No passion, no pride. Too manu ego's. The Celtic nations are proud to represent their nation and show exactly what a team is all about. Not knobbing about on nights out all the time.

[url=http://m.guardian.co.uk/sport/blog/2011/oct/07/rugby-world-cup-2011-all-blacks?cat=sport&type=articleA very well written and honest article.[/url

Hope you don't mean Ireland after their dire and gutless performance earlier today.

Get in the French.

What an awful 60 minutes worth of 'rugby' I just watched and to be totally honest it was probably as good a Union match as i've seen (well probably not involving New Zealand who actually play rugby).

Good start to the day.

Great start to the day.
Lets hope the viewing figures plummet.

That's the thing. Everyone knows it's gash but they still tune in. Looking on forums and twitter it's amazing how many anti-union folk watched the games this morning.

I hate to say 'I told you so' but

ALLEZ LES BLEUS !

If we had been any good, I think people might have been bothered.
But we were shoite and the competition is better for our exit.
France are an ordinary side and that further compounds how shoite we are.
Expect Wales to sort you out.........

Can someone explain why England players don't have a clue where to stand to receive or how to pass a ball on the run?

It’s not patriotic but I am so glad England are out of the World Cup so the general public are not conned into thinking that these are the best rugby players in our country

The players are awful, I would say they lack basic skills but it isn’t even skills, they lack the ability to do the basic tasks of rugby – passing, catching etc

And as for the commentators – every time England ran their own wingers into touch or threw a pass over the sidelines, they were creaming over a “fantastic passage of play”. The whole thing is infuriating

personally I don't care who wins being a bi-national but I can tell you the french press were really putting the pressure on the french players & coach to win this one - they were fired up and the passion showed,just like the welsh lads - next week should be a classic if bith teams show the same bottle
England will now hopefully get rid of the old guard and look to youth - the old pals act will hopefully end with MJ & co being sent packing - the off-field antics have been embarrassing and their on-field discipline wasn't much better - the important thing is the best team won,for the right reasons

England RU & football teams where is your passion ??? you are a gutless bunch !

Yes rugby is the winner having that kind of England side out. I do hope they dump Johnson, but somehow I feel they are daft enough to persevere with him. He's fairly clueless on how to get the best out of what are very good players.

I disagree about the quality of the players, I think they are very limited. Foden and Ashton are the two potent attacking weapons in the backs but their defence is not up to it and it was exposed against the French – if that were against the Southern Hemisphere teams it could have been carnage

The centres are uncreative (at least Tuilagi has the physical presence to punch a few holes) and neither of the two 10’s can dominate a game apart from with the boot

I won’t go through the pack but on the whole they are big and aggressive but they haven’t dominated against Argentina or Scotland and when they came up against a decent French pack they lost out at scrum, line out and in the loose

For me, the only world class player England player (if you exclude Tuilagi’s potential) is Youngs. His service needs a little work but I felt a bit for him in the tournament as he was clearly a few steps ahead of his backline in thought and deed – if he had a decent backline outside him, he would be a very potent player

This England team needs a pretty significant overhaul to get anywhere near the top but with the Premiership teams being obsessed with international signings, I also think it could be a pretty significant dry period for the national team

I think we will have to differ on whether England will have a fallow period.
I personally think under the right guidance they would be very good, after first clearing out the oldies.

'Rugby union awaits a thunderclap of on-field drama to divert attention from pressing financial issues in both hemispheres. It has barely registered amid all the World Cup hoopla but this week has thrown up ominous news. A New Zealand Rugby Union review has recommended the country's five Super Rugby franchises be sold off to private ownership amid increasing fears about the viability of the current structure. In Auckland, rugby league is gaining in popularity. Back in England, London Wasps are urgently seeking new investment in a grim economic climate. The International Rugby Board's chief executive, Mike Miller, has won few new friends locally after suggesting the All Blacks were "replaceable" if they felt unable financially to attend the next World Cup. The Rugby Football Union continues to resemble a rudderless vessel as it prepares to pick up the 2015 tournament baton. It is not an uplifting list.'

- Rob Kitson

Two out of four isn't bad.

Good work Agent Ellis.

See The Sunday Times is bemoaning how rubbish England's RU team is (which we all knew). They are listing players for the 2015 campaign and suggesting taking a punt on Sam Tomkins. Would be a shame if another RL player took the money to fall into sporting oblivion.

I'm afraid it comes down to national arrogance and hopeless coaching. No one seems to want to lay it on the line and say they're way behind the top teams and have no chance of winning a bean without :

A. taking a battling underdog stance; and
B. trying to win (rather than not lose) big matches.

I wonder what Kyle Eastmond is thinking right now.

Whether to buy a brand new Maserati or Ferrari.

Probably laughing at Saints demise after last night,hope he rots in hell.

[url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/rugby_union/15234032.stmYet again. It's getting ridiculous.[/url



We're constantly told it's a global game followed by billions. Gawd knows what this is doing for our reputation.

A few years in RL away from the limelight might do Tuilagi the power of good. Imagine if his brother was an ex Super League player...?

You haven't let me down Chris. I'm elated. Apart from a bloke I work with who also works for the RFU I am still to meet anyone who has talked to me about this WC.

Martin Samuel's one to talk about class. Awful 'journalist' spouting the usual guff.