It's a loss for England but it's a victory for rugby.
England's 33-13 loss to the Wallabies bails them out of a World Cup. Their unimaginative and old-fashioned play didn't deserve to stay in the tournament any longer.
In the long run this could actually be a good thing for English rugby. They seem to need motivation to finally evolve their game. No matter the promises they make about playing more attacking rugby, England almost always reverts to type with a traditional forward grind and kicking philosophy.
Modern rugby requires skilled forwards, who can draw and pass, and manipulate space, like backs. The England pack is full of toilers. They're big men with brute force that will barge all day but offer little in the way of offloads and can't offer anything like the All Blacks pack's short passing game. Captain Chris Robshaw is the perfect example. He'll run and throw himself into contact but there's no subtlety to his game.
Speaking of Robshaw. how has England not understood that having a breakdown specialist is a key to the modern game? Josh Kronfeld pioneered it back in the 90s. George Smith, Richie McCaw and David Pocock have since turned it into an art form. It's like England hasn't been watching.
England's set-piece dominance has always made up for it. The thing is, everyone else has worked on that aspect of their game. After being rolled at Twickenham in 2013 and 2014, the Wallabies bolstered their scrum to the point of dominance. Without set-piece superiority, this England team brings little other than muscle and a goal kicker.
Then there's the shape of these English players. The likes of Geoff Parling and Billy Vunipola are carrying too much weight. There is no excuse for international players to have a round stomach. These guys should be finely tuned athletes. There's barely an ounce of body fat on top class props these days, never mind locks and loose forwards.
One of their biggest problems is the basic skills and vision of the backs. They simply don't know how to utilise space or draw and pass. Australia allowed them to spread it wide and then drifted on defence, pushing them towards the touch line. No team would allow the All Blacks or Wallabies that kind of space. The best teams will have players straightening the attack to create confusion for the defenders and force them to make tackles. The Wallabies knew there would be no variation and just held off. There is simply no way they could engineer a try like Bernard Foley and Kurtley Beale did for the Wallabies second today.
What makes all of this amazing is they've been professional for 20 years. How have they not learnt in that time, with all the money and resources of the English game?
English rugby is archaic and an early exit from the World Cup is all the evidence you need.
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