SIR CLIVE WOODWARD: These stars proved they are right behind Steve Borthwick – this cruel defeat can be a watershed moment

England may have lost their World Cup semi-final against South Africa by the narrowest of margins, but it was their best performance bar none since 2019.

Since the national team beat New Zealand in the last four in Japan four years ago, we have not come close to the kind of performance that Steve Borthwick’s side produced against the Springboks.

We can all recognize that it was a limited game plan. That was what the circumstances demanded and the simple fact is that it was England’s best hope of beating South Africa. It was also England’s most cohesive, united and moving performance for a long time.

England stunned South Africa and it was almost enough. The faces of Manie Libbok, Eben Etzebeth and Siya Kolisi as they were substituted and the frantic animation in the South African technical box said everything about the state of panic they were in.

I think this tournament in France will prove to be a turning point for Borthwick as head coach. I believe that despite the defeat in South Africa he ran a strong campaign.

He will have learned so much from the Six Nations and the World Cup. The challenge now is to build on this and see this game as a real turning point on several fronts.

England started the World Cup on a low note. Not much was expected of the team given the Six Nations and the summer games. Reaching a semi-final can therefore be seen as a success.

I am now excited about Borthwick and for the first time in four years I feel positive about the future of English rugby. Once again: my glass is half full.

I’m sure that in an ideal world Borthwick would have wanted to take charge after France. I’m sure the RFU would have wanted that too.

That being said, it was the right decision to remove Eddie Jones late last year. That should have happened two years earlier because he really sent England down such a negative path.

Borthwick was dropped by parachute and given a difficult task. The performance against South Africa – let’s not forget they are the defending champions and a better team than in 2019 – was excellent for 70 minutes. Yes, it wasn’t enough for the win. But the way the team played showed me that this England team is undeniably behind Borthwick and his coaching staff. Borthwick will continue to learn on the job.

We must remember that he is still a very inexperienced head coach and no greater lesson will be learned than the match against South Africa. The RFU and England fans must now fully support Borthwick. I thought he got everything right with his game plan and selection for South Africa, as well as the players he had in the squad in France.

I loved both teams. It was one for the purists.

The weather was actually much worse than it appeared on TV and it had a major impact on the game. But England caused a huge stir in South Africa. They were brilliant in the first half. No other adjective is needed.

South Africa still got the job done. They made big calls to eliminate Libbok and Etzebeth, among others, but they were proven right.

Libbok’s fly-half replacement Handre Pollard won the match. But it wasn’t just his goal kick that made the difference. His kicks when touched were excellent. Libbok was poor in that area and in tight games in bad conditions field position and territory are everything. That’s what Pollard said when he came on.

I think Rassie Erasmus and Jacques Nienaber deserve a lot of credit. They had their replacements in the right places and were not afraid to make big decisions. They showed great respect for the way England were leading the way and the situation they found themselves in. Once we saw it again, my only real surprise was that they didn’t start Pollard and had Libbok on the bench.

Such a late change does not fit the spirit of the game, but Erasmus and Nienaber historically pay little attention to the recognized status quo and what others think.

They currently operate at a different level to other Test coaches. I hope Borthwick watches that and learns from it.

One question I would like to ask is why can’t props play for 80 minutes today? This is true not just in the context of England, but across the board. Joe Marler and Dan Cole were absolutely outstanding against South Africa. But the game changed completely when the starting props went off on both sides. The Springboks then came on top with Ox Nche dominating Kyle Sinckler.

It was enough to make them win the match. Did Marler and Cole have to leave? Clearly Borthwick thought so. But there were only 15 scrums in the entire game and most of those came in the final quarter, so they shouldn’t have been so tired. The hookers from both teams – Jamie George and Bongi Mbonambi – played the full 80 minutes, so why not the props?

Controlling the referee is essential during scrum time. Ben O’Keeffe was clearly happy with the way Marler and Cole were scrumming. So why change that story? Don’t change anything until it’s clear that your props have lost the referee.

Then the new guys can come in, put their arm around the referee and say, ‘We’ll take care of this for you.’ Jason Leonard was the king in this.

I was shocked when I came home from Paris yesterday to read about the alleged racist comments Mbonambi made to Tom Curry. We just have to wait and see if Mbonambi is found guilty. The game should have zero tolerance towards racism and these accusations have left a sour taste after a brilliant game.

England and Borthwick will now have to build a new team for the Six Nations and beyond. Courtney Lawes has confirmed he is retiring and Marler, Cole and others are likely to do the same.

But there is a young, exciting backbone that remains. Borthwick needs to figure out what he wants to do with Marcus Smith in the long term. England didn’t really look like getting a try against South Africa. Borthwick will know that England need more strings to their bow if they want to win a World Cup.

My main advice to Borthwick would be to abandon the narrative he and the players have used, which is to embrace the fact that everyone else hates England.

Such an approach can work in the short term. But it’s not a long-term strategy and, frankly, it’s not true. Borthwick and the national team need to promote the game and open up to the media. We want to do the opposite of what the team is doing now. The way to do that is to play attractive rugby. I want to create real interest in the team by showcasing these brilliant individuals and opening doors.

Borthwick have a unique opportunity to build on this World Cup and have real success.

A bright future is possible and although the defeat in South Africa was heartbreakingly brutal, I hope this really is a turning point for English rugby.

I’m already looking forward to the Six Nations and I wouldn’t have thought I’d be saying that a few weeks ago. Well done England.