CALAMITOUS AND UNACCEPTABLE!

Eddie’s excuses for England’s sorry decline don’t add up. He must be held to account now

THIS requires a proper, forensic post-mortem, not just an informal debrief between Eddie Jones and his bosses at the RFU. England’s defeat on Saturday and their Six Nations campaign were calamitous and unacceptable.

Fifth in the table. Two wins from five games. More points and penalties conceded than ever before. A first home defeat against Scotland for 38 years. The first time since 1976 that England have lost against each of the other three home nations in a season.

The three defeats were emphatic. Jones’s side were flattered by the scoreline at the Aviva Stadium, with late tries against 14 and then 13 Irishmen, undermining their claim to have finished the championship in better shape than they started it.

They have finished it with only the hopeless Italians below them and with growing doubts hanging over them. So Bill Sweeney, CEO of the RFU, would be well advised to treat this as a grave matter.

Appoint a panel of experts to sift through the debris. Demand explanations from Jones and the England management that go far beyond the claim that these things are cyclical and unavoidable. Seek anonymous feedback from players and staff to paint a full, true picture and decide if this regime can recover momentum.

There is a stockpile of problems. Just look at the recent ones. Jones picked his favoured Saracens contingent when they were woefully short of game time and insisted training intensity would get them up to speed.

It didn’t. England could not function with a rusty core.

If that selection strategy was flawed, so were others. Worcester centre Ollie Lawrence started against Scotland, barely received a pass and was then ditched, as if he was the scapegoat.

Paolo Odogwu was called up for the first time and left holding tackle bags for two months. Harry Randall was another uncapped, unused newcomer. England worked him hard until he was injured in training, then sent him back to Bristol. It was a sadly familiar tale.

The explanations no longer stack up. The days of the awe- struck RFU hierarchy being in thrall to Jones and willing to accept his every word may be numbered.

He always had answers before, or so it seemed, but not now. He was always one step ahead before, or so it seemed, but not now.

In the aftermath of watching England being out-muscled and out- smarted by the Irish, Jones reverted to the recent narrative about his side being in transition. But the claim is hollow. Eleven of his starting XV on Saturday started the World Cup final in November 2019.

This is not a transition phase — not yet anyway. Jack Willis, Jonny Hill and Max Malins have been introduced and there have been cameos for Ben Earl and Dan Robson, but not a profound overhaul. The Autumn Nations Cup was a prime opportunity to experiment, which wasn’t taken.

There are some parallels with 2018 when England finished fifth in the Six Nations after three losses, but the detail is different.

Then, Jones was overseeing a phasing-out of the old guard who had been stalwarts of the Stuart Lancaster era; 30-somethings such as Chris Robshaw, Mike Brown, Dylan Hartley and Danny Care.

That is not a requirement now. Jones can tinker with a younger squad, a steady evolution.

Speaking of Lancaster, imagine if this had happened on his watch. He finished second every year in the Six Nations and was only denied titles on points difference three times. If he had produced this campaign when in charge on an interim basis, someone else would have got the job.

One of the primary causes of angst among England supporters is the sense that fine talent is being ignored. Sam Simmonds is the symbol of this waste and a stubborn selection stance which reflects Jones’s distrust of club form. Alex Dombrandt is another in this category, Joe Simmonds too, and Ben Spencer was jettisoned harshly despite his impact at Bath.

While this campaign has highlighted that no player should be untouchable — not even Owen Farrell — that is also true of the coaches. Jones is contracted to the end of the 2023 World Cup, but that can’t mean he avoids scrutiny now. There has to be constant accountability, rather than all judgment being reserved until after the next global showpiece, as if that is all that counts.

The coaches’ reputations have been harmed during this tournament. England conceded too many points and penalties for John Mitchell’s comfort. Ireland’s scrum dominance on Saturday prompted a roaring celebration from Tadhg Furlong which will keep Matt Proudfoot awake at night, while Simon Amor is co-ordinating an attack which started slowly, spiked against France, then malfunctioned again as bad habits resurfaced.

For several England players, Lions prospects have faded. Not so long ago, Jones suggested that up to 20 of them might be included in Warren Gatland’s squad and Maro Itoje was favourite for the captaincy. Now, Itoje and Tom Curry may be the only true contenders for a Lions side which Alun Wyn Jones is likely to lead.

Andy Farrell’s star rose as Ireland head coach with this match. Tadhg Beirne and Robbie Henshaw enhanced their Lions ambitions, and veteran half-backs Conor Murray and Johnny Sexton asserted their enduring class. Furlong was magnificent, as was Jack Conan at No 8. The Irish have finished in a better place than they started the Six Nations, which cannot be said of England.

England have lost a trophy won in the autumn, dropped down the world rankings and become trapped in a tactical fog. Discipline problems persist, as does the sense they have declined since the World Cup. Proper answers are needed to persuade the RFU they can still believe in this regime.

English rugby has ample quality to conquer Europe — repeatedly — and possibly the world. The increasingly noisy backlash is founded on a fear this glorious potential is being squandered.