England were beaten 29-23 by Scotland in their opening game of the Six Nations before beating Italy 31-14 on Sunday; Steve Borthwick wants to eradicate the problems before matches against Wales, Ireland and France before the World Cup later this year.
Last update: 02/13/23 23:23
Steve Borthwick has led England to a win and a loss in their first two games.
Steve Borthwick will urgently investigate England’s habit of fading that has been evident in his two games in charge, knowing it could leave his players regretting it.
England squandered a 20-12 lead with half an hour remaining in their opening Guinness Six Nations match against Scotland and were also a point ahead heading into the final 10 minutes, before eventually falling 29-23.
Borthwick’s side also lost the second half 14-12 against Italy, with tension hanging in the Twickenham air until Henry Arundell produced a slippery finish in the 71st minute to quell the Azzurri uprising.
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England head coach Steve Borthwick speaks after his team beat Italy at Twickenham in the Six Nations
England face a tense trip to Cardiff followed by clashes with the world’s two best teams in France and Ireland, with Borthwick making it a priority to identify why they are vulnerable in the second half.
“With eight points up, I would expect to win that game against Scotland,” said Borthwick, who replaced the sacked Eddie Jones in December. “There was another point where we were four points up and we let it go.
“As we go forward with this team, as we train and understand, we’ll look at those things very thoroughly so we don’t let those opportunities slip by. You can’t turn back the clock. I’ve talked about my regrets as a player and I don’t want these players to have any regrets.
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Sky Sports News’ James Cole looks at Steve Borthwick’s selection decisions for his first Six Nations team as England head coach, and a surprise move for his predecessor Eddie Jones
“We let one slip away against Scotland and we made sure to report it fully to learn from it. Against Italy, there was a period late in the game where we let the momentum slip away from us. I really need to understand why it happened and how it happened.
“We can’t keep allowing teams to have momentum at the end of games against us. Clearly we let Italy get out of their half, which is exactly what happened against Scotland. Systems take time.”
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2003 World Cup winner Ben Cohen feels Steve Borthwick and England have a lot of work to do as they continue their World Cup preparations.
England ‘a bit behind’ Ireland and France
The day before England’s pack intimidated their Italian counterparts, Ireland and France met in a seismic clash for the title in Dublin that had a playing time of 46 minutes.
Andy Farrell’s men came out on top and are poised to reach the World Cup later this year as the number one ranked team in the world game, while France have the talent to ensure the setback is only temporary.
Ireland claimed a 32-19 victory over France in Dublin on Saturday.
“It was an unbelievable test match,” Borthwick said, having watched the match. “The standard of those teams is phenomenal. If you can use this four-year cycle really well, you should be in a good place right now and they are. If you look at them, they’re strong. We’re a little bit behind them.”
“I can’t say how much, but we’re behind them. I can’t do anything about where they are, but we’re going to work very hard to catch up with them as fast as we can.”
Borthwick inherited a team that endured a dismal 2022, resulting in Jones’ ouster as head coach, and he insists there is no fast track to success.
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Will Greenwood says more time and work is needed for Steve Borthwick to improve the overall quality of his side
“We’re going to do the best we can to be as good as we can be. This is a rebuilding process,” he said. “I have a feeling that people recognize that this is a rebuild, I have a feeling that they recognize that there is a lot to do here and that we need to develop some strengths here.
“The players have been through a difficult time and I ask them to do things in a different way and to go out on the pitch and bring their strengths to the table. I felt that against Italy they started to embrace that. Last week there was a reluctance to really jump in right away. That’s what I want them to do.”
Whats Next?
England will travel to Cardiff on Saturday 25 February to face a Welsh who have not yet achieved a victory in this year’s championship (4:45 pm). For Italy, a home clash against Grand Slam hopefuls awaits Ireland (2:15 p.m.).