Stuart Lancaster now regrets Sam Burgess call-up, he thinks about 2015 every day

Stuart Lancaster revealed he would not have fast-tracked Sam Burgess into England’s World Cup squad if he had known he would return to rugby league within a few weeks of the hosts being knocked out of the tournament.

The current Racing boss was in charge as England crashed out of a home Rugby World Cup at the Pool stage following defeats to Wales and Australia at Twickenham

“Clearly, hindsight is a wonderful thing,” said Lancaster.

“If I’d known he was going to go back to rugby league then my decisions would have been different, but we didn’t know that at the time. It’s a shame for everyone. I don’t think there was any winner in the end.

“Sam was a great and positive influence on the group. He worked hard and earned the right, in our minds, to be in the squad.

"I think there’s a perception that I somehow went on a crusade to try and recruit him from rugby league. What happened was I went to Australia and watched a game, popping in to see various coaches along the way.

“One of those was Michael Maguire [head coach at South Sydney Rabbitohs] and Sam pulled me on the way out and said: ‘Do you fancy a coffee?’ We had a chat and he said: ‘I want to have a think about playing rugby union, how do I go about doing it?’

Speaking about the disastrous 2015 campaign, Lancaster added: “A lot of things have happened since the World Cup, but it is still fresh in my mind,” he said. “You think about it most days."

Surveying over 1,000 fans, we sought their opinions on the poorest performers to have represented the men in white since the turn of the millennium.

While England has witnessed the emergence of stellar talents over the years, it has also seen its fair share of underwhelming players.

Here, we unveil the five individuals who are regarded as the worst, or in some instances, the most disappointing, to have donned the England jersey.

World-class on his day, but I don’t think any England fan will argue that the mercurial fly-half winning just 16 caps during his career can only be considered a complete disaster. He was never able to replicate his club form on the international stage. So disappointing.

Much was made of the fact that Shaun Perry was an ex-welder when he burst into the limelight during an impressive season with Bristol, and it did make a charming rags-to-riches story.  But, let’s be honest, he never really looked accomplished in the England shirt. A poor performance against South Africa in the 2007 Rugby World Cup led to Perry being dropped from the 22 by England coach Brian Ashton. He never played again.

Gloucester stalwart Hazell had the unenviable task of filling the retired Neil Back’s shoes.

 

We can assume that Andy Robinson’s thought process was, “He’s small, he’s aggressive, he’s just like Neil Back”, but unfortunately it didn’t really work out like that. 

Making his international appearances exclusively through 2004-05, Hazell became regarded as a bit of a penalty machine during his time in and England shirt.

The Volcano’ stormed onto the scene for Gloucester, doing something ridiculous like scoring five tries on his debut against Leeds, before qualifying for England on residency grounds. International honours followed, with Vainikolo making his England debut against Wales in 2008. However, he failed to bring his try-scoring form to the international scene and was quickly dropped from Martin Johnston’s squad after winning five caps.

England, who fast-tracked Burgess into their World Cup squad in defiance of logic, Bath and the player himself each shoulder varying degrees of blame for arguably the greatest cross-code flop in history.

We’re not saying he was an awful player, but the whole thing was a complete disaster.

Groundbreaking AI technology has unveiled its jaw-dropping forecasts for the next two decades of Six Nations glory, and the results are nothing short of mind-blowing.

According to the cutting-edge predictions, England is poised to clinch victory in a staggering five out of the next 20 tournaments, while Scotland is primed for a historic triumph, marking their first title since their Five Nations conquest in 1999.

However, the road ahead seems daunting for Wales, as the AI oracle forecasts a prolonged wait until 2041 for their next taste of Six Nations glory.

Meanwhile, traditional powerhouses such as England, Ireland, and France are slated to dominate the competition, casting a shadow over Welsh aspirations.

Check out the next 20 Six Nations winner's below.

2025: France

2026: Ireland

2027: England

2028: England

2029: Scotland

2030: France

2031: Ireland

2032: England

2033: Ireland

2034: France

2035: Ireland

2036: England

2037: Scotland

2038: France

2039: Ireland

2040: England

2041: Wales

2042: France

2043: Ireland