Six Nations 2026: England coach Steve Borthwick on defeats to Scotland and Ireland

What went wrong for England in these Six Nations?

That is the obvious question to ask after two agonizing defeats that ended any prospect of a first title since 2020.

However, every English fan can see what has gone wrong for Steve Borthwick’s side: they are not scoring enough points and conceding too many points.

The aerial game is not working, and players who have been calm and precise during a 12-game winning streak are making consistent and unusual errors – whether in decision-making, discipline or skill execution.

So instead of asking what went wrong, the question is: Why did it go wrong? How will England correct matters against Italy and France during the next two rounds?

Sitting in the unseasonably warm February sunshine at the team’s Bagshot training base, head coach Steve Borthwick was in a relaxed but defiant mood as he tried to offer some answers – and some solutions – to England’s worrying decline.

The England coach highlighted three areas in which his side exposed themselves against Ireland in their record 42-21 loss in London – profligacy in the opposition 22, giving away the ball to the Irish and, perhaps most glaringly, a lack of physicality.

“We had a lot of chances to score in the first 20 minutes. And if you don’t take your chances in a Test rugby match, it can be very tough,” Borthwick explained.

“Secondly, we passed too many balls, creating disorganized opportunities for Ireland to attack from, which made it very difficult to defend. So we put ourselves in a weak position.

“And thirdly, and perhaps most importantly, the intensity that has become a trademark of the team, was not at the level we set ourselves.”

For Borthwick, the three are interconnected. Failure to apply pressure on the scoreboard created a snowball effect and the game quickly became out of reach. Physically, England were slow in thought and action.

He added: “We failed to take advantage of those opportunities, and the competitors are taking advantage of the opportunities, and suddenly there is pressure on the scoreboard against you.”

“This is clearly an area of ​​development for us.”

But how do you fix this? There was an expectation that England, reeling from the defeat in the Calcutta Cup, would make amends against Ireland. Instead, the opposite happened.

Borthwick pledged to raise the team’s level in training to prepare the group for the confrontation in Rome, with a focus on enhancing their offensive capabilities in opposition areas.

“We have discussed all aspects of preparation with the players. We need to go further with what we are doing in training, and how hard we are training. I believe we can go further.” [in training]He said.

“We need to be more clinical and there are multiple factors [when it comes to finishing chances]. There is a combination of the physicality required in the collision zone, with the composure you need to make those key decisions at the right time.

“We will make sure we put players in those positions as much as possible to ensure we get improvement.”