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Plenty of water has flowed down the Seine since England were last at the Stade de France for the business end of the 2023 Rugby World Cup. Back then they came within a point of beating South Africa – the eventual champions – in the semi-final before winning the bronze final against Argentina the following Friday. Their gameplan may have been strictly limited but the outlook seemed rosy for Steve Borthwick’s side.
Now, almost 29 months later, England find themselves back at base camp. The rigid gameplan that was supposed to evolve to suit the players available has been increasingly rumbled and results have spiralled downwards. As their hosts France prepare to try to clinch back-to-back Six Nations titles for the first time since 2007, England will do well to avoid finishing in the bottom two.
On the evidence so far, the championship table does not lie. While France lost 50-40 in Scotland last Saturday, 24 tries in four games underlines their counterattacking threat. England, by contrast, have been significantly less ruthless in the opposition 22 but their body language has been speaking loudest. For whatever reason, English confidence has either dried up or is stuck on a container ship somewhere near the strait of Hormuz.
Which is why much hinges on this weekend’s 120th anniversary edition of Le Crunch. France are celebrating the occasion with a snazzy special-edition light-blue jersey and a spectacular Saturday night light show. After their deflating defeat in Scotland, Fabien Galthié has even taken his side away, as you do, to watch ballet rehearsals of Romeo and Juliet at Opéra Garnier. As bonding sessions go it certainly makes a change from a lock-in at The Frog & Rosbif.
And England? While their campaign to date has largely been a comedy of errors, maybe now is the time for the underfire Borthwick or his captain Maro Itoje to pick up their copies of Henry V and give the players the full eve-of-Agincourt exhortation. “He which hath no stomach to this fight, let him depart …” Alternatively, for those who prefer their Shakespearean inspiration in modern form, Borthwick’s England urgently need to rediscover their va-va-voom.
At least they no longer need to worry about the pressure of expectation. Even recent past players have been astounded by what they have witnessed in successive defeats by Scotland, Ireland and Italy. As their record cap-holder Ben Youngs lamented on the For The Love Of Rugby podcast: “Are we really going to accept losing to Italy? Really? Is that where we’re at? The players are better than that. With [our] central contracts, resources, players, coaches that should not be happening.”
Youngs, coincidentally, played his 127th and last game for England in that 2023 third-place playoff against the Pumas alongside eight of this weekend’s squad. If anyone should have a feel for the squad mood it is him. Unless, that is, you read Courtney Lawes’ thunderous column in this week’s Times. Under the headline “Time for sheltered TikTok dancers to show resilience. Kill or be killed”, the former national captain even publicly wondered if England’s younger players fully understand the brutal realities of Test rugby.
He was not specifically blaming Henry Pollock, Tommy Freeman, Freddie Steward and Fin Smith for recording a carefree TikTok dance during England’s winning run last November, merely stating that resilience under pressure has not been conspicuously evident lately. He feels similarly about the gameplan, which has shrunk in ambition to the point where poor old Lee Blackett’s attacking influence is barely visible.
Harsh, maybe, but what is the alternative response to recent events? Listening benevolently to the delusional tripe being spouted by one or two players? Watching France and Scotland rip it up and concluding that, tactically, they are barking up the wrong tree? No one is suggesting Borthwick is not a good technical coach but excessive pragmatism seems to have calcified English joints and clouded minds.
Some have stood up despite everything. Joe Heyes, Ben Earl, Alex Coles, Jamie George – without the latter’s stoic contribution, in particular, last weekend in Rome could have been messier still. Ollie Chessum made an impact off the bench and Freeman has rare ability. But even if Will Stuart, Fin Baxter, Tom Curry, Alex Mitchell and Manny Feyi-Waboso were all fit this weekend, would England be instantly reborn tactically and psychologically? Not if you listen to several sources.
It is now a decade since England last beat France across the Channel in a Six Nations duel. Since Borthwick became head coach, England have also lost all eight of their fixtures in Ireland, Scotland and France and, in total, five of their past six championship away matches. Last season’s breathless single-point win at home is still doing a lot of heavy lifting.
That day, not helped by a wet, greasy ball, France blew multiple first-half opportunities, allowing England to wriggle clear thanks to a finely worked late try by Elliot Daly. As Scotland proved last week, France are not entirely immune to mounting pressure but Les Bleus have so far racked up a minimum of 33 points in each of their four tournament games. Out wide, in Louis Bielle-Biarrey, they also have a scoring machine on the verge of becoming the first player to score a try in 10 successive Six Nations Tests.
If there is a sliver of English light it could lie in midfield, where Scotland had plenty of joy last week, and in the relative inexperience of France’s latest call-ups Temo Matiu and Joshua Brennan. However, as the latter pair are following in the studmarks of fathers who played Test rugby, for New Zealand and Ireland, it may equally help to inspire a resurgence of the compelling form that swept Ireland away on the tournament’s opening Thursday night.
How long ago that now feels. Even the championship trophy has since gone up in smoke, so severely damaged in a car fire that a replica will be handed to this year’s champions. That could yet be Ireland or even Scotland, should they score a rare win in Dublin, but both will still have to rely on England doing them a favour later on.
Is that vaguely feasible? Even taking into account this championship’s topsy-turvy nature anything less than a double-digit home win would be a surprise. Borthwick’s side, remember, were humbled 42-21 at home by an Irish team previously stuffed 36-14 by the French. But, hey, maybe their opponents will be distracted by star-crossed lovers and romantic balcony scenes and give England at least half a chance of rewriting the script. “We few, we happy few, we band of brothers …”
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