5 Talking Points: Steve Borthwick & Maro Itoje react to Six Nations defeat to Ireland
Yesterday at 04:02 PM
England’s 2025 Men’s Guinness Six Nations campaign has begun in defeat, with Steve Borthwick’s side taking just the losing bonus point away from their trip to Dublin. After a solid first 40 minutes saw England depart at half-time 10-5 ahead, Ireland rallied back with a strong second half showing, and scored three unanswered tries to build a healthy lead.
England battled back for two tries to round off the match, yet Tom Curry and Tommy Freeman’s efforts were consolatory ones at best. The damage had been done by Simon Easterby’s men, with the 22 unanswered points turning defeat into an impressive triumph for the men from the Emerald Isle. England head coach Steve Borthwick and his newly appointed captain Maro Itoje faced the media after the match, and here are the five biggest talking points from their post match press conference.
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1. “The critical period” – Borthwick gives his take on England’s second half collapse
There’s no denying how rapidly Ireland turned the dial in the second half. Simon Easterby must have delivered an all-timer of a team talk to get a rise out of his side, as Ireland battled back into the lead and held the position for the remainder of the match.
STEVE BORTHWICK: "Firstly, immense credit to Ireland, they are such an experienced team and it was a tough match," Borthwick said. "In the third quarter, they did reallly well. They won two kick exchanges, which got them field position and opportunity. There were a couple of penalties that we conceded which gave them field position and opportunity.
“That was probably the critical period and that allowed them to get scoreboard pressure. Then while huge congratulations to Ireland and respect to them for their performance, I I am very proud of the way the players attacked the game in the first half and how they came back in the final quarter to score a couple of tries to get us a bonus point.”
“You have to credit Ireland, they’re a world-class team and have been world class for so long, and you guys will know the numbers of how long Ireland have been in the top four of the rankings for so long. And I think that experience told in the third quarter where I thought tactically they played really well and that allowed them to get the scoreboard pressure that we couldn’t claw back.”
2. “A tremendous honour” – Maro Itoje reflects on his first match as England captain
This match marked the first run at the helm for England’s new captain Maro Itoje, after the lock took over the armband from Jamie George. The sense of the occasion did not get lost amidst the defeat in Dublin, with Itoje ever more proud to have led out his side.
MARO ITOJE: "It has always been a tremendous honour to be in this position. The team received me well and it was a good Test match. We played really well in the first half, the boys did well, and in the second half we didn't quite do the execution. But overall, in terms of how I found the captaincy it was fine.”
3. “Fought to the very end” – Itoje’s gives an insight to his team talk after a hard-fought defeat
Itoje was then asked on what he said to his England team in the changing rooms after the match. It was a clear message from the Saracens lock, the second half was not good enough from a game plan perspective.
MARO ITOJE: "We pretty much said the first half was really good and in the second half we did not quite execute the game plan in terms of territory and possession. I am proud of the way the boys fought to the very end. We fought to get the losing bonus point at the end and that is definitely admirable.”
"It is what it is. Our role is to learn from it and to build and get better. There were large parts of our game which we took a step forward. The energy we had on the field, the vibrancy to our attack, the way the guys were attacking and flooding through holes, I thought was admirable but of course there are things for us to learn and get better at.”
4. Borthwick believes England’s relative inexperience was an impact upon the result
STEVE BORTHWICK: "If you look at the game, you see an Ireland team that has been together for such a huge amount time with 1,200 caps and an England team that has been together for six months and has half that number of caps. The guys went out and if you had been watching that start of the game, you wouldn't see that difference.”
“I think it was certainly a factor. I think the change at 10 was pretty significant one – I thought he played really well when he came on there and that final part of the game. And they’ve got quality in their team. I was looking at the teams beforehand and I think on that bench they had almost as many caps as we have in our whole 23. And I was looking at that going, this is, this is gonna be a great Test for us.
“Ultimately we came up short and I’m really disappointed we came up short because I thought we could come here and win this game. And I think our players gave that a good go. You certainly saw a belief in the players that they could come here and win the game. And we didn’t, so we’ll ensure that we’re a better team next week against France back at Twickenham, back at Allianz Stadium.”
5. Looking ahead to France – Borthwick ready for ‘Le Crunch’ in Six Nations second round
The last time England hosted France at the Allianz Stadium, was that brutal 53-10 hammering from the 2023 Six Nations. That match still stands as England’s heaviest ever home defeat, and Borthwick is eyeing up a better outcome for this incoming clash with Fabien Galthie’s men.
STEVE BORTHWICK: “We play France next week and we’re looking forward to being back at Twickenham next week in front our supporters. And I think certainly the messages I’ve already received, I think you’ve seen a team that is developing how they want to move the ball, really develop how they want to attack and I think you saw a team work so exceptionally hard for each other.
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