Twickenham could be half-empty for England’s last Rugby World Cup warm-up game, with 40,000 tickets unsold and top tier closed… while All Blacks are set to sell out stadium night before

Reports say England will play their last warm-up match for the World Cup in front of half-full Twickenham on Saturday.

Steve Borthwick’s side will face Fiji in their final game before the tournament, which kicks off in Paris on September 8, when hosts France play New Zealand at the Stade de France.

After a lackluster 29-10 defeat to Ireland on Saturday, confidence in the side’s upcoming World Cup hopes appear to have dipped to an all-time low.

In England’s warm-up matches, they were beaten by Wales at Cardiff before narrowly defeating Warren Gatland’s side 19–17 on home soil at Twickenham a week later. Last Saturday they then lost 29-10 to Ireland in Dublin.

As England battles a looming crisis at the worst possible timing, Borthwick’s men will see plenty of empty seats when they take on Fiji this weekend.

As Mail Sport revealed earlier this month, the RFU is struggling with ticket sales for the match, and with just days to go until the match, the situation has not improved, with less than half of the 82,000 tickets available.

Twickenham has blocked the top portion of the seats into the ground and will not be selling tickets for the match with Fiji in that area. Match seats cost between £35 and £75 for adults, while junior tickets are available for £10.

The last time the two sides met at the home of English rugby in 2019, 81,409 fans watched the 58-15 defeat in England’s favour.

Twickenham will host the game between the All Blacks and South Africa on Friday, the day before the match between England and Fiji. This is expected to deliver a full house, with tickets almost sold out.

England could face further woes off the field, with both Owen Farrell and Billy Vunipola waiting to see if they can play at the upcoming World Cup.

The hearings will decide the fate of the two players’ possible suspensions and could see Borthwick fill important gaps to fill his roster ahead of the August 30 deadline.

Farrell’s high tackle on Wales’ Taine Basham sparked controversy after the player’s upgraded red card was cleared by a disciplinary panel last week, allowing him to look forward to England’s opening World Cup matches.

However, World Rugby appealed the decision and their appeal will be heard on Tuesday morning.

Vunipola is also in trouble after being sent off for his hit on Irish propagandist Andrew Porter in the defeat to Ireland.