Boring, confused, toothless England still have hope via soft draw
For years under Eddie Jones and, since December, Borthwick, one wretched performance after another was dispatched as a stepping stone towards the World Cup where, however badly they had played, England could cling to the comfort of a dream draw.
Even at their worst, it seemed impossible they would fail to get out of a pool containing Argentina, Japan, Samoa and Chile and, given a potential quarter-final with similarly ailing Wales or Australia another semi looked not only possible but probable.
With memories of four years ago, when England ripped through New Zealand at that stage with a performance of the ages, hopeful fans were talking about "one-offs" and "on their days" and a real possibility of a return to the final.
Yet the home defeat by Fiji, who are now in the mix as potential last-eight opponents, to round off an absolutely awful series of four warm-ups after yet another dispiriting Six Nations has left even the most optimistic supporters gloomy.
The raw statistics tell the story of England's shocking decline. In 2023, they have lost six of their nine matches, including a record 53-10 thrashing at the hands of France.
Saturday's first-ever defeat by Fiji, when they somehow missed 27 tackles, made it five defeats in their last six.
In their last five games, they have scored seven tries and conceded 23. They are now an equal worst-ever eighth in the world rankings, four years after they were top.
DREADFUL PERFORMANCES
As if the defeats were not bad enough, the performances have been mostly dreadful, boringly so, and a half-empty Twickenham against Fiji showed fans voting with their feet a day after 82,000 saw South Africa thrash New Zealand in the same stadium.
Borthwick inherited a side with few settled combinations or even a recognisable playing style but, having promised a return to the forward-based values he used to restore Leicester to the top of the English game, if anything England look more confused.
Supporters could just about accept a series of kicks for the corner if it was producing catch-and-drive tries but England do not seem able to master even that, once formidable, aspect of their game.
Borthwick is a master analyst but his continuing reliance on box kicking must be based on the sport's broader international statistics because it certainly is not a tactic that has borne fruit for England.
And when it comes to moving the ball quickly and imaginatively to their strike runners or even creating simple line breaks, England are just not at the races.
They rank worst in the world's top 10 for points per visit to the 22, second-worst for line breaks but top the table for average metres from kicks, which they have combined by being the worst for turnovers conceded.
The only times they have ever really cut loose and looked dangerous in recent games is when they have been trailing in the latter stages.
Media and fans are at a loss to understand what England are trying to do, let alone work out why so little is working, with suggestions the team might be "holding something back" for the World Cup more desperate hope than realistic expectation.
England certainly have the personnel to be doing so much better. Almost all of the team who produced perhaps the country's greatest performance when they destroyed New Zealand in the semi-finals four years ago are in the squad for France.
Owen Farrell, Maro Itoje, Kyle Sinckler, Tom Curry, Billy Vunipola and Manu Tuilagi would all have had claims to feature in a "World XV" in their prime but they and others around them are operating well below that level at the moment.
The upside is that even if England lose their opener against Argentina the fortuitous draw means they still have time to build a campaign but reaching a second straight final would need an extraordinary upturn or some very unlikely Borthwick magic.
