Six Nations title hopefuls Ireland kept their bid alive in ruthless fashion with a record 42-21 away win over England at Allianz Stadium \u2014 and Sir Clive Woodward believes changes must now be made.<\/p>\n
Watch the Guinness Six Nations at your local\u00a0Greene King sports pub<\/a>.<\/p>\n The visitors, whose previous best winning margin at Twickenham was 17 points in 2022, ran in five tries to embarrass Steve Borthwick\u2019s side and leave England licking their wounds after a chastening defeat.<\/p>\n Former World Cup-winning boss Clive Woodward did not hold back in his assessment \u2014 and has called for two major selection calls ahead of England\u2019s clash with Italy.<\/p>\n Woodward calls for Furbank and Smith overhaul<\/p>\n Woodward revealed he had an unexpected encounter with George Furbank before kick-off \u2014 and doubled down on his belief that England must make a change at full-back.<\/p>\n He wrote in his Mail Online column.<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cI was at Twickenham on Saturday and George Furbank came into the same hospitality box as me. I\u2019d never met Furbank before, but he came over and said: \u2018Thanks for picking me.\u2019<\/p>\n I\u2019ve been consistent in saying that Furbank has to be England\u2019s full-back. He must be in the team at No 15 over Freddie Steward.\u201d<\/p>\n That is the first switch Woodward would make for the Italy game \u2014 with Furbank replacing Freddie Steward at No 15.<\/p>\n And the former England chief also believes there is now a serious debate to be had at fly-half.<\/p>\n \u201cFin Smith is also now a strong contender to come in at No 10 to start ahead of George Ford.<\/p>\n That said, selection decisions aren\u2019t going to change a huge amount for England. Borthwick has a huge amount of quality players at his disposal, it\u2019s just that as a collective, they simply haven\u2019t performed. Sometimes, that happens.\u201d<\/p>\n \u2018Players don\u2019t respond to shouting\u2019<\/p>\n Despite the scale of the defeat, Woodward expects Borthwick to stay true to his personality rather than deliver a ferocious dressing-room backlash.<\/p>\n \u201cBorthwick is a very calm and composed character, so he won\u2019t be ranting and raving in the next week. That\u2019s just his mantra.<\/p>\n \u201cMany would believe shouting and screaming is the right way to respond to this hugely significant setback but that is not the nature of modern professional sport.<\/p>\n \u201cPlayers don\u2019t respond well to that these days.\u201d<\/p>\n England\u2019s Two Biggest Names Implode in Nightmare Ireland Defeat<\/p>\n Itoje and Ford were two of England\u2019s six biggest underperformers on a chastening day at HQ.<\/p>\n Freddie Steward<\/p>\n The Leicester full-back endured an afternoon to forget. England rely on him to dominate the skies \u2014 he didn\u2019t. Wobbly under the high ball, fortunate not to be punished for one costly spill that almost gifted Ireland a try, and then yellow-carded for a desperate infringement that handed the visitors momentum. Hooked before half-time in a ruthless call that spoke volumes.<\/p>\n Tom Curry<\/p>\n Back in the starting XV but unable to impose himself. Ireland controlled the breakdown, an area Curry usually relishes, and he struggled to swing momentum. There were flashes in wider channels and his work-rate never dipped, but England needed edge and authority \u2014 they didn\u2019t get it. Substituted after 50 minutes with little lasting imprint on the contest.<\/p>\n Henry Arundell<\/p>\n A winger blessed with pace but short on impact. For the second week running, he looked uncertain under the high ball and hesitant when chances opened up. England needed incision out wide; instead they got indecision. A couple of promising carries came to nothing, and defensively he was exposed too often.<\/p>\n CONTINUES ON PAGE TWO<\/a><\/p>\n Like this:<\/p>\n Like Loading…<\/p>\n