Irish fans taunted as sluggish England plumbed new depths: Here are the FOUR players who must be in the frame to rescue this dismal Six Nations... and the stalwart whose place should not be safe
It’s time for Steve Borthwick and England’s players to eat humble pie. Back-to-back defeats by Scotland and Ireland in the space of just seven days have turned the mood surrounding coach Borthwick’s national regime on its head. From glorious to gory in a fortnight. England have somehow gone from the high of a 12-match unbeaten run to a rock-bottom low of two hugely disappointing losses where the level of the performances - especially in the two opening quarters - has been totally abject. The bottom line is this. The nature of England’s displays against both Scotland and Ireland have been unequivocally unacceptable. Equally, is it good enough that England’s wait for a first Six Nations title since 2020 will now have to wait until 2027 at the earliest? Absolutely not. England must accept this, go back to the drawing board, and start again. They went into this Championship riding high, justly confident of getting into a position where they would be able to challenge France for the title on the final weekend in Paris. What a fallacy that notion has proved to be. After just three games, England’s 2026 Six Nations can already be condemned as a failure. Out of nowhere, the performances of Borthwick’s team have fallen off a cliff to such a worrying extent that all of a sudden, England are now all at sea. As the remaining England fans that had stayed until the final whistle filed out of Twickenham late on Saturday night, they were taunted by their Irish rivals. 'You can shove your chariot up your a***,’ sang those in green, as delighted at what they’d seen as the home crowd was shellshocked. The few home supporters still left capable of a response poked fun at Ireland’s awful World Cup record, but really their words were devoid of meaning. When your team has plumbed depths previously thought impossible, there is little left to do but accept what has happened. The beauty of professional sport and what endears it to us all is how quickly things can change. Alex Coles despairs at the final whistle after the 42-21 defeat at TwickenhamBut no-one saw this coming with England, least of all themselves. It is a hugely worrying situation. As they did in Scotland, England gave themselves way too much to do against Ireland. Once again, their start to the game was non-existent. Somehow, England’s players failed to execute even basic skills. It is as staggering as it is bewildering. As Ireland ran riot, George Ford twice missed touch. When he did so successfully, he was then ironically cheered by the home crowd. Luke Cowan-Dickie couldn’t find a line-out jumper for love nor money and suffered the ignominy of being substituted before half time. That fate also befell Freddie Steward. You couldn’t say Borthwick failed to react to the shambles unfolding in front of him, but to prove he is the right man to continue to lead England, the head coach must solve his team’s problems and immediately. Borthwick has done a good job since succeeding Eddie Jones. He is contracted to the 2027 World Cup and it is too early for the RFU to consider his future. But the extent at which his team has gone from hero to zero has left the former second row with huge questions to answer. With two defeats from three Six Nations matches already and tough away trips to Italy and France to come, it is quite possible England might end the Championship with just two wins. And even a revived Italy - who have never beaten England - will be no formality, especially in Rome. Once again, mid-table mediocrity beckons. What a disappointment. ‘I don’t think we have rested on our laurels or got complacent but there are certainly aspects of our game that have been way too inaccurate,’ admitted No 10 Ford. Borthwick and his players will spend the next fortnight pre-Rome attempting to turn things around but the problem is there are now issues everywhere you look. Steve Borthwick reacted to the early Ireland tries by making changes but it was to no availThat said, for all the technical and tactical complexities that come with international rugby, if England continue to start games as they have done in their last two then they have no chance whatsoever of winning the next World Cup. What is most concerning was that England didn’t write the wrongs from Scotland, even with Henry Pollock, Tom Curry and Ollie Lawrence brought into the starting side to bring fresh impetus. As good as Ireland - led by the brilliance of Jamison Gibson-Park - were, England were awful. Sluggish. Not physical enough. Stuck in the changing rooms. Simply not at the races. No team is going to win a Test from 22-0 down. ‘We’ve got to get to the bottom of it,’ Ford admitted. ‘It’s clearly not good enough. You’ve got to front that up. In the first 15 to 20 minutes in a Test match you want to at least give yourselves a foothold in the game.‘Usually, the emotions settle down after that, but when we have conceded it has been seven, 14 and what it was today - 22. It’s too much for us to get back. ‘We turned the ball over 24 times through a variety of ways - some kicking errors, breakdown errors, offloading errors, some stuff at setpiece. You can’t win a game like that.’ England’s senior figures fronted up after defeat, as Ford suggested, not shying away from their performance. As ever, Ellis Genge was refreshingly honest. ‘No-one knows what the answer is right now or we would have sorted it,’ the prop said. ‘It opened up scar tissue. We have let everyone down.’
Borthwick is right when he said post-match England haven’t become a bad team overnight. The problem is that for the last two games, they have played like one. Changes must be made for Italy. To not do so would be to accept failure. It was disconcerting to say the least to hear an English home crowd sarcastically applauded home players. Fin Smith will surely come into the fly-half reckoning for Rome. George Furbank, Seb Atkinson and Elliot Daly should also be strongly considered. Daly has been a forgotten man and at 33, he doesn’t represent the future. But at a time of difficulty, his experience and class could be handily used at either full-back or wing. It must not be forgotten Daly was one of the best players on last summer’s Lions tour prior to being sent home with a broken arm.Daly was sipping Guinness with Irishmen Mack Hansen and Peter O’Mahony at the weekend but would be better used on the field than in the bar. Borthwick will also have to consider the previously unthinkable and Maro Itoje’s place in the team. After the death of his mother and minimal game time since the Autum, Borthwick could put him on the bench in Rome and hope he’s back firing for France. Itoje was substituted early against both Scotland and Ireland, his 100th cap ruined. Borthwick is unlikely to drop Itoje, but he has not been at his best and the fact his place in the side is even being questioned at all reflects the question marks hanging over England after three rounds. Elliot Daly (left, with a dejected George Ford) should be considered for a return against ItalyEngland’s biggest tactical work-on alongside their mindset around starting games has to be their profligacy in their opposition’s 22. They aren’t converting enough of their entries into points. A final word on the Six Nations in its entirety. While England fans rightfully despair, the bigger picture of the weekend’s results showed the Championship to be in as rude a health as ever. England have gone from expected title contenders to big trouble. Ireland were supposed to be over the hill but scored 42 points at Twickenham. Wales’ current crop was said to be the worst in the country’s history but came oh so close to a famous win over Scotland who were far too good for England. Italy, meanwhile, gave Grand Slam champions-elect France some trouble in Lille. The Six Nations continues to provide sheer sporting theatre. It is as unpredictable as it is brilliant, not that Borthwick will be one bit happy that his team’s applecart has been well and truly tipped over.
