Where the blame really lies for latest England flop – Andy Goode

There were positives again for England in Dublin and the talent is there but familiar failings suggest lessons are not being learned.

A five-point margin of defeat away at the back-to-back champions might seem like a decent result to many, which tells a story in itself, but it shouldn’t be allowed to paper over the cracks as it could’ve easily been a 20-point loss

But for a couple of late consolation scores and Ireland taking their foot off the gas, the narrative and tenor of the conversation this week would be very different.

England played well in the first half, the selection of both Curry brothers looked to be paying off, there was real endeavour, physicality and individual ability on show but the game was taken away from them once more during a 20-minute period in the second half.

It was exactly the same in the Autumn Nations Series and a combination of bench impact, conditioning and particularly experience is costing the men in white as games are getting to the business end.

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Steve Borthwick is blaming results on a relative lack of experience but England had only just over 100 caps fewer in the starting XV than their opponents, who have won the title in the last two years and been the number one team in the world for a period.

Sam Prendergast only had three caps to his name prior to Saturday and plays in the position where experience is probably most important of all but the Irish didn’t suffer. It isn’t just about caps or age, experience can be passed on from the coaches.

France had significantly fewer caps in their starting XV than England at the weekend, as well as fewer than the Welsh side they hammered in Paris, but they were aligned in attack, cohesive in defence and managed the game sensibly to boot.

The reality is England are being found out for a lack of experience in the coaching box rather than on the pitch and I’ve made the point before that Borthwick or the RFU should add another coach into the mix with a lot more years of international experience under their belt.

Borthwick, Richard Wigglesworth, Tom Harrison and Kevin Sinfield don’t even have much too experience at club level on their CV, Joe El Abd hasn’t been working at the top level and Andrew Strawbridge has mainly coached at provincial level in New Zealand and with their U20 side.

The two most experienced men in terms of high performance environments at Test level, Felix Jones and Aled Walters, have both left and it’s ironic that the latter’s now looking after an Ireland outfit that looked fitter and better conditioned for their game plan in the second half.

It’s impossible to tell without being in the inner sanctum of the dressing room, of course, but I think it’s fair to question whether England need a bit more emotion injected into the mix at half-time, rather than the data-driven approach Borthwick is renowned for.

The use of replacements was a big issue in November and it might not have been as glaringly obvious a problem on Saturday as when we saw Marcus Smith being hauled off when he’d marshalled the team into a winning position but there was a stark contrast between the two sides in Dublin.

Jack Conan, Dan Sheehan and Jack Crowley in particular made a real difference for Ireland, whereas the likes of Chandler Cunningham-South and Theo Dan came on and made crucial errors for the visitors.

They shouldn’t take too much heat individually, mistakes are going to happen with those young players and members of the starting XV also slipped up in defence as fatigue set in and the intensity levels dropped but coaches can manage that better.

Whether it’s physical preparation, the mental side of the game, tactics or the messaging that’s coming on, England have to make sure that errors aren’t being compounded and they aren’t losing momentum at that crucial stage in proceedings.

I’m not convinced I saw the step forward in attack that Borthwick did either. They scored three tries but a couple of those were when the game was gone and a lot of the positives came on the back of individual brilliance from Ollie Lawrence and co rather than the system.

It was great to see Cadan Murley score on his debut after he’s waited so long for his chance and the winger did make errors after that but he needs the backing of his head coach so I fully expect him to start again at Allianz Stadium this weekend.

Their home may have been anything but a fortress in recent years and things don’t get much easier with France coming to town but England have the unusual advantage of three consecutive home Six Nations games over the next month as they look to get their campaign back on track.

Both players and coaches get the opportunity to put things right straight away this week but there’s no doubt pressure is mounting. They’ve won just five of their last 13 Tests, with two of those against Japan, one over Italy and one against a Wales side on the worst run in their history.

It’s far from all doom and gloom but the excuse of a lack of experience just doesn’t wash, especially when you could and should add some in the coaching department, and England have to show they’re learning faster against France.