Five reasons for England's Six Nations slide

Five reasons for England's Six Nations slide By Mike Henson BBC Sport rugby union news reporter Published 1 hour ago 311 Comments Don't believe the hyping. Or the sniping. In the wake of England's 42-21 defeat by Ireland on Saturday, England head coach Steve Borthwick asked for some perspective. "Two weeks ago, after 12 wins on the bounce, people were saying we were the best team in the world, and now we are all sorts of things," he told BBC Sport. "Neither of these are true." What is true though is that England's form has taken a sudden and pronounced downturn. After a year-long winning streak, they have suffered back-to-back Six Nations defeats, having been swatted aside by Scotland at Murrayfield seven days before their trouncing by Ireland. Why has England's bubble burst so emphatically? 1. 2025 run reconsidered This plea for the middle ground between praise and criticism is not something that England's coaching staff have invented to mitigate post-defeat criticism. Even before the start of the tournament, they were attempting to temper some of the predictions that England were building into world-beaters. Their 12-match winning streak may have over-inflated expectations. It undoubtedly contained some impressive wins, last November's victory over New Zealand being the standout. There were also caveats, however. The All Blacks put in a curiously listless performance and subsequently sacked head coach Brett Robertson. A team weakened by British and Irish Lions selection won two Tests in Argentina, but the Pumas had taken the chance to rest some of their frontline names. Wins over France and Scotland in last year's Six Nations could easily have crumbled in the opposite direction. England did superbly in seeing off all comers in that run. But this Six Nations campaign has demanded more of them and they have been found wanting. 2. Aerial rivals catch up with England For much of 2025, it felt as if Borthwick had found an edge. With a change in rules around the escorti...