England arrived at Murrayfield announcing their intentions to be \u201cbulletproof\u201d. Truth be told this was Scotland shooting fish in a barrel. Punishing mistakes, of which there were a litany, Gregor Townsend\u2019s team exposed the glaring limitations of Steve Borthwick\u2019s side that will be desperately difficult to recover from.<\/p>\n
Defeats happen, England\u2019s winning run was always going to end sooner or later, but the paucity of this performance is some setback for a side whose grand slam hopes are over for another year. Two years ago Borthwick bemoaned how England had \u201cplayed small\u201d after a fast start, unable to stem Scotland\u2019s momentum after giving up the initiative. Here they barely played at all. For England unravelled at Murrayfield again<\/a>. It is as if Flower of Scotland flicks a switch in these players and Murphy\u2019s law makes a mockery of them.<\/p>\n The mistakes were calamitous, from Henry Arundell\u2019s two yellow cards to George Ford\u2019s charged down drop-goal attempt via Ellis Genge fluffing his lines. But there were systemic problems running through this England performance that will concern Borthwick more. Ill-discipline plagued them throughout; the kicking game upon which they rely so heavily was not reaping any rewards yet still they persevered; the absence of a second playmaker denied England any fluidity; they missed 20 tackles in the first half alone; and their decision-making left much to be desired.<\/p>\n To illustrate, England began the second half with a flea in their ear and a spring in their step. The scrum was the one aspect of the game in which they had the ascendancy. They were awarded another penalty for their dominance within 10 metres of the Scotland posts and the referee Nika Amashukeli could be heard telling Scotland, and the whole stadium, that one more infringement and he would show a yellow card, thereby levelling the sides at 14 v 14, with Arundell off the field for 20 minutes.<\/p>\n The only decision was to call for another scrum but instead England kicked for goal and didn\u2019t score another point until the 78th minute. These are the kinks that Borthwick must iron out if England are to become the side they have been threatening to be of late.<\/p>\n The first thing the head coach must do for Ireland\u2019s visit next week is restore Ollie Lawrence to the starting lineup. The Bath man is understood to be miffed at the fact he finds himself fit but out in the cold, unsure as to where he stands. He was in stunning form 12 months ago and one of England\u2019s star turns in the autumn victory against New Zealand but he has been the fall guy for Borthwick\u2019s determination to make Tommy Freeman into a centre. It is an experiment that needs to be stopped.<\/p>\n