Former England fly-half and outspoken pundit Stuart Barnes has claimed the final act of the Six Nations loss to Italy was “tantamount to surrender” and symptomatic of the team under Steve Borthwick.
The Englishmen succumbed 23-18 to the Azzurri on Saturday – their first-ever defeat to the Italians – to leave them in fifth place in the table.
Barnes has long been a critic of Borthwick’s style but he was especially frustrated by what he saw in Rome, particularly the last play of the contest.
With the match on the line, England decided not to contest in the set-piece and allow Italy easy ball to set up a maul before kicking the ball out to end the game.
England’s bizarre call
“Forget all the fancy technical stuff. The last lineout, the last chance; white shirts had to go into the air. And what did England do? They set themselves to defend an Italian driving lineout 60 metres from their own try line,” Barnes wrote in his Times column.
“[Italy hooker Tommaso] Di Bartolomeo should have been intimidated by giant men leaping into the air, wherever, whatever Italy’s call. Instead the men in white remained rooted to the Roman turf. It was tantamount to surrender.
“Not even a solitary hand competing. All through Saturday night I wondered why England went so gently into what was anything but a good night for English rugby.”
It was a bizarre moment and Barnes felt it summed up England under Borthwick, with the former fly-half claiming that the players are not allowed to think for themselves.
“Why did England stand and let Italy deliver? The management cannot make every decision on the field. There has to be player responsibility but management can create such a structured environment that it becomes hard for the sharpest of rugby brains to function on an ad hoc level,” he wrote.
“Look at the perpetually grinding England breakdown. Only once did the England scrum half opt to break from the fringes. The game plan was set in cement, the scrum halves and decision makers sinking in a pre-programmed rut.
“On the one occasion when Jack van Poortvliet zigged, zagged and lured Italian fringe defenders towards him, Chessum charged through a hole that hadn’t existed all afternoon.
“England hadn’t been looking for it. There was one and only one game plan. Kick and territory. George Ford rationalised the raison d’être behind the strategy before the rot set in in Edinburgh but it should never be more than one in a number of game plans.”
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Rigid and ‘over-coached’
Borthwick has constantly stated in interviews that he wants his players to take what they do well for their clubs into the Test arena, but that has certainly not been in evidence during the 2026 Six Nations.
Barnes believes that England are too rigid and, as a result, it is not enabling the players to play what is in front of them.
“Watching England unfold their statistically flawed game plan was painfully predictable. The squad are enslaved to structure. The same will apply to lineouts, to everything. England probably had a defensive system for lineouts 60 metres from their own line,” he added.
“In the past 240 minutes of Six Nations rugby, there hasn’t been a moment to match the last lineout for sheer ineptitude. Either the captain is an idiot or he’s part of an over-coached team. I know which I believe.
“Next Saturday, France will improve for tightening up after conceding 50 points against Scotland. England need to do the opposite. They need to loosen their game and open their minds. Artistry as well as spreadsheets make a rugby team.”