No shortage of spirit but England still in search of cutting edge

LONDON : Eddie Jones said he wants an "old fashioned England pack and a new fashioned England attack" and while there was uplifting evidence of the former in Saturday's 32-15 defeat by Ireland, fans are still waiting for any real evidence of the latter.

Only Jones, looking at the game through his red rose-tinted spectacles, could announce "we're moving in a really solid progression towards that," after England delivered a magnificent display of guts and attitude but almost non-existent attack as they battled for 78 minutes with 14 men after Charlie Ewels' red card.

Of course the numerical disadvantage had a huge impact on England's ability to build momentum but their backline - entirely changed from when they were well beaten in Dublin a year ago - has struggled throughout the championship to turn promising positions into clear try-scoring opportunities.

On Saturday, all England's points came from the boot of Marcus Smith after penalties usually earned at the scrum and ruck.

In contrast, Ireland scored four tries and even in the opening exchanges before Ewels' red card they got the ball wide and behind England's defence with the type of fast passing and excellent running lines that are becoming distant memories for the home fans.

Two weeks ago England managed one try in a victory over Wales - gifted to Number Eight Alex Dombrandt by an overthrown Welsh lineout - and rarely looked like creating another, while Wales scored three. They also managed only one, by Smith, in their opening defeat by Scotland - who scored two.

England did score five tries against Italy, but that cannot be used as any sort of useful yardstick as everyone helps themselves to a bonus point against the hapless Italians.

It is a worrying aspect of England's