It’s time for England to climb out of their self-imposed bunker
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OK, I've counted to ten and imagined myself snoozing in a hammock on some Pacific atoll. I am calm … but what the bloody hell was that!!
England urgently need to climb out of their self-imposed bunker, both on and off the pitch, because if they cower there any longer their World Cup is over before they even arrive in France.
That was another complete shambles against an Ireland team that actually misfired for much of the afternoon. Simply not enough by any criteria.
Off the field this last week England brainlessly dug themselves into a ridiculous mental hole with their misplaced self-righteous attitude to the Owen Farrell debacle which was entirely of their own making.
They should have accepted that, despite tackle school and all that malarkey, their skipper had got it wrong again and needed to do time for his crime. Just get on with it, there are a 100 other things that need their attention.
England then took that misguided sense of persecution into this game and it predictably backfired. You can't take on the world armed with just a chip on your shoulder.
Billy Vunipola's tackle was an absolutely textbook red card hit, as was Farrell's seven days earlier.
The officials did their job perfectly in Dublin, as they did at Twickenham last week, and at some stage this week the Saracens No.8 will receive a ban, most probably a three match suspension. England should not waste a second contesting the issue.
There is also the uncomfortable situation of having to criticise Kevin Sinfield, a wholly admirable and inspirational human being but a defence coach who badly needs to get England on the same page as the lawmakers and tackling in a fit and proper manner. That is his fundamental task for the time being. At present they are a red card waiting to happen and supporters at home are watching from behind the couch.
And the big truth is this bad misplaced attitude is badly affecting their general play. England are much better than this, they have the players to mount a decent campaign, but their mindset is entirely wrong. Only when the game was basically lost and nothing much mattered anymore did the shackles loosen a little with moments of defiance from Marcus Smith and Theo Dan and a few roars of defiance from Ben Earl.
In the hope of concentrating purely on rugby yesterday I had decided in advance to look at England's back three and that is still a worthwhile exercise despite everything because it illustrates England's lack of direction. The back three theoretically should be an area of strength but for me is underperforming and unbalanced.
Freddie Steward has been worrying me for a while. Great under the high ball but actually very few teams, at least the clever ones, will be launching bombs in his direction ever again. To these eyes he is getting slower, not quicker, a little leaden footed and ponderous in defence.
He was lucky to escape with just a yellow last week when Dan Biggar embarrassed him with that clever crossfield kick which needed to be read and anticipated. Instead Steward got it all wrong and wiped out Josh Adams with the clumsiest of tackles in the air. Again yesterday he was nowhere trying to deal with another crossfield kick, this time one that connected with Garry Ringrose for Ireland's second try.
Steward is strong enough ball in hand but you need much more than that these days because fullback is arguably the number one attacking position in the game. Your 15 needs to be a strike runner as well.
Previously seen as an automatic pick, I sense England are having their doubts. This was Steward's third start on the trot which seems a tad excessive in warm-up games.
They are hoping for a return of the swagger Steward demonstrated when he first came on the scene but thus far it's absent.
England's two experienced wings – Anthony Watson and Elliot Daly – would also benefit from an injection of confidence and swagger, not to mention a decent pass occasionally.
In some ways the duo are hybrid wings who rather buck the current worldwide trend. They do a lot of things competently, they are quick without being electric but when was the last time they turned a game or won a match with a little x-factor? I'm not sure if they are past their peak or have simply grown stale through neglect.
It's important because in attack Steward is not an x-factor player or counter attacker like a Thomas Ramoz or Ange Capuozzo, or a Blair Kinghorn, Beauden Barrett or Willie Le Roux. He is a different animal, and more creativity is required of the wings as a result. England have a 15 in that mould – Henry Arundell who has played most of his rugby at full-back – before Eddie Jones decided he is a wing.
Out and out wings are a precious commodity but we are currently enjoying a golden age, exciting strike runners on the wing, wide men who possess exceptional blazing pace and or dazzling footwork and a hunger for scoring tries. They give their teams a different dimension.
I am thinking of the Scots duo of Darcy Graham and Duhan van der Merwe, Cheslin Kolbe and Kurt-Lee Arendse with the Boks not to mention the fast arriving Canan Moodie, New Zealand wonder boy Will Jordan, Pumas speedster Mateo Carreras, Louis Rees-Zammit with Wales and French superstar Damian Penaud.
Even Georgia have unearthed a genuine flier in Akaki Tabutsadze who has raced to 27 tries in 25 Tests since making his debut three years ago and look out next month in France if Portugal mange to get their hands on any pill – Raffaele Storti and Rodrigo Marta are runners and try scorers of exceptional talent. Out and out wings.
Canute-like though, England have refused to even contemplate it, spurning the chance of giving either Adam Radwan or Cadan Murley to name just two candidates a run of games. As with Christian Wade in years gone, England remain suspicious of such singular talents. They refuse to even glance at the options, they remain stubbornly in their bunker.
