THE inquest continues across the border into what went wrong: how could England get it so wrong at their own World Cup?

The truth is that they didn't dramatically mess it up, had they held onto two 10-point leads against Wales then the navel-gazing would have been delayed for a week or so.

But they have had some undeniable shortcomings.

England are too nice and not in the sense of Chris Robshaw being someone who would be great company at the pub, even if he strikes you as someone who'd order a cappuccino and put Coldplay or U2 on the jukebox.

Their captain has been up against back rows featuring Taulupe Faletau, Dan Lydiate, Sam Warburton and David Pocock, none of whom are exactly tearaways likely to bite the heads off bats, but the hosts just seem to lack ruthlessness, as indicated by their recent failures to get over the line in the Six Nations.

England were too inexperienced. Their squad is simply very ordinary. They have botched up their selection. They lack leaders.

But amid all the dissecting is another harsh truth for Stuart Lancaster's regime – for all the soundbites of fostering a culture, England just isn't into you.

This isn't some piece saying that there is no passion for rugby over the border, the packed houses in the tournament and at Aviva Premiership games suggest otherwise.

But for large swathes of supporters there is a detachment to what goes on at Twickenham; those at Kingsholm, Welford Road, Franklin's Gardens and the Rec want to see their lads go well but they aren't really that fussed.

Nationalism doesn't always sit comfortably over the border, especially when it's at corporate 'Twickers' and when many share Jeremy Corbyn's view on the British, not English, anthem.

A Six Nations game would cost punters enough but watching an England World Cup game would cost as much as a season ticket to watch Exeter or Worcester all year.

That's a situation that will be familiar to many in Wales who are priced out of going to watch their boys at the Millennium Stadium, yet they still remain 'their boys' and there is still a connection to the national team.

Perhaps England is too big a country for that to be the case. Maybe it's just that club will always come first, rendering a lot of pondering about what went wrong redundant.