Borthwick’s plans in shreds as ruthless Ireland heap more misery on England | Michael Aylwin
So it looks as if it might have been a bubble.England’s 12-match winning run came to a shuddering halt last week, but it was possible to believe that flop might prove a one-off – a chastened Scotland at home, after all, has been the downfall of many an England team.Well, there are scattered strips of latex all over Twickenham now, England’s balloon more than spectacularly popped by an Ireland side who are hardly afraid of inspirational rugby against this lot themselves.Just as England had been riding high before last week, so Ireland had been looking a little lacklustre.We thought they might be a team in transition – and they may yet prove to be – but they brought back a whole haberdasher’s worth of experience, led by the peerless Jamison Gibson-Park, and fairly tormented their younger and more hopeful hosts.
England had been the noisier in recent times, the future all theirs, but it turns out there is no substitute for calmness and authority.Henry Pollock, the most obvious embodiment of a brash future, had to bend his knee to Caelan Doris here.It turns out there is a way to go yet.All the same, the vagaries of elite sport continue to astound.England, of course, were never the finished article, but 12 wins in a row do not happen by accident.
There were signs against Wales, when they looked woolly despite the easy win, that all was not quite there, but until then they had been building well, with multiple options developing in a number of departments.Those options are still there, but the buzz around the camp seems to have been snuffed out in a matter of days.Bad form is a two-way process, the role of the opposition invariably underestimated.Scotland were virtually unplayable last week, and Ireland built into this one with unanswerable authority.It is amazing how poor any team looks against excellent opposition.
But the confidence and panache that had been building after that previous defeat – against Ireland in Dublin in round one of last year’s championship – through the rest of the tournament, into a summer tour minus the Lions against Argentina, to an unbeaten autumn, now appears to have deserted them,This was a record win for Ireland in this part of the world, their Six Nations back up and running after that wash-out in Paris on a Thursday night and a less-than-convincing outing against Italy last weekend,The first leg of a potential triple crown has been safely negotiated – and if France were to slip up,,.
It took Ireland until the 20th minute to score their first try, whereupon England unravelled.There were omens by then, though, that this was not going to be the home team’s day.They had most of the ball, but their attacks felt as if by the seat of the pants, rushed and edgy, the ball constantly on the tips of the fingers, where eventually it would be fumbled.Sure enough, at crucial moments, the ball was spilled, here by Freddie Steward, there by Ellis Genge.And then there were the set-piece errors.
George Ford missed touch, from well-earned penalties, twice.It would be interesting to know how often he has done that in his entire career, let alone twice in the same quarter.Luke Cowan-Dickie missed his man at the lineout twice in the same period, before suffering the indignity of his tactical withdrawal on the half-hour.He wasn’t the only one.Steward felt the rude tug of the shepherd’s crook in the first half, as well, just before the break.
At that point, England were 22-0 down.Gibson-Park had opened the scoring at the end of that first quarter with a tapped penalty and dart for the corner that made England look as dozy as they had looked all afternoon – which was very.That was the cue for the unravelling.A few minutes later, Stuart McCloskey was away, Rob Baloucoune over in the corner, and Steward trudging off to the sideline, not, as it would turn out, for the last time in the half, but this courtesy of a yellow for his attempt to kill the move in the shadow of his posts.While he was away, Ireland scored again, just as they would once more – the bonus-point try by Dan Sheehan – shortly after half-time, following England’s second yellow, this one for Pollock.
England benefited from a yellow card against Jamie Osborne midway through the second half, just as they scored their second try, neatly finished by Ollie Lawrence, just as their hopes of a comeback were still flickering.Score while Osborne was away? England 0 Ireland 3.In this era of the comeback, England would have harboured belief, even at that point, that the hope remained alive.The most sobering impression left from this humiliation is the glaring lack of authority when it mattered.Steve Borthwick had been quietly moulding an impressive squad.
It is surely too early for anyone of grownup temperament to call for his head – although no doubt some will – but his plans lie in shreds, alongside England’s balloon,We ought to learn a bit more about him – and his team – in the weeks ahead,
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