WillGreenwood

Where did England go wrong? I haven't got an answer. I'm as stunned and gutted as everybody else at the Red Rose's World Cup capitulation.

There will be those who say the problems started four years ago but that's a discussion for another time. England lost last weekend's quarter-final between the fifth and 25th minutes. The basics that Martin Johnson urges players to get right were not there. England made fundamental errors and allowed themselves to be bullied out of the game.

From the moment Dimitri Yachvili kicked France into a 6-0 lead, England played back-foot rugby. France smashed them at the set pieces, an area where England are supposed to be strong. It was like they were trapped in a washing machine and didn't know how to halt the spin cycle. Vincent Clerc's opening try left the defence dizzy.

I kept waiting for England's World Cup campaign to take off but it never happened. England are not a great team but they have given enough passionate, intense performances - against Australia last November and Wales in February - to show that they can do better.

Games can pass teams by some times. It happened on a few occasions during my international career - against New Zealand and South Africa in 1997, losing to Ireland in Dublin in '01 - and it's surreal . Players come off the field and they're not tired because they haven't been able to get enough of a foothold in the game to expend their energy. A horrible, humbling experience.

Where do England go from here? We bounced back from our defeats to triumph in 2003 and that's one reason why I believe the RFU should stick with Jonno. Yes, he offered no answers to the questions that were asked of his team in New Zealand. But I've stood alongside the fella and I can tell you, he's an outstanding character. I expect that he will be forced to change his coaching staff and, as a man of great loyalty, he will find that very difficult and could resign on principle.

However, Jonno has been through everything in the last few weeks and will emerge as a better coach. Many World Cup-winning teams have a catastrophe or two behind them. Jonno's England must learn the tough lessons of this tournament and begin building towards 2015.

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