So much went wrong for them, it's hard to know where to start. The infamous night out in Queenstown which saw Mike Tindall captured in an embrace with someone who wasn't his wife put the UK tabloids into a frenzy. His wife, of course, is Princess Zara, granddaughter of the Queen.
But the circus around that specific incident prevented the full extent of their deeper problems being realised.
Once the squad returned home, a review found senior players had threatened to boycott the official World Cup send-off dinner at Twickenhamas a means to leverage higher tournament bonus payments.One younger player was reportedly disgusted that a senior player commented after the quarter-final loss to France, "that's £35,000 down the toilet".
There were accusations some players were mocked for taking training seriously and not taking part in drinking games. The early warning signs that attitudes and culture weren't right first flickered in 2008 when England came to NewZealand for two tests and again were front-page rather than back-page news.
Martin Johnson, having been appointed, strangely didn't travel as coach in 2008 and there was a definite sense on that tour thatwhile the cat was away . . .
In hindsight, it appears Johnson nevermanaged to right the ship once he got on deck and perhaps it was inevitable that, having started his reign with a disastrous tour of New Zealand, it should end with a disastrous tour of New Zealand.
Nowhere on Earth exposes frailty and lack of character in test footballers quite like New Zealand.
A test series against the All Blacks in New Zealand is rugby's toughest assignment. There is a complex mix of warmth and scrutiny off the field and nowhere to hide on it.
Many a career has died in New Zealand, many teams have met an equally dark fate, simply unable to hold it all togetherwhen put under the kind of pressure only this country can induce.
The Welsh, Triple Crown winners in 1988, imploded out here. So too the 1983 and 2005 Lions, and unquestionably England fell apart in 2008 and again in 2011.
Their itinerary in 2014 is longer and tougher: three tests and a game against the Crusaders. The potential for an extended group of players- there are 42 coming, many of whom will see only limited game time- to come spectacularly off the rails is significant.
But history shouldn't be a guide on this occasion. England give the impression they are made of sterner, better stuff than their predecessors.
Coach Stuart Lancaster has built a team that thinks only of the pride to be had playing for England and not the riches that come with it.
Captain Chris Robshaw presents as an honest and decent bloke- realistic and modest.
The culture of excess ismercifully gone. Egos aren't encouraged to blossom and it would surprise if this England squad are anything but perfect ambassadors.
England would never have stuffed the All Blacks two years ago if they were full of playboys and drinkers. Lancaster has given them direction, meaning and humility.
Maybe England won't win a test or even get that close. They probably won't survive the All Blacks, but they will survive New Zealand.
Tabloid fodder
1998
In 1998, they cameto New Zealand as part of their infamous Tour to Hell, when they played Australia, the All Blacks twice and South Africa in consecutive weeks, with a seriously weakened squad.
Predictably, the results were horrendous and it wasn't just because England were missing front-line troops. As former captain Lewis Moody wrote in his autobiography, he and other newcomers to the squadworked hardest and best between the bar and the bedroom.
"I embraced the tour as if it was still the amateur days," he wrote. "And I embraced the fact that, as an England player-even if this particular England team were being demolished by every opponent-I suddenly found myself to be a bit of a catch with the local ladies. The fact I had girls swarming all over me in night clubs meant I spent many an hour in such establishments."
The nadir of that tour was a late-night scrap between England hooker Richard Cockerill and his opposite Norm Hewitt in Dunedin. The fight began on the street and spilled into a taxi.
2008
England came for two tests in 2008 with newly appointed coach Martin Johnson unable to travel and the squad, therefore, left under the interimcharge of performance director Rob Andrew.
They were thumped 37-20 in Auckland. And then worse was to come: three players were accused of sexually violating an 18-year-old waitress. No charges were ever laid but an RFU investigation found Mike Brown and Topsy Ojo had sex with the samegirl and had been out drinking until 7am. England were then belted 44-12 in Christchurch.
2011
Following their opening victory against Argentina, England's World Cup squad headed to Queenstown for somelight training and relaxation. Management put somemoney behind a bar and an infamous night transpired when former captain Mike Tindall was photographed embracing a womanwho wasn't his wife, bringing every tabloid reporter to New Zealand. He then lied to management about the extent of his antics and the sideshow was relentless and overwhelming.
An insipid performance saw them dumped out in the quarter-finals, with captain Moody fined by the IRB for wearing a branded mouthguard. A few days later, midfield back Manu Tuilagi jumped off the Waiheke ferry as it was coming into dock. He was detained by police and then fined $6000 by England management.
