Steve Borthwick, the head coach of England, acknowledged “there is a large gap between us and the top teams in the world” following the humiliating record-breaking home loss to France.
The 53-10 defeat suffered by Borthwick’s team, their third-worst overall and largest at Twickenham, was devastating.
Today, we were exposed, stated Borthwick.
“There is a significant gap between where we are now and where I had anticipated we would be. We are aware of our situation and what needs to be done.”
Borthwick’s pre-game decision to substitute Marcus Smith for captain Owen Farrell was undone when a ruthless France scored seven tries to obscenely highlight the gap in ability.
The hosts were thoroughly outplayed, with the exception of a brief period at the opening of the second half when Freddie Steward’s try offered England hope of a comeback.
England falters to lose to France at home.
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In response to England’s humiliating Six Nations loss
Before his team plays title-chasing Ireland next weekend, Borthwick has a much to work on with 13 handling mistakes and 26 missed tackles.
France is undoubtedly a world-class team, he continued, and they deserve enormous praise.
“We had collisions on both the attack and defense lines. We were aware of their enormous power, but regrettably we did nothing about it. They were able to take control when we attacked.”
British Six Nations
Following their opening-round loss to Scotland at Twickenham, England has now won two and lost two games in the Six Nations. They defeated Italy and Wales.
For the first time in Six Nations history, England has dropped two games at home.
One of our poorest displays, according to Genge
Prop forward Ellis Genge was selected captain in Farrell’s absence and labeled the poor display “a bit of a mystery”.
England actually spent longer in the opposing half than France did, but their lack of innovation was often exposed by France’s quick thinking and accurate kicking.
Genge stated to ITV: “I won’t sugarcoat anything. We received multiple penalties for one of our poorest performances.
“We commanded the boys to continue fighting, and I believe we engaged in it for 80% of the time.
“The momentum was against us for far too long, and we failed to regain it. I’m not trying to avoid the fact that we were soundly defeated today.
“France is an excellent team that has consistently demonstrated why they are ranked second in the world. We are far from our desired location.”
England’s most significant loss
The record loss for England is a 76-0 loss to Australia in Brisbane in June 1998, but Clive Woodward’s team was missing several key players and had five debutants in a young lineup that included a 19-year-old fly-half. Wilkinson, Jonny
The 42-6 loss to South Africa in 2008 was England’s previous biggest home loss. “Players wanted to put up a big game,” Galthie said.
Fabien Galthie, the head coach of France, was thrilled with a victory that offers his team hope of defending their title going into the final round.
The last time France won at Twickenham in the Six Nations was in 2005. On Saturday, France will play Wales in Paris.
“I’ve been visiting Twickenham for twenty years now. It’s sentimental, “Galthie stated.
“Our Six Nations have not met our expectations. Here, we wanted to take action. The athletes wanted to play well against England.”
Raphael Ibanez, the France squad manager, added: “That was a very outstanding performance. Playing at Twickenham and succeeding there just serves to highlight the caliber of our team.
In French rugby history, it was arguably the best victory away from home.