Calls for 'robotic' and 'uninspiring' Steve Borthwick to face England axe

Borthwick made the same lethal mistake against Ireland Robertson made against South Africa in Wellington, of changing to a run heavy game when a kick heavy game had been very successful immediately before. The result was both teams got smashed, at home, because they persistently tried to run the ball against an excellent but much more kick focused opponent, exhausted themselves in the process and collapsed.

Modern test rugby has a massive bias against sustained wide running and ball retention. Rucks are actively dangerous for attackers because the tolerance of defensive cheating is extreme. Failure to release, failure to roll away and jackaling when neither of those are complete are either ignored or managed by referees instead of being penalised, as is lying on the ruck and playing the ball when not on their feet. In fact the attacking team is more likely to be penalised for holding on and going off their feet than the defenders penalised for defensive offences or the same offences. Backline offside is also very common, particularly out wide, but is almost completely ignored despite the superabundance of officiating.

Almost all the tries in games between the top tier of test teams have come from close in ball running near to the line defined by heavy support, or mauling, or by fast passing movements involving zero to three rucks, often after the retrieval of an attacking kick. Penalties against defenders are also almost purely associated with that tactical context. Conceding a turnover in the attackers half is lethal. Conceding a turnover in the defenders half will almost always result in the attacker being shunted back deep into their own half. Trying to run wide and build pressure by sustained ball retention and multiple rucks is a recipe for disaster, as NZ and now England have demonstrated. Thanks to poorly designed laws and at times pathetically bad officiating test rugby at the top level only allows one sort of rugby to win. Conform or die.

Not sure which game player ratings lot watched…Pollock work rate?! England have a permanent yellow with him on the park. Analytics vs top England & international loosies will show this. A few opportunist contributions. We used to call players like him Elton…playing piano on the back of the ruck…if he even joins any with intent!

Jake White. Now.

Englands tactics are obviously questionable, and that’s on SB.

But two games in a row English players have looked flat. Failed to pitch up.

Borthwick needs to go. He has had sufficient time in the role and produced very little. We have never really challenged for the 6N during his tenure, have a poor record against SA, NZ, France, Ireland and Scotland, and have experienced 3 of the 5 heaviest defeats at Twickenham. The team look devoid of any passion and pride and are very uninspiring. Ford has had plenty of chances and delivered very little. He may be a fine club player but it doesn’t translate to the international game. The team lack leadership and any tactical nous to change things when they aren’t working. The 12 game winning streak only featured a couple truly impressive wins with many fortunate or against weakened or tier 2 opposition. Change is needed and soon

Kicks per match went from 42 v Wales, to 26 v Scotland to 18 v Ireland.

Ford was England’s biggest carrier!

The week after a very tough match you stick to what you know. SA did it to squeeze past England in the S/F in 2023.

England are expert in the game Borthwich has developed, this was a perfect opportunity to revert to that simple plan the week after a massive match. This is exactly what England would have to do in a RWC.

If you have Ford on the pitch why not kick it? McCloskey is an old fashioned hard Ulsterman. Ford was going to get roughed up. Ireland wanted him to run.

Great opportunity to see if Borthwich ball worked the week after a major match, exactly as England may need to do in Australia. He panicked.

England can recover. If they are going to make a major mistake then best to make it now.

England need to get back to what worked well last year.

England carried more than Ireland, passed more than Ireland, made more post contact metres than Ireland, but kicked A LOT less than Ireland. George Ford kicked 6 times to Crowley’s 10, and Mitchell & JVP kicked 7 times compared to 15 by Casey and JGP. Only one Irish player (McCloskey) carried more times than George Ford, and no player on either side carried for more metres than George Ford.

It was a similar story against Scotland. England carried more, passed more, but kicked less.

England are a good side, and the rugby they play is actually very attractive, when they kick. Quite why they have moved away from that is unclear, but it is a deliberate choice the coaching staff have made that needs to be reversed.

Wigglesworth is the common denominator for me.

Our attack was clunky and disconnected when he ran it now he has moved to defence since his return from the Lions tour our defence has become porous.

Byron McGuigan was supposed to be part of this but i have not seen or heard anything of him this tournament.

Similarly Blackett initially looked to have our backs running good shapes and lines but something has happened in terms of the game plans as i have not seen any sign of a cohesive plan in attack.

Ireland played with intensity and desire and blew us away, we looked like we did not give a damn, has SB lost the dressing room / player buy in ?

Lastly with Ford at ten it narrows our defence leaving the edges exposed and easily found as both Scotland and Ireland proved.

I can handle defeat even two in a row, but what really grates is the manner of those defeats.

Something needs to change as another performance like yesterday will see Italy turn s over and the France game could be proper hiding.

The point is that games like Scotland and Ireland are the very ones England should be winning if the team is any good . The tactics might beat teams off colour or lower ones but as was shown England just dont have the leadership to alter course if plan A has been rumbled. Ford is lauded by his fans as being masterful at game control . Has anyone seen it in these last two games when it required him to show his colours . Was he not Borthwicks favourite he would have been pulled by any other coach and Smith put at 10 .

Change is long overdue.

Question for England fans:

Do you feel Borthwick is the man for the job?

Do you feel he should add to his coaching staff?

So many talented players at his disposal.

From my perspective I thought he was never the right call to begin with and that he is in desperate need of a defense and attack coach.

Oh come on! While criticism is certainly justified, calling for SB’s sacking is totally over the top. He lost two test matches against arch-rivals who played above themselves on the day.

The true measure of Borthwick will be in how his team adapts.

If he is replaced now, England can kiss the 2027 RWC goodbye. SB is best placed to launch a successful challenge. He has the time to tweak his team. Whether he has the personality and insight to do it effectively is a different question.

England fans can but hope that he is willing to take an honest look at himself and make the tough calls.

I just don’t understand the climate of English rugby. Two weeks ago everyone was absolutely celebrating SB and how he was coming of age alongside a team that was destined for the WC final next year. His use of the bench was likened to the genius of how Rassie Erasmus deploys his in tactical moments of brilliance, his Pom Squad was starting to break teams apart and his no nonsense backing of senior players like George Ford was seen as a statement of a deeper understanding of what this English team needs to be massively successful.

Now? I’ll let you fill in the blanks….

England needs to understand the painful, long winded and pride swallowing process of first understanding the need to rebuild and then putting their hearts fully into it and I mean fans, players and pundits alike. It is more than likely too late to fire SB. Unless you’re NZ but they already did that over a month ago. Time is ticking. Pin your colours and get on with the job