'I expect us to build' - England coach Steve Borthwick wants improvement after humbling Wales defeat

With just 35 days until England's Rugby World Cup opener against Argentina, coach Steve Borthwick knows his team need to improve.

Saturday's 20-9 defeat to Wales in a World Cup warm-up match in Cardiff was a chastening reminder of how much work is left to do before England are ready for the tournament.

Borthwick was staying positive in the aftermath of defeat.

Speaking on Amazon Prime, he said: "In the first half we created lots of opportunities, we turned over too much ball in the opposition 22, we can't do that in Test rugby.

"Immediately there are some areas for improvement, but the positives were how many entries we got into the opposition's scoring zone."

Borthwick continued to list England's strong points. “In the first half our scrum was strong and we won penalties, the lineout provided a lot of good ball for our attack. But in the second half those areas faltered.

“I expect us to build through these four games. I have spoken to the team and everyone knew the turnovers, the count I saw was 21 turnovers to nine. It’s very difficult to win Test matches with that turnover count.”

Borthwick went on to praise England's victorious opponents, explaining that the side ranked nine in the world were on top of their game.

He said: "Credit to Wales in that 50-65 minute period, they were very, very good."

The England boss went on to refocus attention on the upcoming tournament in France, concluding by saying "every one of these experiences will be positive for us as we build over the next few weeks to the World Cup."

Things could have been worse for England if Louis Rees-Zammit's 73rd-minute try had been awarded, but it was eventually deemed a knock-on.

Former Wales international Nicky Robinson told BBC Radio Cymru that "England had no idea how to break Wales down, they tried kicking the ball but Wales were good in the air. Wales had problems but you can't have a perfect game and they stopped England time and time again."

However, Robinson did have a note of optimism for England fans when he added "we've got to remember this isn't close to being England's first team."

England will finalise their 33-man squad for the World Cup on Saturday evening before informing the players on Sunday. The list will be made public on Monday ahead of England's final two warm-up matches.

- - -

TNT Sports presents the premium live sports rights previously carried by BT Sport including the Premier League, UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa League, UEFA Conference League, Gallagher Premiership Rugby, Heineken Champions Cup, EPCR Challenge Cup, MotoGP, Cricket, UFC, Boxing and WWE. The streaming home for TNT Sports in the UK is discovery+, where fans can enjoy a subscription that includes TNT Sports, Eurosport and entertainment in one destination. You can also watch TNT Sports through BT, EE, Sky, and Virgin Media