In England’s national sporting psyche there is a special place reserved for the gallant loser. At times it can feel a little schmaltzy, a touch indulgent. To be beaten but unbowed is a romantic notion though one that can also suggest a certain nobility when the cold, hard facts point to a definitive defeat.
Leaving a frazzled Twickenham late on Saturday night you could not help but wonder whether the heroic nature of such a defeat was overblown or if the plaudits heading England’s way were justified after resisting Ireland for so long with 14 men, before two late tries broke their spirit. Maybe Ellis Genge summed it up best when writing on social media: “Not a fan of the old brave losers vibe but I think circumstances probably warrant that.”
Part of the problem is that this was supposed to be a defining match for Eddie Jones’s New England project. Victory would have kept them in the hunt for the Six Nations title, defeat would put them out of contention and clamours for Jones to go would resurface. It is one of the vagaries of sport that England suffered their heaviest ever Twickenham loss under Jones and their biggest margin of defeat by Ireland at home, yet emerge from it in considerable credit.
Much of that credit is warranted, but England did not show us a great deal we did not already know. They displayed character, resilience and heart by the bucketload but should they not be prerequisites at this level? Maro Itoje and Genge stiffened the sinews and summoned up the blood, but the former would walk into any Test side in the world and the latter has slowly but surely been developing into one of England’s most consistent players this season. Clearly there is a togetherness about this side but that has been evident for a while now.
It should also be noted that while Charlie Ewels’ red card was unprecedented in how early it arrived – and the premature departures of Tom Curry and Kyle Sinckler through injury compounded matters – matches have been won by teams going down to 14 men before. Only last year Ireland lost Peter O’Mahony to a red card after only14 minutes in Cardiff, claimed a losing bonus point and had Wales clinging on at the death. England, however, never looked like scoring a try. They have managed only seven in four matches and Marcus Smith has ended with all their points in two of them.
Jones suggested afterwards that his side’s performance will bode well for next year’s World Cup, but there is a fair chance England will finish the Six Nations in fifth place again. Repeating their showing in Paris would certainly help but reaching emotional intensity like that in consecutive weeks is no easy feat and as Jones acknowledged afterwards: “If we had the secret potion for that, we’d use it all the time,” before adding: “When you’ve got good spirit you can find it. No one knows the limits of human endeavour, so we intend to find it.”
Defeat against the grand‑slam chasing French would mean England again finish the tournament with just two victories, one of which was against Italy, and the ledger will not record their character or resilience on Saturday – the history books will record only a 17-point defeat at home. “We’ve taken massive steps forward,” insisted Jones. “I can’t see how we haven’t progressed the way we want to progress. Obviously our aim was to win the championship.
“We’re disappointed we haven’t won the championship, but sometimes circumstances mean that maybe the results don’t mimic the performance. But that certainly catches up – the results will catch up.”
As much as Jones talks of progression, he billed this as a semi-final and talked of how Ireland would be met with a wave of physicality they had not seen before. Perhaps Ewels was a little too fired up as a result. “In 18 months’ time, if the same circumstances were to happen in the game, would we lose in the last 15 minutes or would we be able to carry it through for the whole 80?” wondered Itoje, but it would be hard to see anything but another England defeat given how deep they dug in vain on Saturday.
Ultimately, there remain question marks around this side, a sense that the potential is there but an uncertainty as to whether it will be realised. The scrum dominance is an obvious positive but Jones says he wants to marry an old-fashioned England pack with a new-look attack and, though there were mitigating circumstances, certainly the latter was not on show against Ireland.
Maybe, though, this was one of those occasions that does not need to be put into context. Twickenham built to a climax last November when South Africa were in town but the roof was raised on Saturday. That Itoje’s kick-chase and subsequent flattening of Johnny Sexton produced the loudest cheer of the night only goes to show that this was no ordinary contest. It seems remarkable to think that, only 12 months ago, these matches were being played out in empty stadiums.
The inquest into another trophyless Six Nations for England is on hold for a week but they contributed to sporting theatre in its purest form. For now, that is something to celebrate.
