Six Nations: “England’s strong strategy let them down with defeat to Italy”

I didn’t enjoy my first few matches for England.

My debut came in 1995 and I started all four matches in the 1996 Five Nations Championship, which we won in the final.

Maybe I was living the dream, but it wasn’t fun to play.

Passing and kicking – I was under very clear and strict instructions.

My running game helped me gain international recognition, but I wasn’t able to express myself on the field.

As my confidence increased, I realized that going off script is not rebellion if done at the right time.

In fact, it has earned you more respect – if the decision is right – from the coaching staff.

Being brave enough to collectively say ‘Guys, we need to do X, Y and Z here to win’ is what I want from this England team.

I know I sound like a broken record, but only the player feels the game on the field.

England stuck to their heavy-kicking strategy in the 23-18 Six Nations defeat to Italy and it let them down.

Right on the stroke of half-time in Roma, Finn Smith took the ball off the script, bouncing to the blind side to find Tom Roebuck with a brilliant shot across the pitch for England’s try.

Would head coach Steve Borthwick have followed him into the changing room to play rugby? no.

Smith was brave and made the right decision under pressure.

This is the only major player decision that came to mind after Saturday’s historic defeat.

It’s difficult to list individuals who played poorly against Italy, it was just silly mistakes at crucial times.

Sam Underhill and Maro Itoje were both having good performances, but their yellow cards in the second half proved costly.

High tackles can happen from Underhill, but Itoje’s penalty was a rush of blood to the head and showed a lack of clear thinking.

That put England in a pressure position that they simply could not rise to in the final quarter.

Their ability to adapt to the changing picture in front of them has been a weakness throughout the tournament.

There was no urgency until the final stanza of play, when the shackles came off and Ollie Chisum broke loose.

The talent within this team is very evident, but they are performing below their potential.