Henry Pollock made his first start for England this afternoon as they lost 42-21 to Ireland in the Six Nations, realistically ending their hopes of lifting the trophy in March.
Steve Borthwick’s side were considered by many as favourites for the competition before a ball was kicked, with it expected that they would be squaring off with France in the final game for the Grand Slam.
However, things have not panned out this way, as they first lost to Scotland in the Calcutta Cup before losing to Andy Farrell’s side this weekend in Twickenham.
The feeling around the England fanbase does not appear to be positive, as there have been calls for George Ford to be dropped and for Borthwick to be removed from his position as head coach.
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Two weeks ago, it felt like nothing could stop England, with many saying that the only side that could stop them was South Africa, the current world champions.
Pollock has captured the feeling around the England team perfectly with his post to his Instagram story in one word.
He said: “Gutted.”
While fellow teammate Ellis Genge apologised to the England fans when he spoke to BBC Sport after the match.
He said: “There is no mountain to climb after that, and everyone has to take a look at themselves. No one knows what the answer is right now, or we would have sorted it out.
“It opened up scar tissue from last week. We have to be better at managing that period and stop turning the ball over.
“It’s brutal, professional sport because if you get five per cent wrong, it’s gone. We probably believed the hype from the first week too much. We can’t let the noise in now.
“Sorry to the fans, you have been outstanding; we have let everyone down. Apologies for that, but I promise we will make it better. We are going to go away and work as hard as we can to go away and rectify things.”
Topics: Rugby, Rugby Union
Brendan McGilligan