FEATURE Mick Cleary: 'Borthwick has to bring some self-discipline to proceedings. A bit of joy wouldn’t go amiss either.'

Time to untether the wagons. Time to lift the siege mentality. Time to address a few home truths. England are in a hole and they have to stop digging or they will be well and truly buried by the time they get to France.

It was easy to understand why they got all prickly and bristling last week over the Owen Farrell farrago. The judicial process was a right old pig’s ear – muddled, contradictory, ill-conceived and unfair, the very opposite of what a disciplinary system ought to be. And so, the England management went on the offensive. (As did Andy Farrell but that is another thing entirely).

Defence coach, Kevin Sinfield, jabbed away in midweek, pointing the finger at ‘you guys’ in the media for overreacting. Steve Borthwick followed suit later in the week, lambasting the vitriol poured on Farrell.

And look where it got them. There was no reactive upside to the Millwall-like drawing together, ‘no-one likes us, we don’t care.’ Instead there was embarrassing evidence that England have become an ill-disciplined rabble with the dismissal of Billy Vunipola for an almost identical tackle to the one that caused Farrell and England (and, most pertinently, perhaps, Taine Basham) such grief. It is not ‘we guys’ that should preoccupy Sinfield. It is ‘his guys,’ the ones who seem incapable of adapting to the modern age and tackling properly. It is his job to make sure they listen and obey. It is their job to pay attention. For all the edges and nuances and sheer speed of events on a rugby field, it ain’t that difficult.

Of course times have changed with a faster, more layered game being played. There are more cameras, more interventions, more scrutiny, more fine margins, more bloomin’ everything. And that includes time to get it right. To put it right. What on earth do England do behind closed doors in training? A red card used to be such a rarity. But even allowing for the way of these things  today as per TV cameras and bunker systems, a sending-off still ought to be an exception. Yet with England it has become the norm. They have had four (even if Freddie Steward’s was mitigated) against Ireland alone in the blink of any eye. It’s unprofessional and unbecoming.

Ireland scored five tries and it seemed such a routine achievement. Five tries conceded in an entire championship used to be the target, a try a match. England’s defensive record this year is quite dreadful.

That it has happened again with Vunipola indicates that the entire squad is massively on edge, unsure of themselves, worried about consequences (even though the World Cup squad has been announced), unconvinced about game plans, the way forward, all manner of stuff that feeds into a player’s state of mind. Febrile, hang-dog, lacklustre, a shambling study in miserableness as regards their body language. No snap, crackle or pop. Just thud, blunder and bash. What on earth was Anthony Watson thinking when he signalled to Ben Youngs to follow-up the wing’s high kick, a daft reversal of roles? Or take a brief sequence of play just before half-time. Elliot Daly misses a penalty kick to touch. Billy Vunipola knocks-on the subsequent Ireland clearance. A scrum penalty is then conceded. Shortly afterwards, Garry Ringrose scores Ireland’s second try. England are all over the place, playing as if they had met in one of Lower Baggot St’s finest hostelries beforehand and were still trying to sort it all out. Ireland never had to get out of second gear throughout, albeit finishing with a flourish and a well-deserved acrobatic hurrah-try from centurion Keith Earls.

Ireland scored five tries and it seemed such a routine achievement. Five tries conceded in an entire championship used to be the target, a try a match. England’s defensive record this year is quite dreadful.

Perhaps it’s time for Steve Borthwick to take a leaf out of Brian Clough’s book and send them all out into the night for a few beers, instructing them to let their hair down as Cloughie once did before a European Cup final. There is as much chance of Borthwick doing that as there is of Suella Braverman appearing on Dover beach with blankets and a flask of hot tea to greet the small boats.

Yet Borthwick  has some major decisions to make in the wake of likely bans for Farrell and Vunipola. Much, of course, depends on the sentences handed down. England had legitimate grievance last week as regards the half-cock judicial shenanigans. There can be no quibbling now no matter what eventuates. It might even do them some good were they to acknowledge that they have to put their own house in order first and foremost. They are rapidly becoming a laughing stock.

But, really, is this what it has come to when assessing England’s performance and future prospects, clutching at straws here, there and everywhere? I’m afraid so.

England may not have been as wanton and insipid as they were in their opening warm-up game as they were against Wales, fans taking partial refuge in the lineout shape, in their maul and in the heartening return of Ollie Chessum, a much-needed presence in the forward pack when he came on. Danny Care did as Danny Care has done for years and added a bit of snap from the replacement bench. Ben Earl, again, showed well even if he will surely be embarrassed by his OTT celebration of a crooked Irish lineout.

But, really, is this what it has come to when assessing England’s performance and future prospects, clutching at straws here, there and everywhere? I’m afraid so.

England have often gone into major tournaments trying to manage expectations, dampen down the supposed innate arrogance of their followers. No such issues for France 2023. Of course the tournament is not a write-off. England, as well as other teams, have been in similarly dire straits yet somehow prospered. In 2007 there was a 36-0 pool-stage stuffing by the Springboks to absorb before the tide turned and Mark Cueto was denied in the final. Four years later France openly turned against their coach, Marc Lievremont, following a loss to Tonga in the pool yet were the better team in the final against New Zealand only for the All Blacks to scrape home. Even South Africa four years ago had to come from a long way back pre-tournament to do what they did.

England have to find many things in their game, some pace for starters. Never mind a matter of seconds, their speed of ruck ball can be measured by phases of the moon. Only students of Ancient History will be able to recall the last time one of their backs scored a try.

Above all, Borthwick has to engender some self-belief, as well as bring self-discipline, to proceedings. A bit of joy and self-expression wouldn’t go amiss either. Storm Betty wreaked havoc across Dublin on Friday evening. By kick-off though things were back to normal in the city. England’s clean-up act will take considerably longer as well as be markedly harder.