Change at the top is only answer for England – Andy Goode

One improved performance on the back of a player-led week shouldn’t mask what was England’s worst ever Six Nations and change is needed at the top.

Another assistant coaching reshuffle won’t cut it and it’s highly unlikely that Steve Borthwick will accept someone coming in above him but that’s what is needed and the RFU should be targeting Michael Cheika.

Borthwick was a safe appointment at the time and, although it feels like there was an absence of succession planning during the Eddie Jones era, he always looked like the heir apparent but now a roll of the dice and an outside voice with fresh ideas is badly needed.

Ronan O’Gara would be another option, especially given he was contacted about the job previously and has admitted he’d be interested under different circumstances, but Cheika should be the frontrunner with his international experience and knowledge of the PREM.

You could see more of Lee Blackett’s influence in Paris and the players reportedly made their feelings clear after the Italy defeat and told their head coach they had the ability to play more ball in hand, the way that Scotland and Ireland did to them.

Of course, it was far too late by then but that mini revolt, if you can call it that, shows that the straitjacket has been on again during this Six Nations and there is a disconnect between the coaching philosophy and the natural inclination of the players.

Borthwick’s tenure has not been without its successes and people will point to the 12-game winning run prior to these four straight defeats and the third place finish at the World Cup as a reason for him to remain in situ but the same problems are rearing their ugly heads.

He is meticulous in his detail and has a lot of admirable qualities but when the heat is on he has consistently reverted to the conservative game plan that either comes naturally to him or that he believes in despite the evidence to the contrary and we have seen the results.

England have finished fourth, third, second and now fifth in the Six Nations under him and that simply isn’t good enough. Jones won the title three times in seven years, even with a period of tailing off towards the end, and Borthwick has more things in his favour.

Whether the new central contracts are having a positive effect is a different conversation but he has an influence on players during their time at club level that his predecessors didn’t have and there’s no doubt the talent and depth is there.

You have to question his team selection throughout this Six Nations, in particular, with George Ford preferred at fly-half until the game was up and club combinations largely ignored when they could have made a big difference.

Not only did Fin Smith and Alex Mitchell not start together, admittedly because of the latter’s injury, Fraser Dingwall was jettisoned when the man who plays inside him at club level came into the side and we never saw Max Ojomoh and Ollie Lawrence paired in the centres.

He is the only England head coach in the Six Nations era with an average of more than 20 points conceded per game and that is nearer 30 after the weekend, so defence has been a big issue even with the conservative approach.

Some of that is a natural consequence of the way the game is nowadays, as Shaun Edwards pointed out, but not all of it and Borthwick’s assistants are coming under fire after they conceded a massive 18 tries in five games.

The inexperience underneath Borthwick has been highlighted many times before and it’s right that the likes of Richard Wigglesworth, Joe El-Abd, Byron McGuigan and co come in for criticism but, ultimately, it’s the head coach who has to carry the can.

Yet more changes among the assistants is not enough after a fifth-place finish in the Six Nations. England won the same number of games as Wales and we all know the issues behind the scenes across the Severn Bridge.

Let’s not forget that Borthwick had a double World Cup-winning assistant coach in Felix Jones. It was a real coup to get him but he left after less than a year as he was apparently unhappy with the unstable working environment.

Aled Walters is one of the best heads of strength and conditioning in the world as well and worked with Borthwick at Leicester but he lasted just a year in the England environment, so it might not quite be the level of assistant coaching churn as under Eddie Jones but it isn’t far off.

Ultimately, on the field it has been similar in every Six Nations under Borthwick with them being jolted into a change in approach by a desperately poor performance and there sometimes being one display to hang his hat on.

In 2024 it was the home win over Ireland courtesy of Marcus Smith’s last-gasp drop goal, last year the defeat in Dublin sparked a revival that led to one-point wins over France and Scotland at Allianz Stadium but a better showing away in France shouldn’t be allowed to paper over the cracks this year, especially when it was done having obviously ditched the previous playbook.

The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results and the RFU can’t preside over another year of this and think the 2027 Six Nations will end in a glorious triumph.

The statement the governing body put out last week said it was “fully committed to supporting them and the players as they face France this weekend and then look ahead to the Nations Championship” but that leaves a lot of room for interpretation.

It also suggested it would be “open about what hasn’t gone right during this Six Nations” and that it would ensure “everyone has a clear sense of how we move through those challenges together” but it isn’t clear whether that means internally or publicly.

I’m not sure whether that statement was needed last week but reviews happen after every tournament and the RFU should be as transparent as possible with fans in the aftermath of this one.

I think there is a decent level of connection with the players and support for them at the moment, which hasn’t always been there, and they can’t risk losing but there isn’t support for the style of play that has been adopted.

From the whispers you hear, that is echoed by the players but it takes an awful lot for any player to be completely honest in an internal review with contracts and selection on the line.

Confidential reviews have been leaked in the past and you’re never sure whether something you say is going to make its way into the hands of the coaches when it shouldn’t or even the media.

In an ideal world, of course the players’ voices would form a significant part of this review but the RFU need to go on what they’re seeing on the pitch in terms of results and performances and the only conclusion is that change is needed at the very top.

The players took the bull by the horns last week and put in a performance they can be proud of in attack, now they need the blazers to do the same in order to give them the best chance of success in next year’s Six Nations, the Nations Championship and World Cup.