Matt Dawson column: World Cup winner discusses England’s record home defeat by Ireland

Remember two years ago when England were going to get beaten at home by 40 points against Ireland?

The narrative in this tournament rarely plays out as expected. Teams overperform and sides crack under pressure. That is the beauty of the Six Nations.

That predicted thumping in 2024 never happened. Instead, England stunned Grand Slam-chasing Ireland with the last play of the game to win 23-22.

Roll on two years, when expectations were much lower, and Ireland delivered that record away win.

Andy Farrell’s side arrived with the mentality to deliver a historic victory, bringing the tactics and accuracy needed to win.

The 21-point difference at Allianz Stadium came down to tactics and decision-making. England made a load of mistakes, and some of that came down to trying to play the match like a game of chess.

The issue with doing that is that they could not change on the hoof how they wanted to play.

The tactical battle between coaches Andy Farrell and Steve Borthwick was won by Farrell, but England need players on the field who are able to change tactics as they go.

They have struggled with sticking to the script instructed to them by Borthwick, with any changes then being delivered at half-time.

Given the talent and winning run, I was expecting England to adapt better.

Why do teams play with a high tempo against them? Because England are good.

It looked like they thought another team could not replicate Scotland’s attacking play from last week.

It was very unlike England, but that is what happens when you get stressed.

They lacked the senior Lions mentality to get out of sticky situations. Over the last two weeks, where were those decision-makers?

The defence and attack needed adjusting in the first quarter. They waited 40 minutes and had conceded 22 points.

England have good leadership, but Maro Itoje – who will only get better with more minutes under his belt – cannot do it all on his own.

He wants the leaders around him to step up in their roles, especially given he is not finishing games at the moment.

Someone like Ollie Chessum can jump in with an idea of how to fix the line-out. Freddie Steward, who can see the flow of the game from the back, could offer input on where the space to attack is.

The squad has not changed from the 12-game winning run. They are a group of very good rugby players.

Ellis Genge was honest and brave in his assessment, but I do not feel let down by England.