Eddie Jones Blames Borthwick's Title Talk for England's Six Nations Slump
Eddie Jones, the former head coach of England's rugby union team, has publicly criticized his successor Steve Borthwick for what he describes as premature championship talk that contributed to England's dramatic collapse in the Six Nations tournament. Jones believes Borthwick's comments about a potential title decider against France before the tournament even began created psychological issues within the squad.
Psychological Impact of Looking Ahead
During a recent appearance on the Rugby Unity podcast, Jones expressed his concerns about Borthwick's uncharacteristic remarks. "I thought Steve made some very uncharacteristic comments about a title-decider against France, looking ahead," Jones stated. "Steve is the most pragmatic and intelligent coach you could meet, but to look ahead for any team is fraught with danger. We all know that."
Jones suggested that external pressures from the Rugby Football Union might have influenced Borthwick's approach. "Sometimes the pressure comes so that the union, the RFU, wants to hear more. They want to entice the fans because they're all hungry for money so they want fans support. So be bold, come out – someone has told him to do that."
The Domino Effect on Players
The former coach explained how such forward-looking statements create a ripple effect throughout the team. "The players read everything, the wives read everything, the girlfriends read everything, the boyfriends read everything, they all read it. They hear that and they talk to them and they say: 'We've got to get our tickets for France. Where are we staying? Where are we going to go the night before for dinner?'"
Jones emphasized that this creates a subtle but significant psychological shift. "All of that happens and the slight psychological change you get in the team because of that, they start to look ahead."
Consequences on the Field
England's performance has suffered dramatically with successive emphatic defeats to Scotland and Ireland, completely undoing the progress made during their previous 12-Test winning streak. The 31-20 loss at Murrayfield, where England conceded an early 17-0 deficit, proved particularly damaging according to Jones.
"They got caught on the hop against Scotland. The Scotland game against Wales shows that they were just caught on the hop," Jones analyzed. "That was a one-off, but now that one-off has crept into their psyche. They're disappointed about where they are and they're all feeling a bit threatened now. How do you change it around? It takes leadership on and off the field."
Current Tournament Situation
The round-four appointment against Italy in Rome on March 7th has now become a must-win game for England after their recent defeats. This represents a very different scenario from what Borthwick envisioned when he named his Six Nations squad last month. On January 23rd, Borthwick had declared: "On 14 March in Paris, we want to be in a position entering that game where we can achieve what we're all aiming to achieve."
He had further elaborated: "We want England fans flooding across the Channel to Paris to watch the team in a massive encounter in the final round with the opportunity to achieve what we want."
Italy's Challenge Without Capuozzo
England will face an Italian team missing one of its key attacking talents. The Italian Rugby Federation announced on Tuesday that Ange Capuozzo will miss the remainder of the Six Nations after the Toulouse full-back suffered a serious shoulder injury during Italy's 33-8 defeat to France in Lille.
Capuozzo scored Italy's only try in that match but came off worst when tackled by club teammate Anthony Jelonch with just ten minutes remaining. The 26-year-old's absence combined with a yellow card for Louis Lynagh meant Italy finished the game with only thirteen players on the field.
This injury represents another setback for Capuozzo, whose appearance against France was his first since December 28th when he broke a finger playing against La Rochelle. England's match against Italy now carries increased significance and pressure as they attempt to salvage their Six Nations campaign before the finale against France.
