Many England fans echoing the same gripe following Six Nations loss

England’s Six Nations campaign began with a stinging 27-22 defeat to reigning champions Ireland in Dublin, heaping pressure on head coach Steve Borthwick.

Hopes had been high when Cadan Murley crossed in the corner to put England up 10-5 at half-time, but a series of second-half lapses allowed Ireland to run in four tries through Jamison Gibson-Park, Bundee Aki, Tadhg Beirne and Dan Sheehan.

Borthwick’s decision to field a fleet-footed back row initially looked promising as England’s line speed unsettled Ireland early on. Marcus Smith and Ollie Lawrence cut through Ireland’s defence in the first half, while Ben and Tom Curry combined with Ben Earl to give the home side serious issues at the breakdown.

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Yet, after Ireland rallied under interim coach Simon Easterby, England once again fell away in the closing stages, an all-too-familiar pattern for frustrated fans.

On social media, many England supporters are voicing the same grievance: under Borthwick, the attack has not substantially developed, and the team still struggles to close out games when it matters most. While some acknowledged bright spots – like Lawrence’s line breaks and the Curry twins’ defensive efforts – the overall sentiment was one of abject disappointment.

“Whilst disappointed to concede the tries I think everybody could see how our defence took a step forward in so many areas,” said Borthwick in the post-match press conference in the Aviva Stadium. “And the commitment level of the players in defence was exceptional. That doesn’t take away the fact we’re disappointed not to get a win.”

X users remained far from convinced.

Former England flyhalf Andy Goode suggested that Borthwick’s halftime talk had hurt and not helped England: “First half from England was good, full of aggression, accuracy and physicality and then Steve spoke to them at half time…”

Fans were equally unforgiving, one writing: “Borthwick needs to go. He’s proving totally ineffective and not fit for purpose. England have been so poor in game management, inventiveness and basic rugby execution it’s unbelievable. Zero progression evident here,” while another irate England supporter wrote: “The lack of ambition from England is criminal. At no point did any of them think they could go on and win that game. Just made no attempt to play until the last five minutes. Caused next to no problems for Ireland defence. It’s embarrassing.”

Most disagreed with Borthwick’s insistence that England ‘took a step forward’ against Ireland. One X user wrote:  “Disagree that the attack looked any better. My thoughts: Marcus Smith doesn’t bring the best out of others – he plays for himself – whereas Finn Smith does bring the best out of other players. Time for a change.”

It wasn’t the only call for a change at fly-half: “Time for a change of Smith at 10″ and “Our attack was poor, again. Left it far too late to bring Finn Smith on at 10 and switch Marcus to 15… Borthwick too reactive. We will be 4th again!”

England showed flashes of promise, especially during a chaotic first half in which the visitors’ line speed rattled Ireland. But as the second half wore on, basic errors and a lack of variety in attacking play proved costly once more. Fans across social media remain unconvinced that Borthwick’s tenure has lifted the side beyond the struggles that saw England lose seven of 12 Tests in 2024.

Summing up the frustration, one post read: “Steve Borthwick really is a terrible head coach and I don’t care what anyone tells me. He’s not a Test-class head coach and he never will be. That scoreline flatters us and does Ireland a disservice. We were crap, again,” while another lamented: “Attack looks shocking, at no point were you like ‘that’s straight out of the training ground.’”

With the next match against France looming, calls for a shake-up – especially at half-back – will grow louder. Whether Borthwick sticks with Marcus Smith at fly-half or opts to give Finn Smith a starting role could prove crucial.