The size of the task facing England’s new defence coach Kevin Sinfield has been laid bare, just one match into the Steve Borthwick era. Four tries conceded against Scotland but moreover a collective disjointedness and the return of some familiar problems that will set alarm bells ringing.
Eddie Jones employed three defence coaches – Brett Hodgson’s briefest of tenures notwithstanding – in Paul Gustard, John Mitchell and Anthony Seibold. Each had their moments, Gustard’s on the 2016 tour of Australia while Mitchell’s messages seemed to be landing in late 2020 and Seibold can point to the third Test against the Wallabies last summer. But some of Scotland’s tries last Saturday exposed long-standing fault lines evident while Mitchell and Seibold were employed.
