It was very, very interesting for me to read the comments of Maro Itoje and other England players in the aftermath of their humbling by Italy.
To a man, they all reiterated their faith in Steve Borthwick as head coach, emphasising his qualities. They said they felt well prepared and acquainted with what was being asked of them. Of course, that is unsurprising. Itoje and Co were never going to come out and publicly call for Borthwick to be sacked.
But beneath the PR-laden surface, I’d love to know what the players really think. I am sure they are happy with Borthwick to a degree. He is a good guy on all fronts. But – and it’s a big but – I honestly don’t believe that deep down, they’re happy with the game plan.
Yes, England’s kick-heavy approach contributed to 12 straight wins but I do not believe the players would have enjoyed playing that type of rugby.
At the same time, they have become slaves to this approach which, for me, is sending English rugby back into the dark ages. It seems quite clear to everyone that it is simply not working. The past three defeats have shown that. So, now things must change.
I made clear after the 23-18 defeat in Rome that I don’t believe the awful results in this Six Nations are the fault of the players.
England’s 23-18 defeat by Italy was awful but I don’t believe the players are solely at fault
I think the approach under Steve Borthwick is the problem because England’s squad can’t be happy with the game plan they are being asked to carry out
My view is the problem is the team’s approach, not the personnel. That much was proved to be the case by the fact there were nine personnel changes for the trip to the Stadio Olimpico yet there were still the same problems.
Where I would lay some responsibility on the players is that if they’re really not happy with what’s being asked of them, then they need to speak up. And now.
Borthwick’s squad isn’t full of Under-18’s. In the likes of Itoje, Jamie George, George Ford and many others, England have players who have seen and done it all.
These guys are British Lions and 100 cappers. Their experiences and opinions matter, so I’d be disappointed if they didn’t have some tough conversations with Borthwick and his fellow coaches this week. I would have hoped those conversations had taken place since day one.
But it will be a recipe for total disaster if they don’t happen this week.
A successful rugby environment has to involve a healthy relationship between the players and senior coaches when it comes to game plans and tactics. A coach doesn’t need a load of yes men. I always involved my England players in how we were going to play.
I can’t ever remember having what we were doing questioned because I’d involved the players from the get-go.
But I would certainly have welcomed the conversation if the group felt it was needed.
That might have happened with England already and maybe it is the case that the players truly do believe in Borthwick’s approach.
The unfortunate truth for them though is they will have to change things regardless. It is plainly obvious England can’t just keep doing what they have been.
Something has clearly gone badly, badly wrong with England.
Borthwick’s squad is full of experienced characters like Maro Itoje (above) so I’d expect some tough conversations between the players and their head coach this week
After a thumping opening win against Wales this Six Nations campaign has gone terribly wrong
As poor as they were in Rome, they should have still won the game. At 55 minutes, they led 18-10. Italy hadn’t been great either. While the Azzurri deserved to win in the end, this was not a classic Italian display and that makes the fact England were beaten even more galling. In the final quarter, England imploded.
Sam Underhill was yellow carded just before that and then Itoje followed him. England lacked discipline.
They looked clueless as they tried to close out the game, attempting to hold on to a lead rather than going out to win.
As soon as they went behind, they looked rudderless.
Lee Blackett joined as attack coach with much fanfare, but we’re not seeing any of his imprint on the team. When you see Borthwick at matches, he’s flanked by Richard Wigglesworth and Phil Morrow, the head of performance. That strikes me as odd.
I simply can’t imagine that Blackett, who has proved himself a fine coach who wants to play vibrant rugby, is really happy with seeing a team he’s working with play like England.
Ahead of the Italy game, the England players I coached to win the 2003 World Cup spent time with Borthwick’s squad. Thomas Tuchel, the England football manager, and the Winter Olympics star Matt Weston were also in the camp pre-Italy.
These sorts of things are fine if you’re winning. But England are not and the question must be asked. Why, ahead of a massive, must-win Test match, was the England camp full of distractions? I was not surprised to see the RFU come out and back Borthwick.
Lee Blackett joined as attack coach to much noise but we’re not seeing his imprint on the team
England lacked discipline, belief and leadership in Rome and Borthwick is under huge pressure ahead of next weekend’s clash against France in Paris
Bill Sweeney’s statement was expected, but he and Borthwick should have fronted up to the media in Rome on Sunday morning rather than just release a few words.
At times of crisis – and that is what England are in now – leaders need to stand up to be counted and face the music publicly.
Sweeney very rarely does this, instead operating in the shadows. This is a huge, huge problem for the RFU. Sweeney has given Borthwick the dreaded vote of confidence.
But there’s still a very real chance France on Saturday could be his last game. I honestly don’t think Sweeney has a clue as to how frustrated England fans are at what they’ve seen from their team in this Six Nations. He and his RFU colleagues seem oblivious to it in their ivory tower.
I played golf today and all I was asked about was how badly things have got for England and so quickly.
If I was in Borthwick’s shoes, I’d tell the England players that everyone has to go into Paris with the approach that will be the case unless the team wins.
My message would be that if England lose again, we’re all finished. So, we may as well go out and try and do something special.
England must play with far greater pace and ambition.
Ahead of the 2003 Grand Slam decider with Ireland, I used exactly this approach. The night before the game in Dublin I told the England players if we were to have any ambition of lifting that year’s World Cup, we simply had to win against Ireland.
If England are beaten by France this weekend, they’ll end the Six Nations with just one win from five matches. That, clearly, is completely unacceptable. England were supposed to be going to Paris for a Grand Slam decider.
Now, embarrassingly, another loss could lead to them finishing bottom of the pile. Borthwick made a massive error by looking ahead to a title shootout at the Stade de France before a ball had been kicked. In international rugby you have to go game by game.
England’s next is France. If Scotland can beat Les Bleus – as they did so impressively in Edinburgh – then so too can Borthwick’s men.
England train in Verona this week and both Borthwick and his players need to ramp up the pressure on each other. It’s now s*** or bust.
