England must improve their discipline given they are the second-best side in the world when they have 15 players on the pitch, says Rugby Football Union chief executive Bill Sweeney. During a miserable Six Nations campaign, England received eight yellow cards and one red across five matches, meaning they played 118 minutes — almost a game and a half of rugby — at less than a full complement. They finished the 45-21 defeat by South Africa in July with 13 men after yellow cards for Tommy Freeman and Guy Pepper, while four second-half sin-binnings contributed to Argentina coming close to a successful fightback a fortnight later. "It has been a big internal discussion," said Sweeney, who claims analysis also shows England slip to eighth or ninth best in the world when they are down to 14 players.
Head coach Steve Borthwick is working hard to improve that aspect. England face Australia on Sunday in the first match of their November campaign. After matches against Japan and New Zealand, England will play in the first Nations Championship finals weekend at Allianz Stadium, Twickenham.
The new biennial event, introduced to bring a clearer narrative to the Test calendar, culminates in six play-off matches over three days. Sweeney admitted ticket sales for Friday's fixtures had been "challenging" as the tournament attempts to fill an 82,000-seater venue. The upper tier of Allianz Stadium has yet to be opened.
Friday does remain a challenge, but we're confident that we'll see an uptick in ticket sales.
Source: BBC Sport · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing