Relegated to attending someone else’s party, the sting of another substandard Six Nations was etched all over the England players’ faces.
The ticker tape filled Dublin’s Aviva Stadium air, as Ireland’s Grand Slam-winners belted out Gala’s Freed From Desire; on top of the rugby world in both rankings and spirit.
Jamie George’s wan expression undercut a face as red from frustration as the abrasions of Saturday’s relentless 29-16 defeat. Ellis Genge stood unmoved, arms folded, until Ireland’s trophy presentations were complete.
As soon as Ireland’s players started their victory lap, England exited stage left. Like the overawed teenager who does not know anyone at a house party, England had hung around the kitchen trying to look cool, before slinking off and hoping no one would realise.
England’s post-match attitude bears retelling, not for the respect shown in marking Ireland’s Grand Slam achievement but, instead, as a cautionary tale. This is an experience head coach Steve Borthwick’s players do not want to go through again.
So, by forcing themselves to confront whatever feelings of frustration and resentment in the shape of that Irish trophy lift, the theory goes it will spur them on still further to avoid any future repeat. England face a Herculean labour in that regard. A third Six Nations in a row with just two wins is nowhere near good enough for the world’s richest union.
Money alone does not generate power in rugby, however, and the schisms in England’s professional system continue to hinder the Test team. Ireland have cracked the professional code, generating a symbiotic relationship from provinces to national team.
The Irish Union are in charge of the whole set-up, and that top-down approach has helped yield one of the best-prepared and up-skilled groups of players on the planet. England’s constant Union versus clubs tussle is light years ahead of some dark days of the past, but greater fluency between the RFU and the Premiership is the only route back to Test success.
England improved markedly from their record home hammering by France the previous weekend for Saturday’s comprehensive defeat by Ireland at a rocking Aviva Stadium, yet Borthwick’s men were still not all that close to their hosts.
A third Six Nations in a row with just two wins is nowhere near good enough for the world’s richest union
Borthwick has benchmarked Ireland’s standard for the autumn’s World Cup, fully believing the preparatory camps will be enough time to have his players competitive at the tournament in France. He knows England have to improve ahead of their rivals’ steep curve, though, and, in truth, perhaps that will be the sticking point.
England cannot cram a four-year preparatory World Cup cycle into nine months and expect to ace the Webb Ellis Cup exam. The brutal reality is that provided England show improvement, progress and clear, incisive strategy, then Borthwick should be backed until the 2027 World Cup, almost whatever happens in France.
A classic ‘within-reason’ caveat must apply, in case of abject failure, but anything remotely resembling par this autumn, and the RFU must let Borthwick build for the long run. England know their conditioning is well short of elite Test standard, but that did improve across the course of the Six Nations.
The World Cup preparation camps will allow them at least to be competitive in this area. The biggest challenge now, however, is for England to fix their attack.
Borthwick’s men did not make a single line break in Dublin, and that despite seeing a lot of the ball, especially in the first half. This is an alarming statistic. The fix has to start at the ruck. England improved their ruck speed impressively at the top of the tournament, but the next developmental phase here must be efficiency and breakdown strategy.
Ireland are the masters of low-numbers rucking, while maintaining control. The effect not only puts more bodies in the attacking line, but also reduces fatigue in possession. The crux of the approach revolves around immediate arrival upon a tackle situation, and then a masterful entry point.
Ireland’s ruckers enter from the back foot, then splay a hip going through, allowing one attacker to remove two defenders. Set that chain reaction in motion and line breaks do not need to be powerhouse carries through a packed midfield. The World Cup clock is ticking — and England must rally their dominoes if they are to have any hope in France.
