In his Telegraph Sport column live from the Allianz Stadium on Saturday night, Will Greenwood mentioned how punters were walking past him in the press box and saying “rubbish” after England had defeated Scotland. I can vouch for the 2003 World Cup winner here, as I was sitting next to him. Fans looked frustrated and dejected; some even angry.
This is an emotive, nuanced issue which does stir emotion. Fans have shelled out lots of cash – a scandalous amount, for my money – to attend Twickenham as well as everything else which goes into the match-day experience and when they arrive, they want this to be the match where they are entertained. Of course, fans always want England to win, but when you are at the Allianz Stadium, as one of 80-odd thousand people, those fans are hoping to see an English demolition. They want to be entertained, they want to see their team obliterate the opposition. That’s what, high on the emotion and anticipation of match day, they believe they have paid their money for.
Therefore, when England win ugly, as they did against Scotland, there is an understandable sense of deflation, as Greenwood himself wrote. Deflation is fine but when that manifests itself into toxicity or negativity, viewed in the context of England’s results, it verges on unfair.
England won! They beat a team who they had lost to, for whatever reason, on the previous four occasions. Another loss would have been a record streak against Scotland. England simply had to win. Scotland also had to win to keep their championship hopes alive. That sense of nervousness was palpable on the pitch between two teams who did not want to give an inch but, in the end, England did the only thing that matters in sport: win. And how do we know that it is the only thing that matters? Because last year, both journalists and fans spent time criticising England’s inability to be ahead on the scoreboard at the full-time whistle.
Against France in last year’s Six Nations, England played beautifully – as they did on the tour to New Zealand – but they lost all three matches. If we are excoriating them for that, then can we equally scorn them for winning two tight matches – France and Scotland – this year, even if they are yet to set the game alight with the ball in hand? To do so would be hypocritical.
The Calcutta Cup victory means that England have navigated what were, on paper, their three most difficult matches and won two of them. Are improvements needed? Yes. Steve Borthwick admitted afterwards that his side did not play how they wanted – at times they move the ball with all the smoothness of sandpaper – but there were genuine positives which deserve greater attention.
Telegraph Sport revealed on Sunday how discipline has been a major focus for England but also we should admire the progress made at the line-out since its malfunctions against France, the development of the scrum from a genuine hindrance into a bona fide strength, the obdurate defence in the 22 and also the bloodthirsty scavenging from the pack at the breakdown.
Those commentators saying that the better team lost? Tell that to the English front row, who dominated their counterparts, or any one of the English pack who earned a turnover or penalty for their side. It was not flashy from England – and it was not perfect, either – but there was plenty to admire.
Those suggesting that parts of the performance were flawed are fair, but this was a Six Nations victory at Twickenham! And not one against Italy when they were at their lowest ebb; but one against rivals who have spent the past four years very much enjoying their Calcutta Cup outings. Rather than relief, there should have been revelry; there should have been bunting hanging, Guinness flowing, and Sunday heads hurting.
The reality is that, other than finishing first, England’s table destiny pretty much remains in their own hands. The two most forgiving matches (on paper, at least) close out England’s Six Nations and a second-place finish is a realistic outcome; not many before the championship would have predicted that. With two matches to play, England can still win the Six Nations, having finished no higher than third so far under Borthwick. For that alone, the wins should be savoured.
