Ellis Genge believes England can go all the way and ‘win the World Cup’ after defiant opening victory against Argentina in Marseille puts pre-tournament troubles behind them

• England prop Ellis Genge says England are aiming for World Cup win in France
• Steve Borthwick’s side overcame Argentina 27-10 in Pool C opener on Saturday
• Latest Rugby World Cup 2023 news, including fixtures, live scores and results
• Latest Rugby World Cup 2023 news, including fixtures, live scores and results

England’s defiant players believe they can go on to win the World Cup after their remarkable victory over Argentina.

England were mocked and written off before they flew to France but they kicked off their campaign with a comprehensive victory over the Pumas. George Ford kicked all of England’s points with a display to shift the mood and instil a sense of belief.

‘Everybody was saying: “Unbelievable win, unbelievable” but we’ve had belief all this time,’ prop Ellis Genge insisted. ‘We’ve had some bad press over the last few weeks and a lot of noise from outside but we’ve stuck to our guns and we know where we’re going.

‘It’s all: “Right, you beat Argentina” and people are celebrating. But we’re not relieved. We want to win the World Cup and we’re doing the same thing every week. This is what we’re aiming for, every single week. Consistency, consistency. We said we were building and nobody believed it. I believe we can win this World Cup. Of course I do, otherwise I wouldn’t be here. We’re going to go again every week.’

The victory was all the more impressive because flanker Tom Curry was sent off in the third minute. Curry will face a disciplinary hearing on Tuesday for a dangerous high tackle on Juan Cruz Mallia. 

England prop Ellis Genge believes his side can go all the way and win the Rugby World Cup

England overcame a troubled period of warm-up preparations to win their opening game 27-10 against Argentina

Steve Borthwick”s side lost to Fiji for the first time ever in their final warm-up game before the tournament

If found guilty, the ‘entry point’ for a ban would be six weeks, but a relatively clean record, guilty plea and the option of going through so-called tackle school could see the sanction reduced to two weeks, meaning he would be free to play again by the last pool fixture against Samoa in Lille on October 7.

However, there may be the chance of the red card being rescinded by the panel.

England’s disastrous warm-up series was rocked by red cards for Owen Farrell and Billy Vunipola but the team were ready to ride out the storm on Saturday. ‘We’ve had a fair amount of practice of playing with 14, mate,’ said Genge. ‘I think we grew an arm and a leg, didn’t we?

‘I don’t think we needed that performance — I don’t think we needed anything. As I said, we know where we’re going. We’ve got beliefs.

‘There was not one second in the last few weeks that I’ve thought, “We’re in trouble here”. I honestly haven’t. I know that’s hard to believe but I haven’t felt like that at all. I’m not saying we’ve cracked it by any sense but it’s a step in the right direction. I’m not naive and I know that. I don’t think we were desperate for it. Like I said, we’ve been chipping away, doing our graft, and we’re confident. We’ve been doing the work, so we can be confident.’

England’s players collectively hailed Ford after the victory, lauding their mastermind No 10 who kicked 27 points, including three drop goals.

England were reduced to 14 men early in the first half after Tom Curry was sent off for a dangerous high tackle on Juan Cruz Mallia

Curry will learn his fate in regards to suspension on Tuesday evening 

George Ford kicked all 27 of England’s points in the victory in Marseille 

‘He’s an unsung hero,’ said Genge. ‘He goes about his business quietly and does his work. That bloke is always last off the field. He’s one of those who does his kicking every day and all his recovery. 

‘I’ve given him some hard times over the years because he doesn’t let loose that often but look at the rewards he gets. He scored every point we had. He’s a serious operator. He’s had that since he was 16 when he made his debut for Leicester. He’s an unreal player and he showed his class — and class is permanent. You saw that.

‘When your backs are against the wall and it’s not going right, everyone thinks you’re the worst player in the world.

‘They probably wanted him out. People probably wanted him not to play this week and look what happened.’

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