England aren't going to win anything playing boring rugby - Andy Goode

Steve Borthwick got his selection right against Italy but there has to be a mindset shift if England are to get fans out of their seats and be successful. Those two things go hand in hand as well because England aren’t going to win anything by playing boring rugby… and it was like going back to the nineties at times at Twickenham when it was all about the catch and drive.

That might sound odd coming from someone whose playing career was built around kicking to the corner and putting his forwards in good positions but the game has moved on significantly, especially at international level.

I understand the need to get a first win under your belt and go back to basics to a certain extent so it is tough to criticise Borthwick too much just yet, but he knows he has to hit the ground running and he definitely didn’t deliver the excitement he has talked about.

In fact, some people thought the most exciting thing on Sunday was James Haskell’s DJ set at half-time, which dropped out before his last tune, and the biggest cheer was for the cannon firing t-shirts into the crowd. A win’s a win but I actually think England played better rugby against Scotland. Four of the five tries came from lineouts – it was all about forward power and England lost the second half 14-12.

The most worrying aspect, though, was that the players’ first thought was always to kick the ball in behind when they did have a bit of possession. It even got to the stage where Ben Earl was receiving the ball in the second half and opting to go for a chip through.

It’s a clear hangover from the Eddie Jones regime when there seemed to be a kick first approach but if Borthwick wants to excite England fans, as he says he does, that isn’t the way to do it. There are dangerous backs who just aren’t being utilised. Ollie Lawrence had a really good game and has surely cemented his place at inside centre but Ollie Hassell-Collins had just two carries in the 54 minutes he was on the pitch.

On top of that, the game was crying out for Marcus Smith to come on with at least 20 minutes to go but that didn’t happen and when he did finally come on for eight minutes, Owen Farrell stayed on the pitch and it was Henry Slade who was replaced.

Farrell shouldn’t have to stay on because he is captain as there should be a leadership group around him with more than enough experience in there to step up and make decisions in his absence. Siya Kolisi often goes off early for South Africa and there are plenty of other examples.

Obviously, a head coach needs to be strong enough to take his skipper off if it’s for the good of the team and that doesn’t have to have major repercussions, but you have to be fluid enough to see what is unfolding and react to it.

England are blessed with a couple of fantastic fly-halves and there should be no issue with Borthwick starting Farrell and replacing him with Smith as the match wears on and giving him licence to exploit the spaces that are opening up.

Farrell and Smith are very different fly-halves but both have an excellent kicking game. They just don’t go to the boot as their first thought when they are in opposition territory for their clubs so why do they and those around them do it in an England shirt?

I don’t think it’s fear and it isn’t instinct so I think it has been coached into them. It would be strange if Borthwick was implementing a similar philosophy to Jones given everything he is saying in the media, so that has to be a major focus for England over the next week and a half.

The kicking game is vitally important and there were more kicks from hand from both sides in Ireland’s win over France, for example, but it’s about where those kicks occur and what the thinking behind them is.

Too many of England’s occurred when they had decent possession and were in Italy’s half and it contributed to a ball in play time of 37 minutes 36 seconds, lower than either of the other games in the Six Nations at the weekend.

France and Ireland are on a different level to England at the moment and their epic clash had a ball in play time of 46 minutes 10 seconds. That’s exciting and, given Borthwick’s predilection for statistics, that is what he should be aiming for.

He has not selected certain players because he has questioned their productivity or number of involvements and used numbers to back that up, so surely he has picked a group capable of playing with a high tempo.

Scotland deservedly won the Calcutta Cup last week but they did so in the final 10 minutes, so there wasn’t a chasm between the teams, before ripping Wales apart. England have the personnel to do the same on February 25, so it’s all about the game plan and mentality.

We have seen the news that Richard Wigglesworth is joining the coaching staff at the end of the season so it’s fair to question whether Nick Evans will be involved beyond this Six Nations, but there is no way the style of play we have seen from England so far is something he is happy with.

Maybe he needs to be given a bit more scope to implement his ideas but it’s the mindset that really needs to change and that is something that can be done very quickly. This isn’t a club job where you need a couple of years to get your feet under the table and get recruitment spot on. Borthwick does need time to mould the team and he will get it, but he has the players he wants and certain alterations can happen straight away.

He has talked the talk in terms of playing to players’ strengths and now we need to see him walk the walk by empowering them and allowing them to play with freedom and express themselves wherever possible in the cauldron of the Principality Stadium. England will need to front up in Cardiff and we have seen that they are capable of doing so, now we need to see that they have other strings to their bow as well.

Borthwick got selection right at the second time of asking against Italy, now the focus needs to shift to changing the mindset of the England players so they have the confidence to keep the ball in hand and play what is in front of them.