Matt Dawson’s column: The World Cup winner discusses England’s record home defeat to Ireland

Remember two years ago when England were going to lose by 40 points at home to Ireland?

The narrative in this tournament rarely goes as expected. Teams overperform and sides crack under pressure. This is the beauty of the Six Nations.

What was predicted to happen in 2024 never happened. Instead, England stunned Grand Slam-chasing Ireland by winning the last leg of the match 23-22.

This continued for two years, when expectations were much lower, and Ireland achieved that record away win.

Andy Farrell’s side arrived with the mentality of a historic win, bringing the tactics and precision needed to achieve victory.

The 21-point lead at Allianz Stadium comes down to tactics and decision-making. England made a large number of errors, mainly because they tried to play the match like a game of chess.

The problem with doing this is that they couldn’t change the way they wanted to play.

Farrell has won the tactical battle between coaches Andy Farrell and Steve Borthwick, but England need players on the field capable of changing tactics as they go.

They struggled to stick to the script Borthwick asked of them, with no changes being made at half-time.

Given the talent and the winning streak, I would have expected England to cope better.

Why do teams play at such a high pace against them? Because England is good.

They seemed to think that no other team could replicate Scotland’s attacking style from last week.

It was very different from England, but that’s what happens when you get nervous.

They lacked the Lions’ big-time mentality to get out of tough situations. Over the past two weeks, where have these decision makers been?

The defense and offense needed to adjust in the first quarter. They waited 40 minutes and received 22 points.

England have good leadership, but Maro Itoje – who will only improve with more minutes under his belt – can’t do it all alone.

He wants the leaders around him to step up to their roles, especially since he’s not finishing games at the moment.

Someone like Ollie Chessum could come forward with an idea on how to fix the line. Freddie Steward, who can see the game going from behind, can provide information about where the space is to attack.

The team has not changed since 12 matches in which it won. They are a group of very good rugby players.

Ellis Genge was honest and brave in his assessment, but I don’t feel let down by England.