England legend slams Borthwick and claims referee was their 'man of the match'
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Former Wasps fly-half Andy Goode has made it clear—England would be a far better team without Steve Borthwick in charge.
Find your local Greene King pub and settle in for the 2025 Six Nations!
England kept their Six Nations title hopes alive on Saturday in dramatic fashion, as Finn Russell's late conversion miss saw Scotland's Calcutta Cup dominance come to an end at Allianz Stadium.
It was the visitors who took control early on, with tries from Ben White and Huw Jones giving Scotland a three-point lead at the break. But England fought back, winning the breakdown battle in the second half.
Marcus Smith slotted two penalties before Fin Smith stepped up with a monster kick from halfway, putting Borthwick's men 16-10 ahead with just nine minutes to play.
Scotland weren't done yet. Duhan van der Merwe crossed in the corner after Stafford McDowall sliced through England's defence, leaving Russell with a kick to steal the win. But with Allianz Stadium holding its breath, the Scotland star pushed his effort just wide of the post.
While England celebrated, Goode wasn't convinced. The 45-year-old, who has never been shy with his opinions, took to X (formerly Twitter) to blast Borthwick's leadership.
“Great to get the win for England,” he wrote. “I genuinely think there's an exciting team in that squad being held back by Steve Borthwick and the inexperienced coaching team.”
He didn't stop there, suggesting England were helped by the match officials.
“England's Man of the Match was the ref Pierre Brousset!”
With England still in the hunt for Six Nations glory, the debate over Borthwick's future isn't going anywhere.
Editors Picks:
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- Three players Ireland must drop despite Wales win – who should replace them
Six players who flopped in the Six Nations today, one player ‘cost his team’
Ireland bagged their 14th Triple Crown in style, keeping their hopes of a historic third consecutive Six Nations title alive with a nail-biting victory over Wales in Cardiff.
Meanwhile, England edged closer to the business end of the competition, but a missed 79th-minute conversion from Finn Russell saw Scotland's Calcutta Cup winning streak come to a halt at Allianz Stadium.
But let's turn the spotlight onto the five players who didn't quite live up to expectations in today's Six Nations action…
#1. Finn Russell (Scotland)
Planet Rugby 5/10: “Not a game the Scotland co-captain will remember fondly as his goal-kicking proved costly and in the end it was the difference between winning and losing for his side. As expected, he asked plenty of questions of England's defence but his inability to convert any tries will haunt Scotland's fans for some time.”
RUCK 4/10: “Co-captain Russell's kicking was the difference in a heartbreaking result for the Scots, failing to make any of his three conversions from wide areas. While he was reliable away from the tee and all three kicks were near the touchline, there's no looking past his abysmal kicking in a gut-wrenching Scottish defeat which ends their championship hopes.”
Telegraph 5/10: “Missed a tackle for a Lawrence break. No problem finding width, but then what? Missed (tough) conversions were killer. A step back for his Lions hopes.”
#2. Garry Ringrose (Ireland)
RUCK 3/10: “Gave away a cheap penalty and a consequential yellow card when Ireland were on the back foot towards the end of the first half which not only gave Wales an easy three points but a bunker review upgrade to a red card took Ringrose out of the game really before he even got into it.”
Rugby Pass 4/10: “Back in the starting side after coming off the pine against Scotland. Maybe could have scored but for a poor pass from Jamie Osborne and was yellow-carded minutes later for a clumsy challenge that was upgraded to a 20-minute red.”
JOE 5/10: “Was good while he was in the pitch but his red card was costly.”
BALLS.ie: “Did little in attack but stuck all six of his tackles. Unfortunately, one of them was too high on Thomas and he copped a 20-minute red card.”
Planet. Rugby 3/10: “A bad day for the centre, who was red carded for a head-on-head collision with Ben Thomas and will probably sit out the rest of the Six Nations as a result.”
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