State of the Nation: Eddie Jones under pressure after another Six Nations failure from England

After another abject campaign, following on from their fifth placed finish last year, the knives are once again out for Eddie Jones. Although they moved up two places to third position from 2021, they certainly went backwards after a positive November series.

England, with their exceptional player resources, should be competing towards the top end every campaign, but they looked decidedly mediocre in comparison to this season’s best teams, France and Ireland.

There were some positives. The scrum, driven by the exceptional Ellis Genge, who came of age in the recent tournament, showed an improvement, while Marcus Smith settled in nicely at fly-half, but ultimately he wasn’t truly able to ignite a stagnant attack.

For all the criticism of George Ford and Owen Farrell over the years, the team’s backline struggles with Smith at the helm suggests that it wasn’t at all their fault.

And the blame might not lie at the door of the attack coach either. Martin Gleeson, someone that is very highly regarded, is England’s second attack guru since the departure of consultant Scott Wisemantel, but you rather feel he, and Simon Amor before him, have been hamstrung by the side’s overall approach.

The Red Rose have an excellent kicking game and they controlled possession and territory in the first four matches, but they do it far too much in attacking situations inside the opposition half. The players don’t appear to have trust in their own skills in the England set-up, while the selections in the wider channels were very odd.

Having the gain line presence of Manu Tuilagi would have undoubtedly helped matters but they have to find a way of being penetrative without the Sale Shark on the field as the Red Rose quite simply can’t rely on the