AI was surprised by Steve Borthwick’s honesty when he said he felt the pressure of the England shirt was heavy on his players, and based on the evidence of Scotland’s failure, I agree with him. Sometimes it looks like players get into trouble after making mistakes, which is usually a sign of what’s going on mentally when you start making more mistakes.
It’s not easy to figure out why, because when good players come into training camp in good shape and after impressive seasons, like so many on this team, you’d expect that. A jersey would elevate them because they’re surrounded by the best players and best coaches in the country, but the jersey seems to keep weakening them. Hopefully if things start to go bad again, they have the necessary coping mechanisms in place.
I look back at my time playing for England and I wouldn’t say the kit was heavy, we just weren’t good enough. I look at this group of players individually and find that their quality is good enough for the level Ireland are currently at. It’s about unlocking that potential. In my time we didn’t play to the best of our abilities but even if we did there were a lot of teams that were better than us.
England’s stamina and resilience will need to be strengthened as against Scotland there was only one team for the first 20 minutes. Suddenly Duhan van der Merwe scored and England failed to recover after half-time. They need to learn to persevere in those moments, but they don’t have the mental or physical stamina to stick to the game plan.
They have to be able to stay in the game for longer periods of time, not just in the opening frame. Ultimately, how your team plays and performs reflects your preparation in training. All players and coaches will tell you this. If England perform well this weekend, win and get some really good results, they will say it’s down to the great job they’ve done this week. So if they perform poorly and look fragile, the same should apply, then something must be missing.
There is no doubt that England will be under a lot of pressure this weekend. I’m not talking about the external noise, but the actual impact that Ireland will have. Coping with and enduring long periods of pressure is the first thing they need to show in terms of progressing from the Scotland defeat.
They need to achieve the same idea when they have the ball. Against Scotland, when they managed to turn the ball over, there might be one or two players who came alive, but there were probably five or six sitting in the pocket waiting for the kick. What a wasted opportunity.
They need the same thrill, which is why I like the choice of Emmanuel Faye-Waboso. You know what he brings to the table, he’s so dynamic, elusive and powerful. When he gets the ball in space, you’d be stupid if you don’t anticipate him doing something that collectively comes alive.
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Lately I feel England are at a critical moment in terms of their game plan. They have stuck to the approach that won them bronze last year – a pragmatic approach – while working hard to develop. Inevitably, when they are faced with stress, muscle memory naturally kicks in and they revert to what they are familiar with. They want to be a better offensive team, an offense-first team, so they need to get past that bite. Once England have that clarity and are no longer stuck in the past, they will look more coherent.
Against Ireland one might be tempted to return to the form that almost worked against South Africa in the World Cup. But I really hope they won’t. They shouldn’t waste the game. Why not stress-test the game plan and tactics you think will carry this team forward for years to come against a good team this weekend?
This is an opportunity to see where this game plan can take you, and then you can analyze it properly. If you don’t have a lot of evidence, you’ll never know. You have to learn – sometimes you fail, but you have to stress test it.
