England turn corner to ignite Six Nations title chances

England right back in the Six Nations title race

Steve Borthwick’s England have played the two favourites to lift the Six Nations trophy in Ireland and France, and have come out of those games with six points.

Remember last week in Dublin? By 76 minutes England were 27-10 behind, but they struck for two late tries to burgle a late losing bonus-point which may well prove vital.

Elliot Daly’s late winner against France was their fourth try of a pulsating Twickenham tussle and earned them a try bonus-point which could also prove decisive at the business end of the tournament.

It means Ireland cannot afford to lose a match without a losing bonus-point now, while defeat for France means they must win in Dublin on March 8.

England, meanwhile, host Scotland and Italy at home before travelling to face Wales in Cardiff in their remaining fixtures.

After flooring France, they will fancy themselves to finish the Six Nations with three further victories, an outcome that would leave them right in the title shake-up

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Have England turned a corner?

After brilliantly defeating Grand Slam-chasing Ireland in last year’s Six Nations, England went on to lose their next seven Tests against Tier 1 opposition.

They lost to France in Lyon, New Zealand in Dunedin and Auckland, New Zealand (again), Australia and South Africa at Allianz Stadium and Ireland in Dublin. In every one of those Tests, Borthwick’s side surrendered second-half leads.

On Saturday, England kept going and recovered from falling behind with five minutes to play against France, kicking on to win the game. It may just be a sign England have finally turned a corner.

“I’m really pleased for the players, everyone wants that tangible reward. I’m very, very proud of them. They work exceptionally hard and are a delight to coach. We’ve always believed,” Borthwick said.

England captain Maro Itoje added: “I’m a big believer in the mantra ‘don’t get too high with the highs or too low with the lows’. We’ll enjoy the moment, this win is special and it wasn’t easy against a very talented French team.

“We know there’s so much in us. We want to stay consistent, and we will take an honest look. There’s a whole load we can get better at. It wasn’t perfect.”

Fabulous Fin Smith looks the man to lead England

The other big takeaway on Saturday was the quality of Fin Smith at fly-half on what was his first England start.

Marcus Smith has gotten the majority of the headlines in recent years, and his pace with ball in hand is superb to watch, but England may have just found a 10 to help them win things in Northampton’s Fin.

In the face of a monster Les Bleus pack, the 22-year-old was composed and measured. His kick for Tommy Freeman’s try was something only he saw in the stadium, with groans from fans in the stands turning to cheers as the England wing leapt above Louis Bielle-Biarrey to score a crucial try.

He was equally adept with ball in hand, playing a perfectly-weighted pass for Daly to charge through the French defence – away from Antoine Dupont – and over for the match-winning moment.

“I thought he played very well and showed great composure,” Borthwick reflected after the match. “To play like that in your first Test start for England is exceptional.”

England captain Maro Itoje added: “Steve told the group to be ambitious and brave, and go out and try and score tries. Our backs were incredibly brave and incredibly ambitious. They took the opportunities when perhaps before we would have taken the conservative option. The boys were brave and wanted to attack against France.”

France blow yet another Grand Slam chance

Has there been a side in rugby history to have possessed a player of the quality of Dupont and failed to win as much as France?

By next year’s Six Nations, Les Bleus’ maestro will be 29 and his only Grand Slam or international title to date came in 2022.

France are not out of the title race yet, of course, and if they go to Dublin and win in Round 4 they would become odds-on to lift the trophy, but what a chance at a potential Grand Slam they blew at Twickenham.

Their sheer number of handling errors and mistakes when in promising attacking positions in the first half and early in the second bordered on astonishing.

France will have huge regrets reviewing the Test back and have put themselves under huge pressure now.

Wales plumb new depths

Wales’ 22-15 Guinness Six Nations loss to Italy in a rain-swept Rome left them hurtling towards a second successive tournament wooden spoon.

Gatland’s Welsh Rugby Union bosses have promised a detailed review of Six Nations performances after the competition and matters are hardly likely to improve given that remaining fixtures are against Ireland, Scotland and England.

It was Gatland’s 20th loss in 26 Tests since returning for a second stint at the helm, an eighth Six Nations reversal in a row and the first time Wales have suffered back-to-back defeats against Italy.

They also slumped to a new world ranking low of 12th, with Georgia climbing above them following their Rugby Europe Championship victory over the Netherlands in Tbilisi.

For the second week in succession, Wales have hit a new low, depths they would never have thought possible. With no indication when this misery will end, it appears a case of when and not if the pressure on Gatland’s position tells.

Six Nations fixtures: Round 3

Saturday February 22

Wales vs Ireland (2.15pm)
England vs Scotland (4.45pm)

Sunday February 23

Italy vs France (3pm)

British & Irish Lions tour of Australia on Sky Sports

Sky Sports will exclusively show the 2025 British and Irish Lions tour of Australia, with all three Tests against the Wallabies and six warm-up matches to be shown exclusively live.