Rugby World Cup 2023: Ugo Monye believes England can improve after difficult summer

England were beaten by Fiji for the archetypal clip successful a World Cup warm-up lucifer connected Saturday

England "aren't playing to their potential" but "are susceptible of delivering" astatine the 2023 World Cup, says erstwhile planetary Ugo Monye.

"I wholly get the frustration, I'm frustrated," Monye said.

"I'm seeing a squad of 33 individuals, oregon astatine the play 22 individuals, that aren't playing to their imaginable and a gameplan that I don't deliberation brings the champion retired successful them."

England's mediocre signifier stretches backmost further than the summer, having mislaid 5 of their past six, portion caput manager Steve Borthwick has won conscionable 3 of his 9 matches since replacing Eddie Jones successful December 2022.

Saturday's 30-22 decision by Fiji astatine Twickenham was England's last outing anterior to the World Cup successful France, which gets nether mode connected 8 September. England look Argentina successful their opening fixture successful Marseille connected 9 September.

The 2003 World Cup winners besides look Japan, Chile and Samoa successful Pool D.

"We tin speech astir stats each we like, but the astir gruelling and nonsubjective stats we person is games played versus games won and mislaid and it would beryllium an denotation that this existent gameplan they person doesn't rather suit this existent inclination of however rugby is going oregon doesn't suit the squad," Monye told the Rugby Union Weekly podcast.

"I privation to spot these boys spell and present what I deliberation they are susceptible of delivering.

"Has my religion been waivered implicit the past 4 weeks? It's been tested but americium I little convinced England volition marque it retired their excavation based connected what I saw astatine the weekend? No, I inactive deliberation they will. And that's the juxtaposition erstwhile you're talking astir England, they haven't played good and mislaid 3 of 4 matches this summertime but I inactive judge they volition beryllium successful a World Cup quarter-final."

England were runners-up astatine the 2019 World Cup, losing to South Africa successful the final, and they person made it to astatine slightest the quarter-finals successful 8 of their 9 appearances successful the competition.

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