Steve Borthwick: England head coach keen to understand habit of fading late in Six Nations games | Rugby Union News

England were beaten 29-23 by Scotland in their Six Nations opener before defeating Italy 31-14 on Sunday; Steve Borthwick wants to eradicate issues ahead of matches against Wales, Ireland and France ahead of the World Cup later this year

Steve Borthwick is to urgently investigate England’s habit of fading that has been evident in his two matches in charge, knowing it could leave his players with regrets.

England threw away a 20-12 lead with half an hour remaining of their Guinness Six Nations opener against Scotland and were also one point in front heading into the final 10 minutes, before ultimately falling 29-23.

Borthwick’s side also lost the second half 14-12 against Italy, with tension hanging in the Twickenham air until Henry Arundell produced a slick finish in the 71st minute to quell the Azzurri uprising.

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England head coach Steve Borthwick speaks after his side beat Italy at Twickenham in the Six Nations

England face a fraught trip to Cardiff next followed by clashes with the world’s two best teams in France and Ireland, with Borthwick making a priority of identifying why they are vulnerable in the second half.

“At eight points up I would expect to win that game against Scotland, said Borthwick, who replaced the sacked Eddie Jones in December. “There was another point we were four points up and we let it slip.

“As we move forward with this team, as we coach and understand, we will be debriefing those things really fully so we don’t let those opportunities slide. You can’t rewind the clock. I talked about my regrets as a player and I don’t want these players to have regrets.

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Sky Sports News’ James Cole analyses Steve Borthwick’s selection decisions for his first Six Nations squad as England head coach, and a surprise move for his predecessor Eddie Jones

“We let one slip against Scotland and we made sure we fully debriefed it to learn from it. Against Italy, there was a period late in the game where we let momentum get away from us. I really need to understand why it happened and how it happened.

“We can’t keep letting teams have momentum late in games against us. Clearly we let Italy out of their half, which is exactly what happened against Scotland. Systems take time.”

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2003 World Cup winner Ben Cohen feels Steve Borthwick and England have a lot of work to do as they continue their build-up to the World Cup

England ‘a bit behind’ Ireland and France

On the day before England’s pack bullied their Italian counterparts, Ireland and France fought out a seismic title clash in Dublin that saw a ball-in-play time of 46 minutes.

Andy Farrell’s men came out on top and are destined to arrive at the World Cup later this year as the global game’s number one ranked team, while France have the talent to ensure the setback is only temporary.

Ireland claimed a 32-19 victory over France in Dublin on Saturday

“It was an incredible Test match,” Borthwick said, having watched the match. “The standard of those teams is phenomenal. If you can use this four-year cycle really well, you should be in a good situation right now and they are. If you look at them they are strong. We are a bit behind them.

“I can’t tell you how much, but we are behind them. I can’t do anything about where they are but we are going to work really hard to catch up as fast as we can.”

Borthwick inherited a team that endured a dismal 2022, resulting in Jones being removed as head coach, and he insists there is no fast-track to success.

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Will Greenwood says more time and work is needed for Steve Borthwick to improve the overall quality of his side

“We are going to do the best we can to be as good as we can be. This is a process of a rebuild,” he said. “I get the sense that people recognise this is a rebuild, I get a sense they recognise there is plenty to do here and we need to build some strengths here.

“The players have come through a tough time and I am asking them to do things in a different way and go out on the field and bring their strengths. I felt that against Italy they started to embrace that. Last week there was a reticence to really jump right in. That is what I want them to do.”

What’s Next?

England head to Cardiff on Saturday February 25 to face a struggling Wales who are yet to get a win in this year’s championship (4.45pm). For Italy, a home clash awaits against Grand Slam hopefuls Ireland (2.15pm).