Six Nations 2026: Can England’s evolving attack bring them title?

Rewind to three years ago and England were effectively the worst attacking side in the top tier of Test rugby.

Steve Borthwick had been appointed as head coach with just nine months to prepare for a Rugby World Cup and opted for a failsafe approach: kick high, long and often, and limit mistakes.

The reductive strategy so nearly secured successive World Cup finals – but often proved soporific for supporters.

England’s limitations were such that an Italy side which began 2023 ranked 12th in the world – lower than Samoa – still scored more tries across the calendar year, despite playing three fewer matches.

England had not so much left the handbrake on as lost the keys to a car locked in the garage.

The following year, a transitional team lost seven of 12 Tests as they continued to tread water in attack.

Middling metrics. Fleeting momentum.

But not anymore.

In 2025, England’s attack evolved into something with verve and variety. Only back-to-back world champions South Africa scored more tries, while Opta data demonstrates a drastic improvement in comparison to every other Tier 1 nation.

And England’s new-found ambition underpinned a year of growth – winning a series in Argentina with a depleted squad and defeating New Zealand for just the ninth time in their 120-year rivalry as part of an unbeaten autumn.

England’s current run of 11 wins is their longest in nearly a decade.