they suffered a (12–32) defeat to South Africa in the final in Yokohama, becoming World Cup runners-up for the third time in their history.
In2023, England topped their pool. They defeated Fiji in the quarter-finals (30–24) before losing to the eventual champions South Africa (15–16) in the semi-finals. They beat Argentina in the bronze medal match (26–23) to finish the tournament in 3rd place.
England'sJonny Wilkinson is the highest points scorer in the Rugby World Cup, having scored 277 points between 1999 and 2011. England have the fourth most points and the fourth most tries scored in the Rugby World Cup.
The following is a list of England's recent match results, as well as upcoming scheduled fixtures, during the 12 months up to and including November 2025:
Win Draw Loss Upcoming
| 1 February 2025 | Ireland | 27–22 | England | Aviva Stadium,Dublin | |
| 16:45GMT (UTC+0) | Try:Gibson-Park 34' m Aki 51' m Beirne 63' c Sheehan 71' c Con:Crowley (2/2/) 64', 72' Pen:Prendergast (1/1) 55' | Report | Try:Murley 8' c T. Curry 75' m Freeman 80+1' c Con:M. Smith (2/3) 9', 80+2' Pen:M. Smith (1/1) 40' | Attendance: 51,700 Referee:Ben O'Keeffe (New Zealand) |
| 8 February 2025 | England | 26–25 | France | Allianz Stadium,London | |
| 16:45GMT (UTC+0) | Try:Lawrence 36' c Freeman 58' m Baxter 70' c Daly 79' c Con:M. Smith (1/2) 37' F. Smith (2/2) 71', 80' | Report | Try:Bielle-Biarrey (2) 30' c, 75' c Penaud 61' m Con:Ramos (2/3) 31', 76' Pen:Ramos (2/3) 50', 56' | Attendance: 81,000 Referee:Nika Amashukeli (Georgia) |
| 22 February 2025 | England | 16–15 | Scotland | Allianz Stadium,London | |
| 16:45GMT (UTC+0) | Try:Freeman 9' c Con:M. Smith (1/1) 10' Pen:M. Smith (2/2) 56', 67' F. Smith (1/1) 70' | Report | Try:White 4' m Jones 19' m van der Merwe 79' m | Attendance: 82,000 Referee:Pierre Brousset (France) |
| 9 March 2025 | England | 47–24 | Italy | Allianz Stadium,London | |
| 15:00GMT (UTC+0) | Try:Willis 4' c Freeman 27' c Sleightholme (2) 35' c, 52' c M. Smith 44' c T. Curry 47' c Earl 80+1' m Con:F. Smith (6/7) 5', 28', 36', 45', 48', 53' | Report | Try:Capuozzo 14' c Vintcent 31' c Menoncello 71' c Con:P. Garbisi (3/3) 15', 32', 72' Pen:P. Garbisi (1/2) 38' | Attendance: 81,912 Referee:Andrew Brace (Ireland) |
| 15 March 2025 | Wales | 14–68 | England | Millennium Stadium,Cardiff | |
| 16:45GMT (UTC+0) | Try:B. Thomas (2) 31' c, 76' c Con:Anscombe (1/1) 32' Evans (1/1) 77' | Report | Try:Itoje 3' c Roebuck 10' c Freeman 34' c Cunningham-South (2) 38' c, 80+2' c Stuart 40' m Mitchell 55' c Pollock (2) 67' c, 79' c Heyes 70' c Con:F. Smith (5/6) 4', 11', 35', 39', 56' M. Smith (4/4) 68', 70', 80', 80+3' | Attendance: 74,169 Referee:Nic Berry (Australia) |
| 5 July 2025 | Argentina | v | England | Estadio Uno,Buenos Aires | |
| 16:40ART (UTC-03) |
| 12 July 2025 | Argentina | v | England | Estadio San Juan del Bicentenario,San Juan | |
| 16:40ART (UTC-03) |
| 19 July 2025 | United States | v | England | Audi Field,Washington, D.C. | |
| 18:00EDT (UTC-04) |
| 1 November 2025 | England | v | Australia | Allianz Stadium,London | |
| 15:10GMT (UTC+0) |
| 8 November 2025 | England | v | Fiji | Allianz Stadium,London | |
| 17:40GMT (UTC+0) |
| 15 November 2025 | England | v | New Zealand | Allianz Stadium,London | |
| 15:10GMT (UTC+0) |
| 23 November 2025 | England | v | Argentina | Allianz Stadium,London | |
| 16:10GMT (UTC+0) |
| Rank | Change[i] | Team | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  | South Africa | 92.78 |
| 2 | | New Zealand | 90.36 |
| 3 | | Ireland | 89.83 |
| 4 | | France | 89.51 |
| 5 | | Argentina | 84.97 |
| 6 | | England | 84.73 |
| 7 | | Scotland | 82.36 |
| 8 | | Australia | 81.52 |
| 9 | | Fiji | 80.07 |
| 10 | | Italy | 77.77 |
| 11 | |  Georgia | 74.69 |
| 12 | | Wales | 73.39 |
| 13 | | Japan | 72.95 |
| 14 | |  Samoa | 72.68 |
| 15 | | United States | 70.02 |
| 16 | |  Spain | 67.34 |
| 17 | | Uruguay | 67.06 |
| 18 | |  Portugal | 66.44 |
| 19 | |  Tonga | 65.46 |
| 20 | | Romania | 64.61 |
| 21 | |  Chile | 61.72 |
| 22 | |  Belgium | 59.98 |
| 23 | |  Hong Kong | 59.49 |
| 24 | | Canada | 59.18 |
| 25 | |  Namibia | 57.87 |
| 26 | |  Zimbabwe | 57.16 |
| 27 | | Netherlands | 57.01 |
| 28 | |  Brazil | 56.53 |
| 29 | |  Switzerland | 55.26 |
| 30 | |  Poland | 54.06 |
| England's historical rankings | ||
See or editsource data. |
When theWorld Rugby Rankings were first introduced in early September 2003, England were ranked 1st; they fell to 2nd for a week in November 2003 before regaining 1st place. They again dropped to 2nd in the rankings, and then to 3rd, from mid-June 2004. Following the2005 Six Nations, they fell to 6th in the world rankings, where they remained until moving up to 5th place in December of that year. After a decline in form in 2006, England finished the year ranked 7th; however, they bounced back to 3rd in 2007 due to their good run in that year'sWorld Cup, where they finished runners-up.
Their ranking slipped again in 2008 and during the2009 Six Nations they dropped to their lowest ranking of 8th, where they remained for the duration of the2009 autumn internationals. After a brief resurgence that saw them rise to a ranking of 4th in the world, England again slipped following a poor showing at the2011 Rugby World Cup and were ranked 6th in February 2012. The team entered the2015 Rugby World Cup ranked 4th, but after failing to progress beyond the pool stage, England again sank to 8th in the world in November 2015. In March 2016, after securing the Grand Slam in the2016 Six Nations, England rose to second place, where they remained the following year after winning the2017 Six Nations. A poor fifth-place performance in the2018 Six Nations saw them fall to sixth place.
In October 2019, England defeatedNew Zealand in the semi-final of the2019 Rugby World Cup to top the World Rugby Rankings for the first time since 2004.[105] After losing the final toSouth Africa, England were ranked third. In November 2020, they regained second place following New Zealand's loss toArgentina.
During the2021 Six Nations, a fifth-place finish saw England fall from second to third after defeats toScotland,Wales andIreland. AfterAustralia won 5 matches in a row during the2021 Rugby Championship, England fell to fourth until defeats of Australia and South Africa in the2021 Autumn Nations Series saw them regain third place.
During the2022 Six Nations, England again suffered three defeats to Scotland, Ireland andFrance and fell from third to fifth.
England entered the2023 Six Nations in fifth, but defeats to Scotland, France and Ireland again saw them fall to sixth.
During the2023 World Cup warm-ups, England suffered further defeats away to Ireland and Wales and a first ever home loss toFiji to enter the 2023 World Cup in eighth. A third-placed finish at the2023 Rugby World Cup saw England rise to fifth.
During the2024 Six Nations, England retained fifth position despite away defeats against Scotland and France.
England have won449 of their806 Test Matches, with a 55.71% win percentage. Below is a summary table of test matches played by England up to15 March 2025. Only fixtures recognised as test matches by the RFU are included.
| Opponent | Pld | W | D | L | Win % | PF | PA | PD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Argentina | 27 | 21 | 1 | 5 | 77.78% | 730 | 436 | 294 |
| Australia | 56 | 28 | 1 | 27 | 50% | 1,067 | 1,197 | −130 |
| Canada | 7 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 100.00% | 343 | 87 | 256 |
| Chile | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 100.00% | 71 | 0 | 71 |
| Fiji | 9 | 8 | 0 | 1 | 88.89% | 355 | 163 | 192 |
| France | 112 | 61 | 7 | 44 | 54.46% | 1,821 | 1,515 | 306 |
| Georgia | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 100.00% | 165 | 16 | 149 |
| Ireland | 143 | 81 | 8 | 54 | 56.64% | 1,785 | 1,341 | 444 |
| Italy | 32 | 32 | 0 | 0 | 100.00% | 1,271 | 404 | 867 |
| Japan | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 100.00% | 292 | 78 | 214 |
| Netherlands | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 100.00% | 110 | 0 | 110 |
| New Zealand | 46 | 8 | 2 | 36 | 17.39% | 673 | 1,081 | −408 |
| New Zealand Natives | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 100.00% | 7 | 0 | 7 |
| Pacific Islanders | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 100.00% | 39 | 13 | 26 |
| Presidents XV | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0.00% | 11 | 28 | −17 |
| Romania | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 100.00% | 335 | 24 | 311 |
| Samoa | 9 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 100.00% | 310 | 131 | 179 |
| Scotland | 143 | 77 | 19 | 47 | 53.85% | 1,770 | 1,336 | 434 |
| South Africa | 47 | 16 | 2 | 29 | 34.04% | 804 | 1,017 | −213 |
| Tonga | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 100.00% | 241 | 36 | 205 |
| United States | 7 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 100.00% | 341 | 88 | 253 |
| Uruguay | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 100.00% | 171 | 16 | 155 |
| Wales | 143 | 70 | 12 | 61 | 48.95% | 1,994 | 1,797 | 197 |
| Total | 806 | 449 | 52 | 305 | 55.71% | 14,706 | 10,804 | +3,902 |
On 14 January 2025, England head coachSteve Borthwick named a 36-player squad for the2025 Six Nations.[106]
(1) On 21 January 2025,Arthur Clark,Curtis Langdon,Henry Pollock,Raffi Quirke andBen Spencer were added to the training squad as injury cover.[107]
(2) On 4 February 2025,Alex Lozowski was called up to the squad, ahead of the second round fixture againstFrance.[108]
(3) On 16 February 2025,Alex Coles andAlex Dombrandt were called up to the squad, ahead of the third round fixture againstScotland.[109]
(4) On 10 March 2025,Max Ojomoh was called up to the squad, ahead of the fifth round fixture againstWales.[110]
Caps Updated to: 15 March 2025
| Player | Position | Date of birth (age) | Caps | Club/province |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Luke Cowan-Dickie | Hooker | (1993-06-20)20 June 1993 (age 31) | 49 | Sale Sharks |
| Theo Dan | Hooker | (2000-12-26)26 December 2000 (age 24) | 17 | Saracens |
| Jamie George (vc) | Hooker | (1990-10-20)20 October 1990 (age 34) | 101 | Saracens |
| Curtis Langdon(1) | Hooker | (1997-08-03)3 August 1997 (age 27) | 2 | Northampton Saints |
| Fin Baxter | Prop | (2002-02-12)12 February 2002 (age 23) | 11 | Harlequins |
| Ellis Genge (vc) | Prop | (1995-02-16)16 February 1995 (age 30) | 71 | Bristol Bears |
| Joe Heyes | Prop | (1999-04-13)13 April 1999 (age 26) | 12 | Leicester Tigers |
| Asher Opoku-Fordjour | Prop | (2004-07-16)16 July 2004 (age 20) | 1 | Sale Sharks |
| Bevan Rodd | Prop | (2000-08-26)26 August 2000 (age 24) | 7 | Sale Sharks |
| Will Stuart | Prop | (1996-07-12)12 July 1996 (age 28) | 50 | Bath |
| Ollie Chessum | Lock | (2000-09-06)6 September 2000 (age 24) | 28 | Leicester Tigers |
| Arthur Clark(1) | Lock | (2001-12-19)19 December 2001 (age 23) | 0 | Gloucester |
| Alex Coles(3) | Lock | (1999-09-21)21 September 1999 (age 25) | 7 | Northampton Saints |
| Maro Itoje (c) | Lock | (1994-10-28)28 October 1994 (age 30) | 93 | Saracens |
| George Martin | Lock | (2001-06-18)18 June 2001 (age 23) | 21 | Leicester Tigers |
| Chandler Cunningham-South | Back row | (2003-03-18)18 March 2003 (age 22) | 15 | Harlequins |
| Ben Curry | Back row | (1998-06-15)15 June 1998 (age 26) | 11 | Sale Sharks |
| Tom Curry | Back row | (1998-06-15)15 June 1998 (age 26) | 61 | Sale Sharks |
| Alex Dombrandt(3) | Back row | (1997-04-29)29 April 1997 (age 28) | 20 | Harlequins |
| Ben Earl | Back row | (1998-01-07)7 January 1998 (age 27) | 42 | Saracens |
| Ted Hill | Back row | (1999-03-26)26 March 1999 (age 26) | 4 | Bath |
| Henry Pollock(1) | Back row | (2005-01-14)14 January 2005 (age 20) | 1 | Northampton Saints |
| Tom Willis | Back row | (1999-01-18)18 January 1999 (age 26) | 6 | Saracens |
| Alex Mitchell | Scrum-half | (1997-05-25)25 May 1997 (age 27) | 23 | Northampton Saints |
| Raffi Quirke(1) | Scrum-half | (2001-08-18)18 August 2001 (age 23) | 2 | Sale Sharks |
| Harry Randall | Scrum-half | (1997-12-18)18 December 1997 (age 27) | 13 | Bristol Bears |
| Ben Spencer(1) | Scrum-half | (1992-07-31)31 July 1992 (age 32) | 8 | Bath |
| Jack van Poortvliet | Scrum-half | (2001-05-15)15 May 2001 (age 23) | 18 | Leicester Tigers |
| George Ford (vc) | Fly-half | (1993-03-16)16 March 1993 (age 32) | 99 | Sale Sharks |
| Fin Smith | Fly-half | (2002-05-11)11 May 2002 (age 23) | 11 | Northampton Saints |
| Marcus Smith | Fly-half | (1999-02-14)14 February 1999 (age 26) | 44 | Harlequins |
| Oscar Beard | Centre | (2001-11-20)20 November 2001 (age 23) | 0 | Harlequins |
| Fraser Dingwall | Centre | (1999-04-07)7 April 1999 (age 26) | 4 | Northampton Saints |
| Ollie Lawrence | Centre | (1999-09-18)18 September 1999 (age 25) | 35 | Bath |
| Alex Lozowski(2) | Centre | (1993-06-30)30 June 1993 (age 31) | 5 | Saracens |
| Max Ojomoh(4) | Centre | (2000-09-14)14 September 2000 (age 24) | 0 | Bath |
| Henry Slade | Centre | (1993-03-19)19 March 1993 (age 32) | 73 | Exeter Chiefs |
| Tommy Freeman | Wing | (2001-03-05)5 March 2001 (age 24) | 21 | Northampton Saints |
| Cadan Murley | Wing | (1999-01-31)31 January 1999 (age 26) | 1 | Harlequins |
| Tom Roebuck | Wing | (2001-01-07)7 January 2001 (age 24) | 4 | Sale Sharks |
| Ollie Sleightholme | Wing | (2000-04-13)13 April 2000 (age 25) | 8 | Northampton Saints |
| Elliot Daly | Fullback | (1992-10-08)8 October 1992 (age 32) | 73 | Saracens |
| Freddie Steward | Fullback | (2000-12-05)5 December 2000 (age 24) | 36 | Leicester Tigers |
On 25 October 2024, the RFU announced 17 England players had been awarded Enhanced Elite Player Squad (EPS) contracts.[111]
| Enhanced EPS Contracted Players | ||
|---|---|---|
Five former England representatives have been inducted into theInternational Rugby Hall of Fame:Bill Beaumont,Martin Johnson,Jason Leonard,Wavell Wakefield andJonny Wilkinson.[112][113]
Seven former England internationals are also members of theIRB Hall of Fame. Four of them – Johnson,[114]Alan Rotherham,Harry Vassall[115] andRobert Seddon[116] – were inducted for their accomplishments as players. Two other former England players,John Kendall-Carpenter andClive Woodward, were inducted into the IRB Hall for non-playing accomplishments in the sport.[114] Another former England player,Alfred St. George Hamersley, was inducted for achievements as both a player and a rugby administrator.[117]
The following England players have been recognised at theWorld Rugby Awards since 2001:[118][119][120]
|
|
|
| Year | Date | Scorer | Match | Tournament | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | 13 November | Chris Ashton | vs.Australia | Autumn Internationals | [121] |
The following England players have been shortlisted for theSix Nations Player of the Championship since 2004:[122][123]
| Year | Forwards | Backs | Total | Refs | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Players | No. | Players | |||
| 2022 | 4 | Maro Itoje | — | 1 | [124] | |
| 2024 | 8 | Ben Earl | 1 | [125] | ||
| 2025 | 3 | Will Stuart | 10 | Fin Smith | 5 | [126] |
| 4 | Maro Itoje (2) | 14. | Tommy Freeman | |||
| 6 | Tom Curry | |||||
The following players have been voted as theRPA England Player of the Year since 2013:[127]
|
|
|
Players active at international level as of March 2025 are listed inbold italics.
|
|
|
The following table outlines the current England senior coaching team, as of the2025 summer tour to Argentina and the United States.[144][145][146]
| Nationality | Name | Role |
|---|---|---|
| England | Steve Borthwick | Head Coach / Lineout Coach |
| England | Richard Wigglesworth | Attack Coach |
| England | Lee Blackett | Interim Attack Coach |
| England | Joe El-Abd | Defence Coach |
| Scotland | Byron McGuigan | Assistant Defence Coach |
| England | Kevin Sinfield | Skills & Kicking Coach |
| England | Tom Harrison | Scrum Coach |
| Ireland | Phil Morrow | Head of Team Performance |
| Ireland | Dan Tobin | Strength & Conditioning Coach |
| England | Richard Hill | Team Manager |
| New Zealand | Andrew Strawbridge | Coaching Consultant |
The following is a list of all England head coaches. The first appointed coach wasDon White in 1969. The most recent former coach wasEddie Jones.[147] Jones took over fromStuart Lancaster a week after the latter's resignation, and he became the first foreigner to coach the English national side. Jones' winning percentage of 73% is the highest of any England coach.[148][149][150][151][152]
Updated to: 15 March 2025
| Name | Tenure | Tests | Won | Drew | Lost | Win Percentage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Don White | 20 December 1969 – 17 April 1971[34] | 11 | 3 | 1 | 7 | 027.3 |
| John Elders | 18 October 1971 – 16 March 1974[153] | 16 | 6 | 1 | 9 | 037.5 |
| John Burgess | 18 January 1975 – 31 May 1975 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 016.7 |
| Peter Colston | 3 January 1976 – 17 March 1979 | 18 | 6 | 1 | 11 | 033.3 |
| Mike Davis | 24 November 1979 – 6 March 1982 | 16 | 10 | 2 | 4 | 062.5 |
| Dick Greenwood | 15 January 1983 – 20 April 1985 | 17 | 4 | 2 | 11 | 023.5 |
| Martin Green | 1 June 1985 – 8 June 1987 | 14 | 5 | 0 | 9 | 035.7 |
| Geoff Cooke | 16 January 1988 – 19 March 1994[154] | 50 | 36 | 1 | 13 | 072.0 |
| Jack Rowell | 4 June 1994[155] – 31 August 1997[156] | 29 | 21 | 0 | 8 | 072.4 |
| SirClive Woodward | 15 November 1997[157] – 2 September 2004[158] | 83 | 59 | 2 | 22 | 071.1 |
| Andy Robinson | 15 October 2004[159] – 29 November 2006[160] | 22 | 9 | 0 | 13 | 040.9 |
| Brian Ashton | 20 December 2006[161] – 1 June 2008[162] | 22 | 12 | 0 | 10 | 054.5 |
| Rob Andrew[a] | 1 June 2008 – 30 June 2008[163] | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 000.0 |
| Martin Johnson | 1 July 2008[163] – 16 November 2011[164] | 38 | 21 | 1 | 16 | 055.3 |
| Stuart Lancaster | 8 December 2011[165] – 11 November 2015[166] | 46 | 28 | 1 | 17 | 060.9 |
| Eddie Jones | 20 November 2015[167] – 6 December 2022[168] | 81 | 59 | 2 | 20 | 072.8 |
| Steve Borthwick | 19 December 2022 –present[169] | 33 | 18 | 0 | 15 | 054.5 |
aRob Andrew coached the team for the2008 summer tests in New Zealand inMartin Johnson's absence.[170]
Note 1:Richard Cockerill served briefly as interim head coach in December 2022, between the dismissal ofEddie Jones and appointment ofSteve Borthwick. No test matches were played during his tenure.[171]
Note 2: Between September 2015 and March 2017, England won 18 test matches in a row – equalling the record for a top tier nation – 17 of which occurred underEddie Jones.[172]
The following former England head coaches have been nominated for and won theWorld Rugby Coach of the Year award since its inception in 2001:[118][173][174][175]
| Year | Nationality | Nominee | Winner |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | England | SirClive Woodward | SirClive Woodward |
| 2016 | Australia | Eddie Jones | — |
| 2017 | Eddie Jones | ||
| 2019 | — |
The following names represent a list of previous assistant coaches for the England men's senior squad:[176][177][178][179][180][181][182]
Former coaches appointed to theBritish & Irish Lions while part of the England coaching staff are listed inbold italics.
Dave AlredSimon AmorJon CallardMike CattJon ClarkeRichard CockerillAlex CodlingGlen EllaNick EvansAndy FarrellMike FordMartin GleesonJoe GrayPaul GustardNeal HatleyBrett HodgsonFelix JonesPhil Keith-RoachDanny KerryGeorge KruisPhil LarderJoe LydonJohn MitchellPhil Pask Ian PeelMatt ProudfootDave ReddinTony RoquesGraham RowntreeJason RylesAnthony SeiboldBrian SmithPaul Stridgeon Tom TomblesonSam Vesty Aled WaltersJohn WellsJonny WilkinsonScott WisemantelAlthough the England team is governed by theRugby Football Union (RFU), players have been contracted to their clubs since the advent of professionalism in late 1995. Since then, players have often been caught in a "power struggle" between their clubs and the RFU; this is commonly referred to as a "club versus country" conflict.[183] The first major dispute between England's top clubs (who play in theEnglish Premiership) and the RFU occurred in 1998, when some of the clubs refused to release players to tour Australia, New Zealand and South Africa.[184] The tour became known as the "Tour from hell" after an England squad of second-string players were defeated in all four Tests, including a 76–0 defeat by Australia.[185] The clubs also withdrew from the1998–99 Heineken Cup.[186]
In 2001, the top clubs and the RFU formed "England Rugby" to help govern the club and international game. The parties agreed to restrict the number of matches at club and international level that elite players (a group of 50 or 60 players selected by the RFU) could play in order to reduce player burnout and injuries.[187] In return for releasing players from club commitments, the clubs were to receive compensation from the RFU. This agreement was considered central to the England victory in the2003 World Cup. Clive Woodward, England coach from November 1997, resigned in 2004 because he was unable to get the access to the players that he wanted: "I wanted more from the union – more training days with the players, more influence over the way they were treated – and ended up with less."[188]Andy Robinson, Woodward's successor, blamed the lack of control over players for his team's unsuccessful record.[189]Brian Ashton, who took over from Robinson, intentionally named his playing squad for Six Nations matches in 2007 early in the hope that their clubs would not play them in the weekend prior to a Test.[190] The RFU and the Premiership clubs are negotiating a similar deal to the one in 2001 that will enable international players to be released into the England squad prior to international matches.[191]
Pennyhill Park Hotel inBagshot,Surrey, is the chosen training base for the team in the2015 Rugby World Cup.Loughborough University,Bisham Abbey and theUniversity of Bath grounds served as training bases prior to this agreement.Martin Johnson noted the hotel's facilities and its proximity to Twickenham and Heathrow as deciding factors in this decision.[192] The team had their own pitchside gym and fitness rooms constructed on the hotel premises at the start of the long-term arrangement. Since its completion in 2010 the team also regularly useSurrey Sports Park at theUniversity of Surrey in nearbyGuildford for much of their training.[193]
England'ssummer internationals are televised live onSky Sports,[194] while theirautumn internationals are televised live byTNT Sports.[195] Highlights of the autumn tests are currently not shown by a free-to-air broadcaster. As of 2024, all Six Nations games are broadcast free-to-air on the BBC andITV.[196]
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a goal and a try to a try.
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