Six Nations 2026: Steve Borthwick – The numbers behind the England manager’s nightmare

Distrust. Lots of kicking. Shirt weight.

All of these have been used plausibly to explain England’s sudden decline, but the simple fact remains that Test rugby is an unforgiving arena, especially in a highly competitive Six Nations campaign.

It becomes more difficult when you have fewer players on the field than the opponent.

As the hour ticked down at the Olympic Stadium, England had an eight-point lead against a 14-man Italy side.

But after 15 minutes, England were five points down on the scoreboard with two of their players in the foul basket.

Borthwick said that the two yellow cards received by Sam Underhill and captain Maro Itoje “caused us great damage” in the latest examples of the lack of discipline that has harmed the English championship and made it more vulnerable to widespread attacks.

England have received at least two cards in every match so far. They played 108 minutes – the equivalent of more than five quarters of rugby – with 14 men.

Discipline was particularly poor at the breakdown, with half of the 44 penalties England conceded coming in exactly this area.

Another yellow card against France this weekend would equal the record for cards in the entire men’s Six Nations era.