England’s dramatic defeat in the Guinness Six Nations seemed to end their title hopes with two rounds remaining, but how did things go wrong so quickly?
Was Borthwick overconfident?
Before the tournament, England manager Steve Borthwick set his sights on advancing to the championship match in Round 5 against France.
“We want to go into Paris on March 14th in a position to achieve what we are all trying to achieve,” he said in January.
“We want England fans flocking across the Channel to Paris to watch our big final round clash as an opportunity to achieve what we want.”
But successive defeats to Scotland and Ireland dashed those hopes, leaving England struggling to avoid their worst-ever Six Nations performance.
Mr Borthwick appeared virtually untouchable two weeks ago after masterminding victory in 2025, but now his position has come under fresh scrutiny.
Jones questions Borthwick’s thinking.
Eddie Jones criticized Borthwick’s decision to speak publicly about potential title deciders before the tournament began.
“Going back to the beginning of the Six Nations, I think Steve made some very uncharacteristic comments about the title decider against France looking ahead,” Jones said on the Rugby Unity podcast.
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James Cole reports on England’s heavy defeat to Ireland at Twickenham in the Six Nations
“Steve is the most pragmatic and intelligent coach I’ve ever met, but looking ahead to any team can be dangerous.”
Mr Jones suggested pressure from above in the Rugby Football Union may have influenced Mr Borthwick’s unusually bullish tone.
“The union wants to seduce the fans, because the fans are all hungry for money. So be bold and come out. Someone told him to do it.”
Maro Itoje, Ellis Genge and Luke Cowan-Dickie watch England lose to Ireland.
“The players are reading everything… They hear it and say, ‘I have to get a ticket to France. Where are we going to stay? Where are we going to have dinner the night before?’
“All those things happen, and it creates a little bit of a psychological shift within the team, which means they start looking ahead.”
With a match against a grown-up Italy and a trip to Grand Slam-chasing France still underway, England need to respond. A loss to the Azzurri for the first time, or a slump to their lowest ever result, would further strengthen doubts about the longevity of the Borthwick project.
England’s winning streak to be reevaluated
Consecutive defeats to Scotland and Ireland not only exposed England’s title aspirations but also shook the foundations of this resurgence under Borthwick.
The assessment of the 12th Test victory, which ended at Murrayfield, is now being reviewed, with growing views that the run may have given a misleading picture of England’s progress.
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Steve Borthwick and Maro Itoje, who will be speaking in December, discuss their aspirations for the 2027 World Cup
With wins against France, Australia and New Zealand all confirmed on home soil at the Allianz Stadium, South Africa and Ireland failing to meet during their winning streaks and the only notable away win coming on the Argentina trip, have England gotten ahead of themselves?
Is Ford fighting for the future of the flyhalf?
Few players have risen from the ashes of Twickenham with their reputations intact, and George Ford was not one of them.
The 32-year-old missed two penalties in the early stages of the game when England were still in the lead, drawing jeers and sarcastic cheers from fans when he eventually kicked the ball into the stands.
George Ford’s position has come under scrutiny during the Six Nations
Combined with the predictable and ineffective kicking strategies that plagued England against Scotland and Ireland, Ford’s hitherto untouchable status as Borthwick’s first-choice fly-half came under scrutiny.
It took Marcus Smith just a few minutes to outweigh Ford’s impact, sending Fraser Dingwall home with a lifeline goal just before half-time.
And with Finn Smith waiting patiently on the wing, calls for the Northampton fly-half to return to the starting XI and shake up England’s backline are growing louder.
Borthwick’s loyalty is tested
Post-mortem analysis will be a harrowing process, as so many aspects of England’s game were disastrous, and the misfire can only be explained by the psychology of the team going into the game.
Head coach Borthwick stressed the importance of supporting underperforming teams following the Calcutta Cup debacle.
But his loyalty to the likes of Luke Cowan-Dickie, Freddie Steward and Henry Arundel has been seriously tested and may have reached its limit.
His team selection for Matchday 4 against Italy will give an interesting insight into Borthwick’s next course of action. Will he stick around and stay loyal, or will he twist and shake things up?
England 2026 Six Nations fixtures
always UK and Ireland
England 48-7 Wales (Saturday 7 February) – Allianz Stadium, Twickenham Scotland 31-20 England (Saturday 14 February) – Murrayfield England 21-42 Ireland (Saturday 21 February) – Allianz Stadium, Twickenham vs Italy (Saturday 7 March) – Stadio Olimpico, Rome (4.40pm) vs France (Saturday 14th March) – Stade de France, Paris (8:10pm)
