Star Metro - England can win World Cup despite Six Nations blip, says May

Borthwick, in particular, has come under pressure after England's 12-match winning streak came to a shuddering halt with three straight defeats that not only scuppered their hopes of Six Nations glory, but shattered their confidence.

But flying wing May, who now plies his trade in the French second division with Soyaux Angouleme, has seen it all before.

Having won back-to-back Six Nations titles in 2016 and 2017, England finished fifth in 2018 amid a five-match losing run.

But a year later, they blitzed New Zealand on their way to the World Cup final.

"We lost to Scotland away, France away, Ireland at home. We went on tour to South Africa and lost the first two," May told AFP.

"We stuck together and worked hard, and we became arguably the best team in the world in that World Cup season and lost the final to South Africa.

"So things can change quickly."

May acknowledged that England's last three performances "haven't been good enough", and that fans "rightly" expect more.

"But as a player who's been there and been through that, I know that they'll learn and they've got some very young, talented players, and this is just a big learning curve for them," said May, who scored 36 tries in 78 Test matches during his 10-year England career.

- 'Margins are fine' -

England will end this bitterly disappointing campaign against France in Paris on Saturday, with Les Bleus chasing a second successive title.

May thinks it is unlikely that England will pull off a shock, but they're "going into this game as underdogs with nothing to lose" and "it could be a fair bit closer than what people think".

May pointed to England's poor discipline in their three-match losing run and the slow starts against Scotland and Ireland, but insisted that all is not lost.

"When we won 12 in a row... we probably weren't quite as good as everybody was saying," he said.

"And now we've lost three in a row, we're probably not as bad as everybody's saying -- the margins are fine."

While many have criticised Borthwick, May believes that England have the right man for the job who came in "to shake things up a little bit" after Australian Eddie Jones was sacked in December 2022.

"He's actually done a great job. He got us, against the odds, to a (World Cup) semi-final (in 2023).

"And beyond that, he's rejuvenated the team and there's some great young players."

Going through a blip 18 months out from the World Cup is not necessarily such a bad thing, May said.

"Rugby can smack you down when you least expect it," he added.

"But if it's going to happen, it's a great time for it to happen because there's time to learn and go away and improve before a World Cup, which is what any cycle is all about.

"By the time the World Cup comes around, this England team is going to be competitive and give themselves the best possible chance of winning it."

England will not be the favourites, he acknowledged, up against New Zealand and "powerhouses" France and South Africa, "but I don't see why England can't be in that picture".

As for May, who will be 36 next month, he has no regrets at bowing out of international rugby after the last World Cup.

"I feel very lucky to have... ended up playing for Angouleme, the nicest family club, and really opened my eyes to how amazing French rugby is," he said, with just a few months left on his two-year contract.

"I feel very much at peace with my international career and I did everything I possibly could and played my best possible rugby for England, and did it for a long time."

A.Harris--SMC