France players 'astounded' by England's lack of physicality after drubbing

Twenty years ago in Dublin, Martin Johnson famously refused to move his team from their patch of carpet forcing Ireland president Mary McAleese to walk in the mud. After rolling out the carpet for France last week, England desperately need to summon that type of dogged defiance to dispel the growing notion that they are a soft touch.

The nation that gave the world the snarl of Johnno, the right hook of Wade Dooley and the menace of Mick ‘the Munch’ Skinner is now viewed with a mixture of pity and contempt by opposition packs. Who now provides that fear factor? Where are the enforcers?

Nick Easter, the former Harlequins No 8, was a part of some rank awful England performances. Until last weekend, he (together with current England head coach Steve Borthwick) had been part of England’s two heaviest home defeats, back-to-back 42-6 and 32-6 losses to South Africa and New Zealand in 2008. Yet even in those dark days, England’s pack retained the respect of opponents. Bloodied but unbowed.

That is no longer the case. As Easter discovered speaking to some of the victorious France players after the record 53-10 defeat at Twickenham, confirming his own impression that the England forwards are less monsters than mice.

'South Africans say that scrummaging against England props is like scrummaging against a pillow'

“This is the smallest, least physical forward pack I have ever seen in England,” Easter told Telegraph Sport. “Not only that but it has been stated by the opposition. I spoke to a couple of French players after the game and I won’t name names but they were astounded by the lack of physicality.

“Someone else I know spoke to some of the Scotland lads after the first game and they told him that they had never played against an English pack as unphysical. Then you have South Africans saying that scrummaging against England is like scrummaging against a pillow.

“No matter how bad we have been in the past, we have always had a forward pack. Producing forwards and physicality has never been a problem for England. Now it is embarrassing to watch.”

What better platform for England to make a mockery of such statements than at the Aviva Stadium. As vice-captain Ellis Genge said this week,

“We got hammered at home, we’re going away to number one in the world on St Patrick’s Day, literally a day that’s made for them, and they can win a Grand Slam,” Genge said. “All odds are against us but I’m really confident in the group that we’ve got that we’ll come out swinging. It’s more so now about proving a point that we have got some fight in us because that was questioned at the weekend and it’s not where we want to be as a team.”

After the failed attempt to expand their horizons through fly-half Marcus Smith last week, the return of Owen Farrell signals a shrinking of ambition. The selection of wing Henry Arundell is a red herring in this regard and he is likely to be fed more ball by Irish kicking than he is by English handling. Expect them to kick like there is no tomorrow and attempt to turn the screw at the set piece.

The problem is that Ireland are as adept at arm wrestling as they are when they go wide. That is why they are World No 1 and why you would struggle to make a case for a single England player to make a composite XV aside from the possible exception of Maro Itoje.

Aside from a red card (or two?) the best hope England have of levelling the playing field is for Ireland to feel the weight of expectation on their shoulders for all the reasons that Genge listed. This appears unlikely. Andy Farrell, the Ireland head coach, vividly remembers how as an England player he felt powerless to stop a green wave in this historic first match at Croke Park in 2007.

“I've used it time and time again throughout my coaching career in regards to performing when it matters because the Irish team at that time had to win because of the occasion in Croke Park and all that,” Farrell said. “How they attacked that game and pushed themselves from the first minute. They were playing to space and how they went after that game, getting the balance of the right emotion but, at the same time, playing the game that was in front of them was fantastic in regards to dealing with the crowd and occasion.”

Given Ireland have a 16-point handicap with the bookmakers, only the most naively optimistic of England supporters can expect a first victory in Dublin since that seminal performance in 2019. But at the very least they need to show they are no pushovers. The perception that England are a soft touch will become a self-fulfilling prophecy like how school bullies hone in on certain victims in the playground.

Respect is as important as the result.