England faces tough review after Six Nations collapse
George Ford has vowed that England will conduct an unflinching review of their dismal performance following the collapse of their Six Nations championship aspirations after just three matches, reports BritPanorama.
The fly-half acknowledged the team must understand what went wrong before they face Italy and France in the tournament’s concluding fixtures. Saturday’s defeat exposed fundamental problems throughout the squad, with Ford making clear that no aspect of the performance would escape scrutiny as the coaching staff seek answers ahead of their remaining commitments.
Ireland delivered a devastating blow to English ambitions with a historic 42-21 triumph at Allianz Stadium, setting a new record margin of victory in the fixture. This humiliation arrived merely seven days after Scotland wrested the Calcutta Cup from England in another comprehensive defeat, despite both opponents sitting below them in world rankings.
The scale of England’s dysfunction was laid bare by a remarkable 24 turnovers during Saturday’s match, a damning figure that encapsulated the team’s complete breakdown across all areas of play. The fly-half said: “You’ve got two options – you either beat around the bush a little bit and avoid things or you get to be properly honest and pick it to pieces. We’re going to be part of some uncomfortable meetings and some uncomfortable reviews, which will be a positive in the end because we actually want to address things and get to the root of some of the problems and come up with some solutions.”
Few players emerged from the wreckage at Twickenham with their reputations intact, and Ford was not among them after two penalties failed to find touch early in the match when England were still in contention. Within half an hour, Ireland were 22-0 ahead and the rudderless hosts looked broken, making crucial errors. Ford then drew sarcastic cheers from fans when he did eventually boot the ball into the stands.
Ford said: “There were a couple to touch, the first one I tried to be aggressive and go for it and I got that one wrong. I actually thought for the second one that I punched it into the five-metre line and obviously they thought it went the other side of the flag. Look, it happens. It’s not good, it’s not acceptable to do that, but stuff like that happens in sport, in games and it’s not for a lack of intent or endeavour.”
On successive weekends, England have been blown away in the first half, placing an urgency on finding out why they are starting so slowly. “We’ve got to get to the bottom of it. It’s clearly not good enough. In the first 15-20 minutes in a Test match you want to at least give yourselves a foothold in the game,” Ford remarked. He acknowledged, “It’s obviously not good enough – the last two results and performances – and we’re going to front that up. What we’re going to do going forward isn’t going to be due to a lack of endeavour to get better and fix it. Hopefully propel ourselves on again.”
The road ahead for England’s rugby team appears daunting, with stark challenges ahead demanding introspection and resilience. With every setback, the stakes heighten — not just for results, but for the future identity of England rugby itself.
