State of the Nation: England in Six Nations ‘turning point’ after four years of decline

Colin Newboult 20 Mar 2024 4:30 PM

England celebrate following their 2024 Six Nations victory over Ireland.

With another fascinating Six Nations now done and dusted, we update you on the state of the participating nations, continuing with third placed England.

During a tournament which threatened to derail, Steve Borthwick’s outfit actually ended in credit as their two toughest games brought the best out of the Rugby World Cup semi-finalists.

Following years of struggle under Eddie Jones and more recently Borthwick, who took over in December 2022, they finally appear to be heading in the right direction. The Red Rose’s set-piece steel has been combined with a bit more playmaking finesse to make them much more of an all-round threat.

Of course, their tour to Japan and New Zealand will give us a truer indicator about where this England side stand but, ahead of those games with the Brave Blossoms and All Blacks, the fans and team can at least look forward with positivity.

Tournament summary

Few really knew what to expect from England coming into this competition. A bronze medal at the World Cup would have ordinarily put most teams among the favourites for the next Six Nations – especially since they were the best performing northern hemisphere nation – but that didn’t really provide the true context. There was a realisation from their supporters that the draw played a key factor in their progress to the last-four and that France and Ireland still reigned supreme in Europe.

Borthwick’s decision to quite rightly look short-term after he took over – implementing a simple and conservative style – meant the 2024 tournament was about rebuilding. It wasn’t a complete overhaul, given that there was still a solid spine to the team, but it was not far off. The addition of Felix Jones saw a new defensive system as they attempted to imitate the Springboks’ version of the rush rearguard, while Richard Wigglesworth was given license to expand the attack.

As a result, there were teething issues, but games against Italy and Wales – the two weakest countries – offered them an opportunity to ease into the tournament. They managed to emerge on the right side of the scoreline against both, but it was not exactly convincing as they edged to 27-24 and 16-14 wins respectively. However, it kept them in the Grand Slam hunt as they headed to Murrayfield to face Scotland.

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From an English point of view, the less said about that the better as they made a series of handling errors which allowed the hosts to secure their fourth victory in a row over the Auld Enemy. That 30-21 defeat to the Scots led to murmurings of discontent within the camp, as allegations surfaced that the attack was being sacrificed for the defence.

That criticism was seemingly heeded in the build up to the Ireland encounter as they appeared to spend more time with ball in hand in training and the results were immediate. It all finally started to click and they deservedly overcame Andy Farrell’s men 23-22 thanks to a last-minute Marcus Smith drop-goal. There was a fluency from the Red Rose not seen since the 2019 World Cup semi-final against the All Blacks and, all of a sudden, a positivity emanated around English rugby once again.

Borthwick knew that for it to remain his team needed to back it up and to a large degree they did. Although England fell on the wrong side of the scoreline against France – this time being the victim of a late three-pointer – there was more than enough in the 33-31 loss in Lyon to suggest that they are on the right track.

Standout players

Before the World Cup, Borthwick did not really know his best team. In particular, number eight was a problem position, but Ben Earl was a surprise breakout star. He was easily England’s best player at the global tournament and locked in that shirt ahead of the Six Nations. The question was whether he could back it up, given that he’s not a person you would automatically think would be a top-class eight.

While he is dynamic and fast, the 26-year-old is not necessarily the biggest and his close quarter work was under scrutiny, but that was well and truly dispelled in this tournament. Earl was once again the Red Rose standout, with his efforts in the victory over Ireland elevating his stature in the game. He can now be seriously considered as one of the premier back-rowers in the sport.

Elsewhere, George Ford had his critics, but it was only really his place-kicking that let him down. In most other facets, the fly-half was elite and when all those components came together, like it did against France, Ford showed his class. Alongside Alex Mitchell, they formed an excellent playmaking partnership, with Marcus Smith also making an impact, whether at 10 or 15, in the final two matches.

The games against Ireland and France were also where young lock George Martin came to the fore. Although he came off the bench in the Calcutta Cup clash, Martin started the final two matches and it made a huge difference to the Red Rose. His ballast on both sides of the ball was crucial, with his athleticism and clearout work often allowing the half-backs quick ball to feed off. As a result, it brought Ollie Lawrence into the game more and played a role in helping Immanuel Feyi-Waboso to shine.

Martin’s lock combination with Maro Itoje – one of England’s better players alongside Earl in the opening three matches – looked well-balanced and could help create a fearsome back five going forward, especially with Ollie Chessum settling in well at blindside flanker.

Stat leaders

It was no surprise to see Earl top the carry charts with 73, well ahead of the next most, Wales full-back Cameron Winnett, on 58. Equally, the number eight was well up there in the metres carried chart, sitting in third place behind Ireland’s James Lowe and France’s Damian Penaud. To make it even more impressive, the back-row was the only forward in the top 15 of that statistic.

Ben Earl, take a bow 🙌

The England No 8 has been nominated for @SixNationsRugby’s player of the championship award.

Vote for him to win 👇

— England Rugby (@EnglandRugby) March 19, 2024

Behind the scrum, the Red Rose also had several players high up on the board. George Ford was the fourth highest points scorer with 48, a position matched by Ollie Lawrence on the try-scoring charts as he touched down three times. Lawrence’s midfield partner, Henry Slade, provided two assists, the same number as team-mates Elliot Daly and Alex Mitchell.

It was a good Championship for Tommy Freeman, who made the joint second most linebreaks with seven, while Maro Itoje did much of the donkey work to help out Freeman and co. The lock was in the top six for attacking ruck arrivals, defensive ruck arrivals, breakdown steals, lineout takes and lineouts steals. Impressive.

Success story

No doubt it was that victory over Ireland. Few, including us, gave them a chance of beating the champions, but they responded to their critics with a superb display. Although just one point separated the teams in the end result, the triumph was thoroughly deserved and could provide a real turning point for England.

Against a side that had been utterly dominant in the Six Nations up to that point, the Red Rose were the better outfit on both sides of the ball. The talent has always been there but knitting it together and getting that balance has often been the problem. However, Borthwick found many of the answers he had been searching for in that encounter and he will hope that it has put them on the right path.

Main regret

Definitely that Scotland encounter, although the nature of the performance did perhaps allow them to reassess heading into the Ireland clash. Such was the extent of the handling issues, it probably forced them to address the balance in training between the attack and defence. Although the physicality and intensity was there during that Calcutta Cup match, some of the mistakes were shameful.

In fact, you wouldn’t see that many errors at amateur level, so it was certainly England’s low point over the past few weeks. If Borthwick’s men had claimed the win, they could have gone into the finale with a shot of the Grand Slam but, as stated above, we wonder whether that third round display forced a rethink within English ranks and – positively – affected preparations for the Irish game.