Sir Clive Woodward has revealed two changes England must make following their Six Nations thumping against France at Twickenham on Saturday.
The World Cup-winning coach, who said he struggled to sleep after the defeat, believes a number of major changes are required.
On Sunday, he wrote in his column for the Mail Online: “It would be very easy to be extremely critical. But I’d rather try to come up with solutions and ways to move forward.”
“I see many similarities between the current plight and when I took over as England coach. Back then the gulf between the two hemispheres was significant. Now it is teams much closer to home in Ireland, France and Scotland who are setting the standard.”
Sir Clive Woodward changes:
#1. Improve speed
Woodward wrote: “The first is that England need to improve their speed, athleticism and fitness across the park.
“The French game showed England’s players are not in the same league as Les Bleus when it comes to having the physical ability to play with pace and power.
“It was like men against boys at the breakdown. The French back-row was awesome. Their entire team were superb in contact. They took England to the cleaners.
“England were competitive at scrum and lineout, but it is abundantly clear they do not have the ability to live with teams like France and Ireland in the loose.
“England are not necessarily unfit. But they don’t have the rugby fitness which is required at the top level of the game. They are simply unable to play the sort of game France can. That means they cannot live with them when they are at their best,”
#2. Mindset change
Woodward added: “The second change is between the ears. The mindset of how to play the game must be totally re-thought. France showed that they have the individual skills and collective desire to attack from anywhere from one to 15. They are brilliant to watch.
“The conditions were awful on Saturday but still they kept coming and coming. It was a privilege to witness and impossible to stop unless you enter the arena with a similar skillset and attitude. France scored seven sensational tries and their joie de vivre was shown to me by Damian Penaud’s brace. Truly sensational rugby.
“By contrast, England’s players are prototyped to kick and opt for a safety-first approach. That mindset has to totally switch.
“I had to instil a similar mindset change. I remember physically moving Paul Grayson and Mike Catt on the training paddock to demonstrate how flat I wanted them receiving the ball. I said: ‘If you’re not receiving it here, you’re not playing.’”
“Change needed” How England should line-up against Ireland in Six Nations finale
Steve Borthwick has some big decisions to make ahead of next weekend’s Six Nations finale against Ireland in Dublin.
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France produced a ruthless display to condemn Borthwick’s men to their heaviest home defeat in history, running out 53-10 winners at Twickenham.
As a result, England’s title challenge is over in humiliating fashion and means this is the first Six Nations campaign where they have lost two home matches.
This serves as a clear indication that there is still a considerable amount of work to be done by the team to compete with the world’s top-performing teams.
The situation could potentially worsen as they are scheduled to play against the number one-ranked team in the world, Ireland, who are still pursuing the Grand Slam.
We looked at the player ratings from Saturday’s defeat with the following players dropping out…
HOW ENGLAND SHOULD LINE-UP AGAINST IRELAND:
Back Three
15. Freddie Steward
14. Max Malins
11. Anthony Watson
Centres
13. Joe Marchant for Henry Slade
Telegraph 4/10: “Got caught out of position for France’s opener. Never really alleviated any of the kick pressure off Smith. Made way for Farrell earlier than he would have liked.”
Rugby Pass 3.5/10: “No one could quibble that he didn’t deserve his place, but he was blown away here and hooked on 46 for Farrell. His display was summed up by how he was roadkill as Flament blasted over for his first try.”
Planet Rugby 2/10: “Slade was sloppy with ball in hand and didn’t make use of his boot, either.”
Replacement: Joe Marchant
12. Ollie Lawrence
