Ronan O’Gara does not believe the current England fly-half options are the “dominators” that they used to have in Jonny Wilkinson and Owen Farrell.
Since taking charge of the team in 2023, Steve Borthwick has been trying to find his best option at number 10.
Marcus Smith, Fin Smith and George Ford have all been tried in the pivot position but none have truly nailed down the slot.
Ford, who is now 33, has earned over 100 caps and commands great respect within the environment, was the man in possession of the jersey at the start of the Six Nations, but poor performances against Scotland and Ireland saw Fin Smith take over.
The younger Smith has started England’s past four Tests and is seen by many as their long-term option at 10, but he still has plenty to learn.
Dramatic reversal in England’s form
O’Gara was joined on ITV’s The Debrief with Dan and ROG by Wales great Dan Biggar, who kicked off the discussion by looking at why the Red Rose went from winning 12 in succession to losing five Tests in a row.
“In the autumn, England were absolutely succinct and clear that they were applying pressure to other teams. Now, if that meant they missed the odd opportunity to shift the ball then so be it,” Biggar said.
“The games in which they’ve changed their maybe selection and brought people in, it looks as if they’re still trying to find a way.
“Are they applying pressure? Are they looking to shift it?
“If you’re a coach, does your selection and the cattle you’ve got dictate the game plan? Or is it vice versa?”
O’Gara responded: “I think it does, I think you most definitely play to everyone’s strengths.
“You look at the challenge facing England at the minute; you’ve gone from a Wilkinson into a Farrell, two of the biggest characters that ever played the game – dominators.
“Then you’re asking a Fin Smith, Marcus Smith or a George Ford to take the keys to the castle and it’s very difficult.
“Just in terms of how you’re meant to implement your thoughts when you’re not too sure. Are you starting this week? Are you on the bench? Are you out of the 23?”
Fin Smith plays in a Northampton Saints that are renowned for their free-flowing style, which is in stark contrast to England.
Borthwick by nature is a conservative coach and Ireland legend O’Gara does not believe that suits this current Red Rose team.
“What is commendable also is when you want to grow, you’re going to have to have some short-term pain,” he said.
“I don’t think box-kicking and kicking contestables is the way forward to having a full house at Allianz.”
End of England’s losing run
England ended their losing run by thrashing Fiji 73-8 at the weekend, but Borthwick still finds himself under pressure following a dreadful Six Nations.
Biggar argues that England remain effective in a number of areas, but that their inability to convert pressure into points is letting them down.
“Even in that Six Nations, they did a lot of things quite well. You just looked at that conversion rate when they got into the 22 was so low and that’s what ultimately led them to a fifth-place finish,” he said.
O’Gara, who is head coach at La Rochelle, once again responded, stating that teams are now hiring specialists in order to improve that key area of the game.
“That’s probably a new area in the game. There’s probably killer zone or red zone coaches coming in. The last eight to 12 metres are the most difficult metres on the rugby pitch because you have a 14-1 defence and space is very limited,” he added.
“That’s where attacking kicks become interesting, that’s where the detail in your game, but now environments and teams are having full-time coach for the last 10, 12 metres of the pitch.”