Legendary All Blacks coach Sir Steve Hansen believes that England\u2019s dip in form is linked to the departure of one coach in particular.<\/p>\n
Steve Borthwick\u2019s men fell to a 45-21 defeat to the Springboks at Ellis Park in the opening weekend of the Nations Championship, the team\u2019s fifth successive defeat after their worst-ever Six Nations performance.<\/p>\n
Prior to this run of defeats, the side had gone on a 12-game winning streak which included victories over Los Pumas in Argentina without several of their players who were representing the British and Irish Lions in Australia.<\/p>\n
Hansen, who won back-to-back Rugby World Cups as part of the All Blacks\u2019 coaching team, the latter as head coach, believes that England\u2019s<\/a> poor run of results is linked to the departure of New Zealander Andrew Strawbridge.<\/p>\n Sir Steve Hansen: Why England have gone backwards in the last 12 months<\/p>\n The former Waikato player joined the coaching set-up as a consultant coach during the 2024 Six Nations before moving into a full-time role with the side in April that year. The former All Blacks<\/a> assistant coach remained a member of Borthwick\u2019s coaching staff through to November 2025 before vacating his role.<\/p>\n According to Hansen<\/a>, it\u2019s no coincidence that the team has gone backwards since Strawbridge left his position, while he adds that discipline is a major factor in why England are struggling to win Test matches.<\/p>\n \u201cWell, I think they\u2019ve gone backwards a little bit since they let Andrew Strawbridge go,\u201d he said on the Rugby Unity podcast reviewing England\u2019s defeat to the Springboks.<\/p>\n \u201cI thought their understanding and their skill \u2013 little nuances within the skill of their ball carry, their catch-pass, their short-passing game \u2013 12 to 18 months ago was really good. I think some of that\u2019s gone and they\u2019re a bit clunky.<\/p>\n \u201cYou look at the losses and discipline problems, and they\u2019re contributing massively. They\u2019ve got to sort that out.\u201d<\/p>\n Stuart Lancaster\u2019s verdict on England\u2019s latest \u2018world of pain\u2019 and the \u2018plan B\u2019 he would develop if he was in charge of the Springboks<\/a><\/p>\n Former Wallabies head coach Ewen McKenzie joined Hansen on the show and agreed with the former All Blacks boss that England have declined in recent times after playing an all-court game previously.<\/p>\n \u201cI agree with Steve 100%,\u201d he began.<\/p>\n \u201cEngland were outstanding 12 months ago in terms of their ability to play a total game. They had seemed to have it all in their grasp, and it\u2019s interesting what he says about Strawbridge not being there. So it could be as simple as that.<\/p>\n \u201cI mean, you change the coaching side of things, and the nuances change. They just seem to have lost their way. The discipline is the flagship of issues, but kick contest\u2026 They had a late change; Furbank was meant to be there. He dropped out of the team late, so they ended up with Smith at full-back, but South Africa had to deal with the same issues, and they did it without fault.\u201d<\/p>\n England\u2019s two-card trick: the numbers behind a team that keeps sending itself off<\/a><\/p>\n Selection doesn\u2019t suit the style<\/p>\n McKenzie added that Borthwick\u2019s selections don\u2019t suit the style of playing England are trying to achieve. It was noted in the build-up to the clash against the Springboks that England can play multiple types of games, but the former Wallabies boss questioned whether the right men are being selected to execute the plan.<\/p>\n He argued that they have the players to play expansively but are leaning into a more conservative approach, and that could be down to the coaching staff, with Lee Blackett taking over the team\u2019s attack last year.<\/p>\n \u201cThey keep drifting back, and maybe that\u2019s a coaching thing,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cYou mentioned Strawbridge. He was maybe taking him into that space, and now they dropped back to with background English coaches of keep drifting back to being old England rugby as opposed to what they could potentially be with the athletes they\u2019ve got.\u201d<\/p>\n