'English game plan is baffling'
SOCIAL SPOTLIGHT: England’s 16-15 victory over Scotland in the Calcutta Cup has failed to appease a sizeable portion of rugby fans, who took to social media to voice their frustrations regarding head coach Steve Borthwick’s tactics.
Despite securing a narrow win at Twickenham, many fans described England’s persistent reliance on the boot – from box kicks to tactical punts – as ineffective, poorly executed and above all, incredibly boring.
England’s kicking strategy repeatedly handed Scotland possession, enabling the visitors to counter with dangerous strike runners. Several posts on social media pointed out the apparent lack of a cohesive chase, which meant that many kicks merely relieved pressure, rather than creating attacking opportunities for England.
But the sheer repetitiveness of the kicking sapped the souls of many England rugby fans.
#OPINION: Check out the England Player Ratings after their 16-15 win over Scotland 👇#SixNations #England #Scotland #ENGvSCO https://t.co/CZKm9uUDKL
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Former England flyhalf Andy Goode wrote: “England are just playing one phase and then kick it. We need to be more threatening in our ball-in-hand attack.”
Not only was it boring, but it failed to utilise the attacking talent of Marcus Smith, Ollie Lawrence, Ollie Sleightholme and Tommy Freeman.
Ben Bradford wrote on X: “Scotland have been excellent, but this English gameplan is baffling. When we do string a few phases together we look dangerous and break the line… The Borthwick kicking strategy is stifling these players.”
G Pedliham spewed: “The box kicking is not a strategy that’s working. Borthwick doesn’t have the wit to change it,” while DFMack similarly mused “The Borthwick box-kickers… only one team playing rugby here”
Another poster asked for Borthwick: “Yet again England underperform against Scotland. If we lose this, Borthwick has to be sacked next week. There’s absolutely no progress being made under his regime.”
Another frustrated fan cheekily quipped: “Borthwick will be RAGING with Marcus Smith over that last play because he didn’t aimlessly kick the ball away as per the 2-year game plan.”
Garvin Barwell queried what the players must make of the tactics: “These England players must hate playing for Borthwick. Zero ambition to play with the ball in hand.”
#REPORT: Van der Merwe try not enough as England edge Scotland in thriller 👇#SixNations #England #Scotland #ENGvSCO https://t.co/Yj3Pz9ShyM
— rugby365.com (@rugby365com) February 22, 2025
Another not-so-happy customer offered: “England rugby has to be the most boring, one-dimensional side I’ve ever seen. Kick kick kick.
“Then they eke out a point victory. Something has to be done to work the rules. It simply cannot be that you can be so negative and successful.
“There is zero incentive to play rugby.”
And it wasn’t just England fans.
On RTE Former Ireland No.8 Jamie Heaslip described England’s gameplan as ‘Really boring… just kicking the leather off it’, while fellow Ireland back-rower Stephen Ferris queried whether Steve Borthwick is the man to progress this team.
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