LONG READ Mick Cleary: 'England are not far off. But the margin is there. It’s palpable.'

Another day, another douleur. The pain was etched everywhere, notably at the post-match pitch-side inquest on the face of recently-retired England all-time good guy, Courtney Lawes, who faced the mother-of-all battles to make a convincing case as to why any of us should still believe in this set-up after such a wretched autumn. Lawes is a defender of the faith, understandably so perhaps given that he is so soon out of the Twickenham nest. He scrapped and ducked and weaved to make his point, as feisty and resistant as ever he was when in the shirt himself, but to no avail.

Instead it was the pointed views of another former Lion, Ugo Monye, that hit home. Monye refuses to accept the tired old mantra that things will inevitably get better as if elite sport were akin to a gentleman’s excuse-me where others will simply move out of your way to give you your turn on the dance floor. Tell that to Ireland and France who are England’s first two opponents in the 2025 Six Nations championship. It’ll take more than a few strident New Year’s resolutions to go into those fixtures with any degree of confidence.

Of course, England are not far off. But the margin is there. It’s palpable. It’s a differential of doom. It’s on the scoreboard and in the record books. Ireland held out against Argentina. France did so too against New Zealand. England did not. Not against the All Blacks. Not against Australia. And, more palpably, not against the Springboks who did not have to play particularly well for their victory. That’s the sum of it. These results should not be sugar-coated with ifs and buts and maybes. International sport is about the result. Nothing more. It’s why the stadium has been full to the rafters. That’s the unspoken deal between professional and spectator. We pay, you play.

Sure, you might forgive the occasional blip in exchange for a rousing performance. And, to be fair, the last three weekends have provided a decent day out. But how many England fans feel satisfied at this juncture? How many have trust in the management to deliver in the New Year and beyond? The RFU do, apparently. Steve Borthwick has never been a man for the spotlight, never prepared to be a performing seal in front of camera or microphone. Fair enough. But when he says that he is not going to reveal the content of what he deems ‘private conversations,’ between him and the RFU hierarchy he needs to be aware that the team is not his alone. It belongs to the public, as does the RFU to its members. They deserve better. They deserve disclosure. They deserve to know what lay behind the coaching fiasco that saw two top operators, Aled Walters and Felix Jones, leave so unexpectedly. They need reassurance as to why Joe El-Abd is the man to marshal England’s defence through to the next World Cup. Moyne called up a graphic on TNT Sports on Saturday evening detailing El-Abd’s current record at Oyonnax. It didn’t make for make for uplifting reading.

Once again, England gave up tries too easily, far too easily.

Once again, England gave up tries too easily, far too easily. The brilliance of the likes of Grant Williams and Cheslin Kolbe – so much for the ill-judged stereotype depiction of Springboks as all brawn and not much else  – is one thing and there is little doubt that such individual genius will breach the sternest of defences but the build-up to their opportunities was slack, flabby and unacceptable. So too the early charge-down on Jack van Poortvliet’s attempted clearance. And the small but costly hair-trigger throw of hooker, Luke Cowan-Dickie. The rushed kicks through at various times by Ollie Lawrence and Freddie Steward. The Leicester full-back did at least do as it says on the tin and rise high to catch most everything that came his way but his attacking capabilities are not those of George Furbank.

🤩 You just can’t keep him out of the game!

👏 Superstar Cheslin Kolbe works his magic against England once more. The @Springboks are now 9️⃣ points ahead!#AutumnNationsSeries pic.twitter.com/bz2znWOpHN

— Rugby on TNT Sports (@rugbyontnt) November 16, 2024

In many ways, Steward’s selection encapsulates England’s current predicament. As was once said of New Zealand cricketer, Bob Cunis, ‘neither one thing nor the other,’ England seem unsure of who they are and what they want to be. Do they blitz or do they drift? Do they play the boring percentages or do they go hell-for-leather?

England have small details to rectify – their guard defence is atrocious with Ellis Genge once again left exposed while their restart play, both contesting and receiving, is also markedly sub-standard but the nub of the matter is their identity. We know what the Springboks are, albeit they have added those magical attacking layers in recent years, so too New Zealand and Australia but we do not know what England want to be defined by. It used to be strong set-piece and clever, structured build-up. Post the miserable Scotland Six Nations loss, Borthwick’s team appeared to have had a cathartic moment and cleansed themselves of doubt and uncertainty and gone for broke. It worked.

At least the prospect of Smith leading the way into 2025 can put a smile on the faces of England fans. The debate as to who should wear the No 10 shirt has been well and truly settled.

And now? We don’t know. And, more crucially, they don’t appear to know. That is the consequence of defeats. Losses, even narrow ones, matter. They erode self-belief very quickly.

So much for the doom-laden ledger of account. Better that way then taking refuge in running the southern hemisphere close. (It would have been very interesting if England’s final fixture were against the Pumas rather than Japan which should be, even for a morale-battered England, a comfortable win). There were some upbeat moments. Once again, Marcus Smith, was in the box seat, organising, scheming, spotting chances, delivering appropriately. At least the prospect of Smith leading the way into 2025 can put a smile on the faces of England fans. The debate as to who should wear the No 10 shirt has been well and truly settled.

If only the same were true for the man inside him. Van Poortvliet’s display form made you wonder as to why Ben Spencer was dropped. Alex Mitchell’s return can’t come soon enough. As for the centre pairing – and few would have disputed their selections -they have been underwhelming, even though Slade wrapped around well for Ollie Sleightholme’s try. Time for Tommy Freeman to be given a try at centre?

Sam Underhill’s return to the colours was a boon. If only England could trade some of their stock of outstanding flankers for other positions. Underhill did as Underhill does – gritty, present, involved, taking his try well.

England are adrift when it matters, unable to react to what is happening around them.

There was an impassioned-looking huddle after the final whistle with Genge seeming to lay down the law. England need more of that when it really matters. Certainly their split-leadership system, with Jamie George routinely replaced around 50 minutes, does not appear to work. England are adrift when it matters, unable to react to what is happening around them.

Reacting to the mood of the moment now becomes of paramount important. Lawes was asked if this is ‘a crisis,’ for England. Not yet, perhaps. But who can state that with any real confidence?