The end of England’s ramshackled, ragged rout by Ireland on Saturday could have been played out to The Sound of Silence. “Hello darkness, my old friend…”
Twickenham shimmered in green, not just in celebration for the rampant Irish but because thousands of supporters had left their seats before the close. Why pay top dollar for that and be kettled on the train home?
Here we are yet again. Another Six Nations thrown into history’s dustbin, another England team flattering to deceive, demonstrating harrowing hallmarks of past failures. In the Six Nations, England almost always let you down — a depressingly predictable fact.
Their final, forlorn hope was to attempt to steal a bonus point by scoring a fourth try; a straw to clutch at while a championship challenge had long slipped from their grasp. Alex Coles carried into the Irish 22, and in the breakdown the ball bobbled forward so Pierre Brousset, the replacement referee, gave a knock on.
It was England’s 12th entry into the Irish 22, where staggeringly one third of the match had been played. Ireland only needed nine visits to England’s “red-zone” to leave them red-faced, scoring at a rate of 4.3 points per entry, to England’s 1.7, a touch better than the 1.4 they managed at Murrayfield during that galling 31-20 defeat. A consistently worrying theme.
When England’s humiliation was complete several players dropped to their haunches, haunted by their afternoon and by what might come next: the beginning of the end of their Test careers.
In stark contrast to the bedlam in the same match two years ago, when Marcus Smith’s drop-goal secured Steve Borthwick a 23-22 win in the last play to revitalise England and send Twickenham potty, there was a stillness to the stunned disbelief around the ground on Saturday.
Ford, having had better games in an England shirt, leaves the scene of one of his side’s heaviest Twickenham defeats with Elliot Daly, left
DAVID ROGERS/GETTY IMAGES
It was reminiscent of England 10 France 53 from the 2023 Six Nations, Borthwick’s first when he had an excuse for the team to look so disjointed having just taken over from Eddie Jones. Perhaps the disarray that day was more total? That is like choosing whether to stick a pin in your left eye or your right.
That French shellacking was the first unwanted record on Borthwick’s coaching watch: the worst home defeat England have ever suffered.
Borthwick was the England captain when they were walloped 42-6 by South Africa, then 32-6 to New Zealand, in consecutive weeks in 2008. Those defeats sit in position two and three on the all-time list of England’s largest losses at Twickenham, with this 42-21 reverse now fourth. It was also the third time a Borthwick team had conceded 42 points at home, after he coached England to lose 42-37 to the Wallabies in 2024.
What is it about his teams that have this ability to suddenly and totally collapse?
England’s largest losses at TwickenhamEngland 10 France 53 – 2023 Six Nations, Borthwick coachEngland 6 South Africa 42 – 2008 Autumn, Borthwick captainEngland 6 New Zealand 32 – 2008 Autumn, Borthwick captainEngland 21 Ireland 42 – 2026 Six Nations, Borthwick coachEngland 20 New Zealand 41 – 2006 Autumn
After the game, England had a party line. “We weren’t the best team when we won 12-in-a-row, and we’re not the worst now,” was how it went in varied forms, whether they were speaking on television, radio, to the written press or in the corporate boxes.
This is true, and continues a Borthwick theme of not lurching to the polarities. On Saturday, though, it was the manner of it. So devoid of any spirit, skill or shape, it was alarming how England were unable to rally with their tournament on the line.
“Bitterly disappointed,” Borthwick offered, explaining that giving away a 22-0 lead in 30 minutes, and then turning the ball over to Ireland 24 times was crippling. Copy and paste those thoughts from Edinburgh.
Borthwick does not want to dress down his side, as many will implore him to do, but we asked: “You will, at least, be more demanding of your players behind closed doors, won’t you?” “There’s plenty of time where within the squad, the conversations are very honest and forthright,” the head coach responded.
Bloodied and bewildered Earl shows his commitment to the cause but still made defensive errors
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“From you as well?” “Yes, when I refer to us, I refer to everybody within the environment.”
Borthwick must show his ruthless nature privately, as the slipping of England’s standards are unacceptable. How can it be that Ben Earl and Ellis Genge made such poor decisions in defence, and George Ford made basic skill errors?
Andy Farrell, the Ireland coach, proved you can challenge players publicly without throwing them under the bus. He questioned his players’ “fight” and “intent” after the opening-night 36-14 defeat to France in Paris, and coaxed a stunning, emotionally-driven yet tactically-smart performance from his team at Twickenham.
If England cannot find some similar fire now, their problems will run deeper than we thought. Genge offered a less guarded view than his coach, looking down the lens of a BBC camera as he apologised directly to England fans.
Ford offered deeper reflections. He had a shocker — missing touch twice, followed by the ignominy of being ironically cheered by some of his own fans when he subsequently kicked penalties — but fronted up afterwards.
Hauled off before half-time, a reflective Cowan-Dickie must revive his Test form or England will be left with a gaping hole at hooker
DAVID ROGERS/GETTY IMAGES
“You’ve got two options; you either beat around the bush and avoid things, or you get to be properly honest and pick it to pieces,” the fly half said, promising to tell some much-needed home truths in the fallow week.
“We’re going to be part of some uncomfortable meetings and some uncomfortable reviews, which will be a positive in the end because we actually want to address things and get to the root of some of the problems and come up with some solutions.”
Ford implored England to be more clinical. He knows he carries the can for that.
“We obviously want the intent, energy and endeavour to go and attack a game,” he explained. “But if we don’t marry that up with our accuracy then it’s going to be a whole load of energy and not a lot of outcome. I don’t think we have rested on our laurels or got complacent but there’s certainly aspects of our game that have been way too inaccurate.”
He is right. For all supporter perceptions of a constricted game plans and a reliance on kicking, England’s flaws come from the absolute fundamentals. Their defensive reads were abysmal, plus their catch and pass in attack and ball placements at breakdowns were shoddy, leading to 14 handling errors.
England’s in-game mental and tactical dexterity was found wanting again. This is now a direct challenge to the senior players, and brings another dreadful Six Nations to mind: 2018.
Sotutu, the former All Black No8, will be eligible for England when he joins Newcastle Red Bulls in the summer
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England were floundering, lost to Scotland and France away, and Ireland at home, only beating Italy and Wales. Finishing fifth, it was their worst championship since 1983. Sound familiar?
However, it allowed Jones to discover who really had it. England rallied to make the 2019 World Cup final. In sport, quick turnarounds can be achieved, if rot is not allowed to set. With trips to Rome, Paris and then Johannesburg, Borthwick has three weeks to discover who has the spirit, the mental toughness, and the genuine Test quality to go to South Africa in July to compete with the back-to-back world champions — no country for weak men.
In 2018, also a year out from the World Cup, Jones started to end several careers. By late 2019 his captain Dylan Hartley and other senior men, Chris Robshaw, James Haskell and Mike Brown, were all gone. In-and-out players such as Nathan Hughes, Sam Simmonds, Ben Te’o, Richard Wigglesworth, Harry Williams, Alec Hepburn and Don Armand did not survive long either.
Who is vulnerable in 2026? Freddie Steward and Luke Cowan-Dickie, both substituted before half-time, must prove their Test class again having had the rug pulled. George Furbank, injured so often recently, is an obvious alteration at full back.
If Cowan-Dickie cannot recover, England have a gaping hole at hooker, with a huge drop-off behind 35-year-old Jamie George to Theo Dan, Jamie Blamire and Curtis Langdon, all still unproven, and a selection of kids such as Nathan Jibulu and Kepu Tuipulotu.
If you are a back-rower dropping off, prepare to be replaced by Hoskins Sotutu, the former All Black No8 who is joining Newcastle Red Bulls in the summer and then will be eligible to switch nations to England, where his mother is from, having completed a three-year stand-down.
Borthwick will be keen to select Janse van Rensburg, of Bristol Bears, when he qualifies via residency
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By November, Bristol Bears’ centre Benhard Janse van Rensburg will surely replace any midfielder on the wane. Borthwick is so keen to pick the South African, once he qualifies via residency, that the RFU pushed World Rugby to bend eligibility regulations to discount his capturing appearance for the Springbok under-20s in 2016. Beware Fraser Dingwall and Ollie Lawrence, then. Can Henry Arundell soften his jagged edges, or can England find him more often in space? If not, Borthwick might revert to Elliot Daly as an all-rounder.
England’s depth, and bench, has been afflicted by badly-timed injuries to Fin Baxter, Will Stuart and Immanuel Feyi-Waboso. Maro Itoje, the captain, is clearly not fit either. Borthwick said “his sharpness will continue to develop”, but would it be best now, with the Six Nations gone, to allow him to rest properly after a catalogue of overly-packed seasons, if he is to come again?
Where there seemed to be answers, there are now many questions for England. There is light among the shade, but Borthwick must discover who in his team truly has what it takes to drag England out of the darkness.