Despite a huge upswing in performance against France, the head coach still has a case to answer for what went wrong in the Six Nations
Did England play like that because of Steve Borthwick or in spite of him? For all that the Rugby Football Union will deep dive, look under the bonnet, get into the weeds – pick your own favourite bit of corporate speak – it is the fundamental question that Bill Sweeney and his review panel must ask in the coming weeks. Did Borthwick liberate his players against France, or did they take matters into their own hands?
As usual, the panel will include input from Sweeney and Conor O’Shea as well as those from outside the building who insist on anonymity. It is said that despite the huge upswing in performance in defeat against France, the RFU is still determined to establish what went wrong during this Six Nations. That is a positive sign because when the dust settles, this still goes down as their worst-ever championship. The noises coming from the RFU suggest that they will not be blinded by the razzle-dazzle in Paris, that Borthwick still has a case to answer.
A memo for Sweeney: do not drown in a deluge of data, do not get bogged down in too much detail. Address England’s desperate discipline, scrutinise Richard Wigglesworth’s role as coach of a porous defence, the absence of clear thinking in the final minute, but do not conclude that improvements in “lower body strength and appropriate skill modifications” are needed to resolve breakdown indiscipline, as was bizarrely the case in 2021. Instead, Sweeney must assess what was behind the renewed approach against France, and what will ensure England stick to it in the future.
