With broken England still picking up the pieces following their second successive Six Nations no-show, Sam Warburton has become the latest Test rugby luminary to sift through the debris.<\/p>\n
The retired Welsh back-rower, who skippered his country to back-to-back titles in 2021 and 2013, had felt Steve Borthwick\u2019s English side were the real deal after extending their winning run to 12 Test matches when beating Wales in Round One of the 2026 championship<\/a>.<\/p>\n However, having since witnessed the \u201cchastening\u201d defeat to Scotland and Ireland to consign England<\/a> to fourth place and set for a minor placing finish rather than challenging for the title, the two-tour British and Irish Lions skipper has revised his early February opinion and is expecting wholesale changes for their Round Four match away to Italy<\/a> on March 7.<\/p>\n \u201cEngland have now underperformed twice in a row, so I would expect changes \u2013 maybe six or seven of them,\u201d he claimed in his latest Times column<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cQuite drastic\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThat might sound quite drastic, but you cannot reward mediocrity in an England shirt. Changes have to be made, and they will be made by\u00a0Borthwick, just judging by how ruthless he was with his early alterations on Saturday.\u201d<\/p>\n So brutal were England in the opening half of their loss to the Irish that Luke Cowan-Dickie and Freddie Steward were both hooked by the coach before the interval, a desperate ploy that turned out to be an unsuccessful one in the dispiriting 42-21 defeat.<\/p>\n One alteration that Warburton feels must be made is the recall of Fin Smith<\/a> at out-half in place of George Ford<\/a>. The Northampton conductor had the baton in four of England\u2019s five outings last spring in a campaign that saw them finish second to France by a point.<\/p>\n But with Smith since touring with the British and Irish Lions, Ford re-emerged to take back the shirt on the Americas tour last July and has kept hold of it since then.<\/p>\n Five changes Steve Borthwick could make after telling admission as \u2018next cabs off the rank\u2019 primed for selection<\/a><\/p>\n Mike Tindall: Ireland victory \u2018given to them\u2019 by England<\/a><\/p>\n The level of his contributions rapidly plummeted, though, at Murrayfield and Allianz Stadium on recent Saturdays, with Warburton especially startled by one statistic he found hard to fathom regarding the supposed English game plan.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is not about picking out scapegoats,\u201d he continued, getting about to his opinion on the No.10. \u201cIn circumstances like this, you need to respect what players have done. So, these past two games do not make George Ford a bad player.<\/p>\n \u201cHe is a fine player who has implemented England\u2019s game plan very well, but something really puzzled me about the Ireland match, and I\u2019m not sure whether this is down to Ford or the coaches.<\/p>\n \u201cHe is always picked because he\u2019s an excellent tactical kicker with impressive distance. And he showed that when he made 980 kick metres against Wales, easily winning the game of kick-tennis in that match.<\/p>\n \u201cBut against Ireland, Ford only had six kicks in the whole game, for 151 metres. England dominated Wales not just physically, but also in the kicking battle \u2013 so why such a massive change in strategy?<\/p>\n Loose Pass: Coach killers in the Six Nations while Suva snub leaves a sour taste<\/a><\/p>\n Eddie Jones: Henry Pollock not a \u2018grind\u2019 player as he likens England star to Springboks legend<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t buy the argument that it was because they were chasing the scoreline. My argument is, if you need to score 17 points, or you need to chase to score 17 points, the game plan is surely the same.<\/p>\n \u201cYou score points how you score points. It doesn\u2019t really make a difference. Maybe if you\u2019ve got five minutes to go, you might have to play a little bit deeper than normal. But early in the game, when you\u2019ve still got an hour on the clock, you don\u2019t have to reinvent the wheel to score points.<\/p>\n \u201cAs a result, I do think that now is a good time to give\u00a0Fin Smith a go. I still think Ford is valuable for his experience.<\/p>\n \u201cI would endorse keeping him in the squad for a long time because he\u2019s got so much that he can pass down to someone like Smith, but now, with the championship gone, is the time to look at Smith and see what he can do. I think he has a very high ceiling and he needs game time.\u201d<\/p>\n Warburton also suggested England should give Max Ojomoh a go at No.12, as he shone there against Argentina at the end of the autumn before the jersey was given back to Fraser Dingwall. He also backed Henry Pollock, claiming he had \u201cthe most energy in the team\u201d last Saturday.<\/p>\n England legend accuses Steve Borthwick\u2019s \u2018absolutely outclassed\u2019 team of looking \u2018clueless\u2019 with Ireland delivering \u2018the two fingers up\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n