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'Scotland by 10': Ex-England player criticises 'data-driven' Borthwick
Retired out-half Toby Flood has criticised the style of play being played by England in the Guinness Six Nations, predicting they will be beaten next Saturday by Scotland by 10 points.
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The English have won their opening two matches in the championship for the first time since 2019 and they now go to Edinburgh looking to build on their respective three- and two-point victories over Italy and Wales.
The 60-cap Flood, though, doesn’t believe England will continue their February winning streak as he hasn’t been impressed by the level of their performances under Borthwick, his former Test-level teammate.
“Steve Borthwick and his data approach has made rugby detached and stale,” Flood told InstantCasino.com. “It has become very data-driven, very ‘Moneyball’ for want of a better word. Players are taken off because of GPS data to which coaches have become slaves. There is little feel now for the game; that is why we have this detached, stale game at the moment.
“Borthwick is so data-driven. It’s all about the metrics with him. He isn’t necessarily the most empathetic charismatic human being, so he relies heavily on those data and touch points. You can see England are trying to do something different. The problem they have got is that they haven’t had any clout at the gain line.
“Without that, you can’t have the players they have selected – Henry Slade, George Ford and Tommy Freeman – to play the piano and orchestrate attacks. International rugby is often won by winning the gain line which allows those skilful players to impress themselves on the opposition.
“England are without a bit of power. They are running good shapes and they are trying to keep the ball in hand and attack, but there just hasn’t been that cut-throat nature from an international side. England will be huge underdogs against an irritated and frustrated Scotland side.
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“They should have beaten France, it was a ridiculous decision (not to award a try to Sam Skinner). I can really sympathise with Scotland. It looked like a try. The ball was down. There was no reason to overturn that decision. It was a real shock. They deserved to beat France. They played really well and look a serious side.
“Had they beaten France they would have felt something special was on this season, so hey will want to put their season back on track. That will really pain them and they will come out really flying because of their frustration.”
England providing the opposition will only fire them up even more. “They always have a chip on their shoulder, but it gets even bigger when England come to town,” reckoned Flood.
“Scotland’s hatred of England is genuine; they want to beat us more than anyone else. There is a real enmity. When any England team plays in Scotland the mood of the country, the mood of Edinburgh changes. There is a real level of resentment.
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“The hatred for England is there for all to see. Most nations don’t like England, but the Scots in particular, with all the talk of independence over the past decade or more, there is always a heightened atmosphere. A frenzy almost.
“If you’re English, Scotland will always turn up against you. You know it is going to be hostile, you know how much they want to beat England, more than any other nation.
“It will be quite tight. England will hang in there for a while, but I think Scotland by 10 points. 27-17. It’s going to be an uphill battle for England.”
Flood knows what not winning at Murrayfield feels like. He featured twice away to Scotland in the championship, losing in 2008 and drawing in 2010. “Murrayfield is quite a soulless stadium. It’s more often than not miserable and wet. The stadium feels weird.
“Maybe it is the running track around the side. You do feel quite distant from the crowd. I have never really enjoyed playing there because the wind comes in and swirls around. It is quite a nuanced stadium.”
Comments on RugbyPass
Let’s not forget about Ardie Savea just yet.
4 Go to commentsThe URC and the Euro Championscup can’t run at the same time, basically dilutes both competitions.
1 Go to comments“While Sotutu should start at No.8 for the All Blacks against England, but it’s only in that arena that he can prove just how good he really is.” And that my friends is where simply hasnt shone despite multiple opportunities. Even in this performance you can see what did him in in the test arena..he almost always still runs at the opposition almost ramrod upright making him easier to stop than it should be.
4 Go to commentsShould have been 0-0 and a message from SR CEO to both teams - “don’t worry about turning up next year”.
4 Go to commentsGreat work Owen Franks. A great of this team, scoring his first try for the Crusaders since 2010.He was beaming, justifiably. A fine win, he and the rest did the job up front.
1 Go to commentsDanny Care. Lang in die tand.
1 Go to commentsBig empty stadium does nothing for atmosphere but munster are playing well with solid performance
1 Go to commentsYes, Fiji can win the World Cup! With that belief plus their christian faith🙏 and hard work it is achievable. Great article. Ian Duncan Fiji resident 1981-84
2 Go to commentsInteresting comments about Touch. England’s hosting the Touch World Cup this year and the numbers have exploded since their last World Cup in 2019, something like 70% more teams and 40 nations taking part. And England Touch have made a big thing about how many universities are in their BUCS University Touch Championship as well as Sport England membership. Can only see this growing even more domestically as more people become aware of it
10 Go to comments“Cortez Ratima is light years ahead of anyone on current form, while TJ Perenara has also skyrocketed into contention following the unfortunate injury to the talented Cam Roigard.” At last some sanity. Hitherto so many pundits have been wittering on about Finlay Christie to the point one wondered if they were observing a FC in a parallel universe where the FC they saw wasnt just the mediocre Shayne Philpott project of Fosters hapless AB reign in the real world. Ratima, Perenara and Fakatava are the ONLY logical 9s for Razor now Roigard is crocked.
4 Go to commentsThis game was just as painful as the Hurricanes game. It was real fork-in-the-eye stuff.
4 Go to commentsNow if they could just fire the Crusaders ground PA guy who likes to play his dance music and just loves the sound of his own voice the entire game, even when play is going on. And I thought their brass band thing of a few years ago was bad.
5 Go to commentsUnfortunately when you lose by far the two form players this season in Roigard and Aumua, you're left replacing two game changing Tanks with a couple of pea-shooters. Which is also about the speed of TJs pass.
4 Go to commentsBit rich coming from the guy with zero loyalty to anyone or any team, including happily taking a players place in a league world cup squad because well, SBW wanted to play in it and thus an already named player got told he was no longer going. And airing stuff like this, which may or may not be true, doesn't exactly say you're a stand up guy either SBW. Just looking to keep his name in lights as usual.
38 Go to commentsTamati Tua. …the Taniwha NPC midfielder. Ollie Sapsford, Hawkes Bay NPC midfielder…doing well
4 Go to commentsFiji deserve to be in the rugby championship, fans love seeing the Fijian national team play, the Fijian Drua is a wonderful idea but the players can still be stolen to play for NZ and AUS…
2 Go to commentsThe first concern for this afternoon are wheather forecast…
1 Go to commentsWhy cant I watch Rugby games please?
1 Go to commentsBeautiful shot from Finau, end of story. Gutted for Shaun Stevenson though.
4 Go to commentsThe Chiefs definitely didn’t win ugly. They had the superior scrum, a dominant lineout, and their defence was excellent once the Waratahs scored their two tries (thanks to some lucky refereeing calls mind you). They put pressure on the Waratahs lineout throughout the game, and the mind boggles as to why the referee did not award a yellow card or a penalty try against the Waratahs for repeated scrum infringements on their own try line before Narawa’s first try. And the Chiefs were slick with their passing and running angles on attack. It was a dominant performance all round, even with many questionable refereeing decisions.
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