England must change mindset for Six Nations improvement says Borthwick

LONDON : Coach Steve Borthwick says he is changing the way England prepare for the Six Nations in a bid to shake them out of the slump that has produced three successive poor campaigns since they won it in 2020.

England have won only six of their last 15 games in the championship, three of those against Italy, for finishes of fifth, third and fourth. Even taking into account the title-winning year they are at a 50 per cent win rate for the last six years.

Borthwick was freshly installed for 2023 but unable to stop the rot, which included a shocking 53-10 home defeat by France who chalked up their biggest ever win over England.

Now, a year into the role and with a World Cup under his belt, Borthwick is determined to make a serious assault on the competition, somewhat in contrast to the “everything is about the World Cup” approach of predecessor Eddie Jones.

“We want to make sure that this England team is competing in every single one of these games, which is not something you can say about them in recent years,” Borthwick said at the official Six Nations launch on Monday.

“Expectations are a lot higher, on the back of what this team has achieved, and quite rightly. The team is really well aware that we haven’t performed in the Six Nations for a period of time."

Of particular concern to England is their terrible starts, as they managed to kick off the last three championships with defeats by Scotland, two of them at Twickenham.

Borthwick is trying to address this with a different build-up, which this year will include a week in Italy to prepare for their opening fixture in Rome on Feb. 3.

"Our intention is to prepare so we hit the ground running with the intensity we want, which again is something England haven’t done in recent