2015 World Cup looms large for England

London: There is a long way to go between here and the next World Cup, said England coach Stuart Lancaster. But there isn’t. Not really.

In real terms, there are two matches. England versus Wales, 2014. Wales versus England, 2015. These countries will meet only twice before matters come to a head in a World Cup qualifying group that also includes Australia. As three into two won’t go, one of these serious rugby nations will miss out on a place in the World Cup quarter-finals.

So some time between now and then, Lancaster’s England must leave a mark on Wales or face the consequences. If they do not, it is unlikely England would then find the know-how to conquer their Welsh superiors on the back of what would be five straight head-to-head defeats.

England last beat Wales on August 6, 2011, at Twickenham in a World Cup warm-up Test. They lost a rematch a week later and the two subsequent Six Nations meetings, this latest by a record margin — beating a mark that had stood since 1905, when the competition comprised just four countries and England collected the wooden spoon.

This was worse, with the visitors standing optimistically on the verge of a Grand Slam. It was not so much a case of first blood to Wales, then, but first bloodbath and although Lancaster put his bravest face on defeat, he also spoke of hoping the result would not scar his team. It would be hard to see how injury could be avoided, however, given the brutal circumstances of the second half.

Faced with opponents who could match their endeavour and physicality, England were torn apart by better players. Those who believed Lancaster’s England were always a triumph of graft, not craft, will feel vindicated by this performance. Wales simply pulled away as a creative force. They matched all of England’s strengths and then raised the bar.

Chris Robshaw, for instance, did not have a poor game, but his limitations as a wing forward were exposed by comparison with Sam Warburton and Justin Tipuric. They could do what he could do, he couldn’t do what they could do. Extend that throughout the two teams and there lies the crux of the matter for Lancaster.

Wales could do a passably resolute imitation of his team when required, England could not come close to replicating the wit and imagination of Wales. They have to grow up fast.

The next two Six Nations matches between these foes will be vital. In the build-up to this game, Lancaster as good as admitted that winning a Grand Slam was a box that needed to be ticked were his England to be regarded as contenders for the home World Cup. That quest has rarely seemed further away than it did on Saturday.

The more pressing problem as the retreat from Cardiff began is likely to be getting out of the group. Australia are not the best of it in the Southern hemisphere right now, but have never failed to travel beyond the qualifying stage in seven World Cups, They have come first in their group on five occasions and second twice. If this record is maintained, Wales and England contest one place.

Lancaster spoke of remembering this day in a manner that suggested he hoped to use the hurt to galvanise his players next time, but the challenge is huge.

In 2003, prior to the Rugby World Cup in Australia, Sir Clive Woodward took his team to play Tests in New Zealand and Australia. He was thought mad. England had not won in New Zealand for roughly 20 years and never in Australia. They would lose both matches, return with confidence sapped and, quite possibly, Jonny Wilkinson in a full-body cast.

Woodward did not entertain such negativity. He knew the strength of the players at his disposal and fancied his chances. He wanted to put one on New Zealand in Wellington and break that record of straight defeats in Australia.

The itinerary was arranged for precisely that purpose. Beat the All Blacks, bounce into Melbourne full of confidence and win there, too. Woodward felt certain that the World Cup final would come down to a match with one of the two Antipodean giants. He wanted his players to know they had the advantage, even on foreign soil, when they walked out to play the match.

He was proved right. England beat New Zealand in an epically grim encounter and then wiped the floor with Australia. Five months later, as Woodward suspected, they were required to hold their nerve against Australia in Sydney and did.

This is why it is absolutely crucial that England find a way to overcome Wales before they meet in Pool A in 2015. They need to know what winning feels like, that it can be done. And Lancaster’s players would not be human if they did not leave Cardiff with the beginnings of an inferiority complex.

In calendar terms, Lancaster has two-and-a-half years. In reality, he has 160 minutes. England beat Wales in the Six Nations before the 2015 World Cup or they end up as wallflowers at their own party.