England are preparing to face Italy in the Six Nations this weekend in Rome, with it set to be key for the future of Steve Borthwick as head coach.
Defeats to both Ireland and Scotland in the previous two rounds of the competition have raised serious questions around this English side, despite a winning run of 12 games heading into the Calcutta Cup fixture.
While a loss can happen to any sports team without there being much for fans to be concerned about, it is the manner in which they suffered the defeats that has raised alarm bells.
Borthwick knows he will be under serious pressure should he suffer England’s first-ever defeat to Italy and then lose the final match to France; at least these are the thoughts of former international Andy Goode.
Advert
He said: “If we lose to Italy next Saturday, which is a possibility with the improvement that we've seen from Italy's perspective, and then lose to France, then you've got a question: is he the right man?
“We've never lost to Italy. The run of 12 victories was probably covered over by the fact that we didn’t play any teams in that run on excellent form.
“Yes, we had wins last year against Scotland at home by the skin of our teeth and against France at home by the skin of our teeth in the Six Nations. We played Argentina twice away in the summer and beat them, but they had a massive change-up team.
“We played a poor New Zealand team, you know, who subsequently had sacked their coach. We played an Australian team that was shot to bits, as we saw on the tour in November after the Lions Tour. They didn't have a lot of their big boys playing, such as Will Skelton, and didn't have Rob Valetini.
“If we see a marked improvement against Italy and France, then he stays in his job. But if we lose them both or, you know, the performances aren't great, then you have to ask those questions.
“Sports about winning. We’ve got growth in us as a team, and we're going to get better next week and can only use these taglines for so long. And he's got credit in the bank from where we've been over the last year.
"Ultimately though, last year is last year. You win 11 tests last year and then the Wales game this year, but then you lose 4 on the spin; you have to ask that question. A lot of it will be about who's available, or a lot of it will be about the appetite of the RFU to actually galvanise the talent that's in the squad, which I don't think Steve's obviously getting the best out of at the minute.”
The looming shadow of Andy Farrell
Since Ireland’s victory over England in Twickenham, there has been much speculation about the future of Andy Farrell, with there being several links with him making a return to Saracens.
It has been suggested that Farrell would not assume the role until after the World Cup and expiration of his Ireland deal in 2027.
Saracens have since released a statement to quieten the rumours and confirm they have made no contact with Farrell.
As the links to the Premiership clubs lessen, there may be suggestions that Farrell could become the next England head coach, but only after his contract expires.
The Ireland head coach, by all accounts, loves living in Dublin and working within the current IRFU setup; however, if his home nation were to come calling, it may be too good to turn down.
While there are no rumours suggesting that this could happen anytime soon or at all, Goode suggested an alteration to the coaching setup may be needed to get the best from this England side.
He said: “Is Steve Borthwick motivating a team like Andy Farrell does? I think that's difficult to say yes to. Something drastic needs to change from the player's perspective and the coaching perspective. You've got Lee Blackett in there, a brilliant attack coach who we've seen at Bath and we've seen at Wasps play in a manner that excites players and fans. He certainly hasn't got his handprints on this team at all at the minute. He's running the attack, which is something that you want to see more of.”
Simon Zebo, Andy Goode & Jim Hamilton teamed up with BOYLE Sports to discuss the Six Nations. When your Rugby Union team goes 17 points ahead, BOYLE Sports pays out!
Topics: Rugby Union
Brendan McGilligan