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The reason given by Steve Borthwick for latest England setback
By PA
Steve Borthwick pointed to England’s relative inexperience as he defended recent results following a 27-22 loss to “world-class” Ireland in his side’s Guinness Six Nations opener. Back-to-back champions Ireland increased pressure on rival head coach Borthwick after tries from Jamison Gibson-Park, Bundee Aki, Tadhg Beirne and Dan Sheehan secured a comeback, bonus-point success in Dublin.
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Borthwick’s gamble to go with a fleet-footed back row was on course to pay off at the Aviva Stadium when his side led 10-5 at the end of a largely positive first half in which Marcus Smith was sin-binned. But, despite debutant Cadan Murley claiming an early try and late consolations from Tom Curry and Tommy Freeman, a pair of victories over Japan are England’s only successes in their last nine outings.
“If you look at today’s game, you see two different teams,” said Borthwick. “You have seen an Ireland team that has been together such a huge amount of time, nearly 1,200 caps, and you have seen an England team that has been building over the last six months, with just over half that number of caps.
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“If you watched that at the start of the game, you would be saying you don’t see that difference. You see an England team that wants to play aggressively with the ball, wants to move the ball, and we took a step forward in that attack.
“We want to win every game and we didn’t today and we are disappointed by that. But there are elements we will take and build that show the progress of this team over the last 10 days in the training camp.”
England, Rugby World Cup semi-finalists in 2023, lost seven of 12 Tests during a disappointing 2024. Borthwick sprung a selection surprise on the back of an unsuccessful autumn by naming twin brothers Tom and Ben Curry either side of Ben Earl in a mobile back row.
Ireland were subsequently stifled for large periods before decisively taking control of the contest in the third quarter, prior to Tom Curry and Freeman securing a losing bonus point for England ahead of next weekend’s crunch Twickenham clash against France.
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“From the messages I have already received, you have seen a team that is starting to really develop how we want to move the ball, really develop how we want to attack, and you saw a team that worked exceptionally hard for each other,” said Borthwick.
“Ireland are a world-class team and have been world-class for so long. Ultimately, that experience told in the third quarter, where I thought tactically they played really well. That allowed them to get the scoreboard pressure that we wouldn’t claw back.”
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My team is Ireland but fair play to England for putting up a fight. It is sport and we want to be entertained. In my opinion both teams delivered and every player, coach assistant and referee deserves a round of applause. The young lads from England put in a spirited effort against a very experienced Irish team. I think the English lads deserve respect for that.
Borthwick the king of excuses.
This is not a team of rookies that he has just taken over. He has been the coach for 2 years and this is his 3rd 6 Nations. Any lack of development and experience is now solely down to him.
Lose to France next week he's gone.
France and Dupont are going to pump England next week. 15 points or more.
And the noise to sack Borthwick will get louder. But I suspect he’s not going anywhere until the end of this 6 Nations.
If you think Ireland could cut Englands exhausted defence apart…
France will be sending bombs up field all night long too. Their kicking game is 👌
Must have been the Springboks fault. England have simply lost the plot. Still my Betfair bet was safe.
how was it the springboks fault?
I have just a question or two or more to Dan Tobin, physio coach, when Steve Borthwick said to the media: "“Dan is an outstanding S&C coach, who has a wealth of rugby experience and a proven track record in maximising the physical performance of his players and helping them reach their full potential,". Oooookay, so we see... Someone thought to say to him that it would be for both game halves ?
He's been with the team for like a couple of weeks or something. Might be a bit early to blame the new S&C coach for England not being fit enough...
England did fall away pretty hard but they also did a lot more defending than Ireland. If they were able to get the ball and/or kick it away less in the first half they wouldn't have gassed so hard.
I never moan about referees out loud - there’s no point. Sometimes you get the rub of the green, sometimes you don’t. But it’s becoming increasingly difficult with O’Keefe. He made some baffling calls tonight. As a neutral I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything like it
I don't think refs should be above all criticism. At the end of the day they are professionals doing a job at an elite level and they do need to perform to a high standard. That said, any criticism has to be constructive and respectful.
Oddly I've seen a few Irish fans on here claiming we had a 16th man etc which is disrespectful, puerile and honestly didn't seem to reflect reality. England had several bad calls go against them. The better team won though so ultimately didn't matter.
"I never moan about referees out loud - there’s no point."
should've stopped there.
Have england ever won a game with Ben O' Keefe as referee? Just asking.
have England ever won a game with Marcus Smith as starting 10?
It doesn't matter how much more experience Ireland has when a lot of their players are nearing retirement age. Inexperience did not cost England the game, it was poor coaching, ill-discipline, and weak defence per usual. Borthwick will use any excuse. How much longer does his nation want to hear about the team developing before they pull the plug on his tenure? This is just Eddie Jones 2.0.
Yeah, it did. In both respects. They fell off a click again like against SA and Ireland were just masterful in turning it around.
All down to experience.
Haha why don't you just do an Eddie 2.0? Oh, thats right, because it wouldn't be 2.0 at all! More like 5.0 LOL