England’s fourth Six Nations runners-up finish in a row has been labelled ‘unacceptable’ by RFU chief executive Ian Ritchie, with head coach Stuart Lancaster told performances must improve before the World Cup. Lancaster’s men suffered heartache as their thrilling 55-35 victory over France on Saturday saw them fall six points short of overhauling Ireland and securing a first title since 2011. But Ritchie said: ‘Four years as runners-up is not acceptable and we are not happy with how that came about. We should be winning more in terms of Grand Slams, Six Nations championships, other things. England are left reeling on the pitch as their 55-35 victory against France failed to secure the title . Captain Chris Robshaw (fourth right) looks dejected after England concede a try to France at Twickenham . Stuart Lancaster (left) and his players ponder a second-placed finish for a fourth successive season . ‘We had opportunities, let’s be clear — entirely in our control. The Irish deserved the win because of what they did over the five matches. We did not do enough. There’s no point in bleating about it. ‘We didn’t take opportunities, didn’t do what we should have done, were not clever enough during parts of the game to deserve to win.’ But there was more than a little sense that Ian Ritchie was playing to his audience at Twickenham. And not only because the RFU’s affable chief executive quoted Hamlet when describing the ‘slings and arrows of outrageous fortune’ he experienced watching the engrossing Six Nations denouement. His public pronouncements were designed to strike a chord with those still uncomfortable with the six-year contracts served to England’s coaches last year. They were also designed as a shot across head coach Stuart Lancaster’s bows. RFU chief executive Ian Ritchie (right) chats to Lancaster at England's base in Pennyhill Park in Bagshot . Ritchie (left) and Lancaster talk in the Twickenham stands prior to England's clash with New Zealand . Ritchie, an intelligent and thoughtful man, needed very little pressing to deliver the headline-grabbing line that England’s fourth successive runners-up spot under Lancaster was ‘unacceptable’. Often it takes hundreds of questions to extract such strong quotes from a senior figure. Yesterday it took two. It was almost as if Ritchie had decided what he was going to say in advance. This was no slip of the tongue. More a clever piece of brinkmanship designed to keep the pressure on Lancaster. The aim was also to avoid accusations that complacency has crept into an organisation which has pulled itself back from the brink in the public’s eyes since the dark days surrounding the scandal-hit 2011 World Cup campaign. Ritchie, the man at the top of an organisation now delivering everywhere but on the pitch, felt the need to crack the whip. Just not too hard. ‘Four years as runners-up is not acceptable and we are not happy with how that came about,’ said the former chief executive of the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club. ‘If you go back through history, bearing in mind a lot of things, we should be, as a country, winning more in terms of Grand Slams, Six Nations championships, other things. We had opportunities, let’s be clear — entirely in our control. The Irish deserved the win because of what they did over the five matches. ‘We did not do enough over the five matches. There’s no point in bleating about it. We simply didn’t take opportunities, didn’t do what we should have done, were not clever enough during parts of the game to deserve to win.’ England winger Jack Nowell bursts through for the first of his two tries against Les Bleus . In six months, the RFU will host a tournament which is predicted to generate close to £1billion for the UK economy. Success for the home nation on the field is critical for fans, sponsors, media and administrators alike. The RFU’s strategic vision, which Ritchie helped draw up, decreed that England should head into the World Cup with a Six Nations title under their belt and a world ranking no lower than second. For all the brilliance of Saturday’s seven-try triumph over France, watched by 9.6million on terrestrial television, they have achieved neither. But the natural question if results are ‘unacceptable’ is ‘so what are the consequences?’ Surely there is no point having targets if shoulders are simply shrugged when they are not met. But, with six-year deals secured, the reality is that Lancaster and his tight-knit coaching team of Andy Farrell, Mike Catt and Graham Rowntree are going nowhere in a hurry. ‘It’s quite right in any management to have targets,’ insisted Ritchie. ‘But they’re not the be-all and end-all. You’ve got to look around at the totality of what’s going on, where we are and what we believe. Frontline players such as Owen Farrell (left) and Manu Tuilagi were unavailable for the Six Nations . ‘Have we missed some targets? Well, yes. We wanted to win the Six Nations. We wanted to be ranked two in the world. ‘We remain confident and optimistic with a belief we can do well at the World Cup. We remain absolutely confident, happy and committed to the team that we’ve got on the coaching staff.’ England were hamstrung by injuries in the build-up to the tournament. No fewer than 11 players were ruled out of their opening win over Wales in Cardiff and first-choice stars Manu Tuilagi, Joe Launchbury, Ben Morgan and Owen Farrell were absent for the duration. Stuart Lancaster with his tight-knit coaching team of Graham Rowntree (left), Mike Catt and Andy Farrell . That resulted in the emphasis being placed on youngsters such as George Ford, Anthony Watson and Jonathan Joseph, with Lancaster and his staff keen to highlight the depth that has emerged. But Ritchie, the man in charge of a union which makes more than twice as much money as any other in the world and has access to more players, added: ‘“We’re developing, this is a development opportunity” — I don’t take that. ‘We’ve got the resources, the talent, the ability. We’ve got to make sure we come out for the World Cup and deliver.’
RFU chief executive Ian Ritchie branded England's second-placed Six Nations finish as 'unacceptable'
The World Cup will commence in six months time . The tournament is predicted to generate £1billion for the UK economy . England's seven-try triumph over France was watched by 9.6million on terrestrial television . Stuart Lancaster was without 11 frontline players for the Six Nations .