Former British and Irish Lions captain Sam Warburton believes that a strong England team benefits rugby as a whole.
Steve Borthwick guided his side to a Rugby World Cup semi-final in 2023 after taking over from Eddie Jones in the build-up to the tournament.
While the team endured a dip in form and results thereafter, things turned in 2025 with England going on a run of 11 straight victories to end the year on a high and in third place on the overall World Rugby rankings.
A strong England is good for the game
They now turn their attention to the Six Nations, after which they head to South Africa for the start of the Nations Championship.
England’s run of form at the end of 2025 has led many to rank only the Springboks ahead of Borthwick’s men, and Warburton is pleased to see the side doing well.
“This will not go down well in Wales, of course, but a strong England benefits everyone,” the Wales legend wrote in his Times column.
“In terms of television viewing figures, it is their team that attracts the majority of eyeballs to the Six Nations.
“Commercially they are a real heavyweight and their recent rise up the world rankings will have only strengthened that position because, like it or not, money makes professional sport go round. World Rugby needs a strong England, and it sure looks like we are all going to get one of those in the next few years.”
As for Wales, Warburton hopes that his country can compete for fourth place in the Six Nations after back-to-back Wooden Spoon finishes and a ‘horrible’ Autumn Nations Series where they were thrashed by the All Blacks and Springboks.
Patience for Wales
Steve Tandy’s charges did score four tries against New Zealand, and their performance against Scott Robertson’s men gives the former flanker some hope.
“I saw enough from that game to suggest that, with the three blue teams – France, Scotland and Italy – at home, they may be able to nick a win over Italy or Scotland, and hopefully both,” he wrote.
“I really want that, not only because I’m Welsh, but also because the world game needs a strong Wales. You need as many strong teams as possible in the top 13 in the world, and at the moment that means those in 11th, 12th and 13th – Wales, Japan and Georgia respectively – being much better than they are.”
However, he also calls for patience after hearing positive feedback from his brother.
“As for the national team, everyone in Wales needs to be more patient. This is not a problem that can be solved overnight, but I am already hearing good things about the young players coming through,” he added.
“My brother, Ben, who is a physio and someone whose rugby judgment I really trust, has been working with the national under-19s and 20s and he is adamant that there are some potential stars coming through.
“That has not necessarily been the case for a while, but it may be five years before we can see them really making a mark in a competitive team.”
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