Back: England need 'radical' improvements against Fiji

Neil Back believes England must make "radical" improvements on their performances at the Rugby World Cup so far as they prepare to face Fiji in Sunday's quarter-final.

England have reached the last eight in France with four wins from four so far but have largely underwhelmed, with a late Danny Care try ensuring they avoided an embarrassing loss to Samoa in their final group game.

And Back, who won the 2003 World Cup, believes former team-mate and now head coach Steve Borthwick has a mighty job on his hands as the tournament reaches the knockout phase.

Speaking exclusively to LiveScore on behalf of British Gambler, the 54-year-old said: "We've got to see radical changes in the way they approach the game.

"It's a big job now for the management team. Steve Borthwick and the guys are probably one of the least experienced management teams out there at this World Cup.

"On paper, we look like we should do it but we're not firing any shots. We look like a team that hasn't got any belief or confidence in their attack.

"If you look at the top teams, Ireland, South Africa and France, every player looks like they know what they're doing.

"It's like chalk and cheese with England but as I said before the World Cup, England are a team that can go all the way."

Not looking Rosy

Back says England's underperforming stars only have to look back at their run to the final of the last World Cup in Japan to see what they are capable of.

The ex-Leicester Tigers No7 said: "If you look at the team, they beat New Zealand in one of the best performances by an England team in the semi-finals.

"So the experience is there, the players are there. It's all about confidence and belief. Defensively, we've done OK at this tournament.

"On paper, we look like we should do it but we're not firing any shots.

"We look like a team that hasn't got any belief or confidence in their attack."

Spirit of 2003

Back knows exactly what it takes to go all the way and lift the Webb Ellis trophy after doing so under Clive Woodward in 2003 in Australia.

Reflecting on that tournament, which culminated in a 20-17 victory over the Wallabies, Back said: "We went into that tournament ranked No1 in the world.

"This current England team can beat anyone in the world occasionally but we could beat anyone in the world consistently and the facts back that up."