Why England should not waste another chance to build on World Cup success

Lawrence Dallaglio: 'It’s only now under Stuart Lancaster that we see England taking a step forward.' Photograph: Daniel Berehulak/Getty Images

At around 3.15pm on Saturday afternoon a gaggle of increasingly middle-aged men will shuffle around Twickenham in celebration of the looming 10th anniversary of England's 2003 Rugby World Cup victory. Ten years? It does not feel like it, so familiar are the iconic images: Jonny's boot, Martin Johnson holding the Webb Ellis Cup, Manly beach, Trafalgar Square. Those were the days and English rugby smugly imagined they would never end.

So how should we categorise England's subsequent decade as they prepare to be reunited with Australia on Saturday? One Six Nations title, no grand slams, the odd relieving win here and there. That is pretty much it. For the world's wealthiest union, blessed with the highest number of adult players on the planet, it has been a frequent embarrassment. "We wasted the opportunity to build on that success," is the blunt verdict of Lawrence Dallaglio, England's World Cup-winning No8.

Most of his contemporaries concur with their still-combative ex-captain. England are finally perking up under Stuart Lancaster but old-timers still stare at the platoons of coaches and players involved since 2004 and wonder aloud how England's stairway to heaven in Sydney ended up down so many culs-de-sac. "There was no legacy from our win. We didn't pass anything on," laments Mike Catt, now reincarnated as England's attack coach. In terms of the senior team's mixed subsequent fortunes, it is hard to disagree.

As those who were there will tell you, the seeds of self-destruction were sown before England became champions. "I remember being at a meeting of whatever quango was in vogue at the time – I guess it was England Rugby Ltd – in June 2003," recalls Damian Hopley, the long-serving chief executive of the Rugby Players' Association. "It had been a classically dry, boring political meeting and, finally, we got on to any other business. I said I had a minor bit, namely what were we planning if England won the World Cup?" Very little, it emerged. When it happened, hardly anyone bothered about the morning after. "There's no doubt we were ill-prepared, as a game, to capitalise on that epoch-making success," concludes Hopley.

This, in fairness, was not a uniquely English problem. South Africa experienced a similar scenario in 1995 after Joel Stransky's drop goal had killed off New Zealand in extra time in Johannesburg. "I remember sitting with Louis Luyt [the South African Rugby Union's president] and Australia's Leo Williams on the Monday after the final," reflects Edward Griffiths, the chief executive of Saracens who, in a past life, was one of the architects of the remarkable 1995 World Cup. "Leo asked me what we were going to do and I told him we were planning to take the trophy around the whole country. He just said: 'You should get rid of half your squad.'

"It sounds a ridiculous thing to do but I now understand what he meant. The squad has achieved what it's going to achieve. Have the party and celebrate but don't do the lap of honour. South Africa were guilty of that and you could maybe argue England were as well. But in that period your team isn't moving forward. There is a process of renewal that should start fairly soon after winning a World Cup. There is a case for being pretty brutal."

The situation in England was exacerbated by a series of unfortunate events. Wilkinson was destined to be injured for years. Johnson never played for his country again. The side was on the wane even before its finest hour and, soon enough, the head coach, Clive Woodward, was gone as well. "There was almost a void of leadership," recalls Hopley. "In many ways that Johnno leadership figure has never really been replaced. Some outstanding captains followed him but he was such an all-encompassing force and presence on and off the field. It's bloody hard to fill those shoes."

Dallaglio, reunited with the trophy this week in his role as an ambassador for DHL, one of the 2015 tournament sponsors, also reckons the RFU should take their share of the blame.

"Whoever planned for England to go on tour to New Zealand and Australia in the summer of 2004 wants their collar felt. Having taken over as captain, I can tell you it was an extremely difficult tour. We'd been playing pretty much non-stop for five or six years. At some point someone needed to build in a rest period somewhere. You shouldn't be going from winning the World Cup to losing by 30 and 40 points to the All Blacks and Wallabies."

To make matters worse, the next crop of players were not quite as good as those they were replacing. Off-field uncertainty, club v country rows, jerry-built coaching combinations, poor selection, a lack of natural leaders and revenge-seeking opposition also played their part. To a degree a dip was to be anticipated – "It was almost inevitable that success created a monster," says Hopley – but its speed was depressing. "We all appreciate that success comes in cycles but it's only now, under Stuart Lancaster, that we've started to see an England team taking a step forward," suggests Dallaglio. "There seems to have been an obsession with undoing all the work Clive Woodward did in the buildup to 2003. I'm not sure why. He must have really upset people at the RFU."

Manu Tuilagi's idiotic ferry-jumping in Auckland in 2011 and the subsequent leaking of the toxic post-tournament review also underlined the fault-lines in the relationship between the players and the union. "At the time I felt the damage done was untold," says Hopley, incandescent at the way certain players were made scapegoats for the failings of others. "The lack of collaboration and Dunkirk spirit was appalling." Dallaglio was equally unimpressed. "In 2011, for whatever reason, the team lost its moral compass. Stuart Lancaster had to come in and rebuild from the very bottom up. It's terrible that you have to start your reign as England coach by reminding people what it actually means to play for England. That's not something you can ever imagine happening in New Zealand."

Perhaps even more profligate was the failure to hang on to those who, in 2003, were practically crawling over the walls of their local rugby clubs to practise their Jonny-style clenched-palm goal-kicking. "The groundwork hadn't been put in between 2000 and 2003," says Steve Grainger, the RFU's current rugby development director. "If tomorrow another 10,000 people go through the doors of your local supermarket and there isn't enough food because it hasn't been stocked up in advance, it's too late to do anything about it."

Participation wise, tellingly, there are now fewer people playing rugby – 190,000, according to the RFU's latest count – in England than there were in 2003, down from an estimated peak of around 255,000 in 2005.

While Grainger is now heading a concerted push to boost that figure to 215,000 by 2017, as well as recruiting thousands more coaches, referees and volunteers, Griffiths warns there is no short cut. "Developing the game is something that's really easy to talk about. The International Rugby Board are experts at it. When you break down what they actually do you'll see it's surprisingly little. Development in sport requires a kind of missionary zeal. It's not a normal job. You can do it to a six out of 10 standard pretty easily and collect your salary. Scoring nine out of 10 requires something more. Winning a major tournament strikes a match but unless you've got all the kindling in place it's not going to take off."

The RFU, accordingly, is determined history will not repeat itself.

On this same weekend in two years' time, Twickenham will host the 2015 final. The Sunday morning is already ringed in Grainger's diary. "If we want another 1,000 coaches on 1 November 2015 to coach our kids, there's no point waiting until then to train them. We need to take every possible step to ensure our clubs are as prepared as they can be. The potential is massive. That's the challenge and the slightly scary bit."

Among various initiatives is a desire to install Wi-Fi into more rugby clubhouses, on the basis that modern teenagers won't hang around long there otherwise. A World Cup on home soil is also a perfect opportunity to encourage more women to embrace the sport, both on and off the field. In terms of inspiring the next generation it promises to be English rugby's Olympic moment.

"I remember talking to Sean Kerly after GB won their Olympic hockey gold in 1988," says Hopley. "I think sales of hockey sticks went up 5,000%. There was definitely a golden moment. But after 2003 we were so busy navel-gazing and fighting club v country battles we missed all sorts of low-hanging fruit in terms of opportunities to improve the game."

The widespread view is that those lessons have finally been learned. Financially the RFU is in a position to build strong foundations for the future, as its healthy annual results, due out later this month, will testify. Lancaster, to his credit, has also made a point of reinforcing the "emotional glue" which connects the game in England at all levels. He is seeking to improve training facilities for his elite players, too, while seven wins in his last eight Tests have instilled precious confidence. Dallaglio reckons it is now up to the players to take more ownership of their own futures.

"I think more could be done off the field and that includes the players. You've got to make some pretty vital decisions in your life. Do you want to be remembered as the best player in the world or the best player in England? If it's the latter then carry on following your club fitness programme. If it's the former you've got to start making decisions based on what you want to achieve in your career.

"If England want to become the best side in the world they have to become the fittest side in the world. That's the starting point, so their fitness programmes should be designed by the national team, shouldn't they? They should be world-class, not simply compared to what is the best in the Premiership.

"It's about waking up in the morning and comparing yourself with the best players in the world, not just the best players in your own country."

They will be well rewarded if they can make that physical and mental leap. In 2003 the players earned around £70,000 per man for winning the World Cup, with sponsorship spin-offs on top. This time, it is understood each member of the 30-man squad will stand to pick up at least £150,000 apiece.

"My sense is that, while the England team may not have scaled those 2003 peaks again, rugby has been on a fairly strong upward curve in this country generally via the club game and the grassroots," says Griffiths.

Saturday should give us a further clue as to the future. As Dallaglio points out, the arranged marriage between the clubs and the RFU means player access is restricted and therefore "still not 100% geared towards the success of the national team." There is also the small matter of New Zealand, easily world rugby's current dominant force. "As we sit here it is difficult to look past New Zealand but no one is going to fancy playing the host nation," counters Dallaglio.

"Everyone keeps telling me England are in a tough pool but I keep telling them that Wales and Australia are in a very tough group because they've got to play England. England have got the players, I certainly believe that. They just need to be given the right environment to become the best in the world."