VERONA, Italy (AP) — Embattled coach Steve Borthwick has defended his game plan amid England’s Six Nations nosedive and believes his players have buckled under expectations.
England entered the championship with title aspirations but consecutive defeats to Scotland, Ireland and Italy have shattered those hopes. England is fifth in the table and facing title-chasing France in Paris this Saturday in the final round. The visitor’s final placing is limited to fourth, fifth or last.
The historic first loss to Italy last weekend in Rome prompted Rugby Football Union chief executive Bill Sweeney the next day to give Borthwick a vote of confidence but only to the end of the July tour, while acknowledging the results were “hugely disappointing.”
Borthwick has been scorned for England’s kick-heavy approach, lack of ambition and leadership, sloppiness in front of the tryline and ill-discipline following a 12-test winning streak. He denied he was stifling creativity, saying instead the players were not taking his game plan from practices into the matches.
“There’s probably a slight misunderstanding about what our game plan is,” he said Tuesday. “With an international team, you have an overview, a structure of this is how we want to approach the different aspects of the game. And then we talk about the players bringing their points of difference.
“I think that the England shirt can, at times, weigh heavy. And I think we’ve worked exceptionally hard to try and alleviate that, to try and get the players to play fast rugby. I want the ball to move. I want them to be brave. And I talk about playing brave. I talk about playing big.
“In the last two or three weeks, there’s been times where the shirt looks like it’s weighed a bit heavy. We’re working on converting opportunities, and we’re all after the transfer from the training field into the test match arena.”
The statistics show England has been the second best team in attacks into the opposition 22, but the second worst team for points per entry. The defense has conceded the fewest entries into its own 22, but has allowed the most points per entry. England has been the worst team in conceding turnovers in the opposition 22, forced (5) and unforced (9) according to Opta. England scored seven tries in the opening win over Wales and has only seven tries since.
“I respect there’s lots of discussion around tactical plans,” Borthwick said. “I think it’s more about improving that incisiveness with our attack and getting over the tryline rather than any major overhaul being necessary.”
‘Need dogged determination and fire’
He also believed the players have been trying too hard, leading to ill-discipline and lack of composure; 32 penalties in the three defeats.
“What we need to do is ensure that at the time we need to show composure, we have that, and at the times when we need sheer dogged determination and fire, that we have it at those times as well,” he said.
“We’ve addressed the number of cards. Four games into this tournament now and we’ve got seven yellow cards and a red card. Effectively, for more than one of those games we’ve been playing with a man down, which adds an enormous load and gives the opposition more opportunity as well and makes it harder for us to make those opportunities.
“There’s a blend of different causes. It would be simple if it were always one thing.”
Borthwick also noted the spat during the Italy game when captain Maro Itoje discussed a penalty kick with Fin Smith then shouted at him, “Don’t argue with me, take the three.”
“For Fin Smith and for other players to be able to express their opinion and feel so passionate about having an opinion and what we need to do, I see that as a strength,” Borthwick said. “It’d be more worrying if players didn’t open their mouths, if players didn’t say anything. The clear thing is the captain always has final say.”
England has stayed in Verona since the Italy game. Borthwick named his side to face France on Tuesday and made only one alteration.
Ollie Chessum, at lock in the first three rounds, was picked on the blindside flank and Sam Underhill dropped to the bench. Underhill’s poaching ability has been replaced by Chessum’s ball-carrying and lineout option.
Borthwick’s loyalty has already burned him in this campaign. After the Scotland loss, he stayed faithful to the players and gave them another chance against Ireland. After that record defeat at Twickenham he made 12 changes for Italy, the most to any England side in the Six Nations era. He’s giving the losers to Italy another chance.
“We intend this week,” he said, “to ensure we’ve got 15 players on the pitch and we’re able to use the bench as effectively as we’ve previously done over the last 12 months.”
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