Paul Grayson column: England don’t need to win to be better. Just turn up

18 March 2023 , 10:49

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'Good teams aren’t made overnight. Habits have to become ingrained. But there are certain non negotiables, such as physicality in contact' (Image: DAILY MIRROR)

A week on and the shock has not subsided. England were abject, painfully bad.

What we saw against France was a team degrading in front of our eyes, a stark reminder of how far England have fallen since the last World Cup.

You hurt like hell for a long time after a performance like that. Unless you’re someone who likes to remind themselves ‘I’m never letting that happen again’, that is not a shirt you’re hanging on your wall.

Because who wants to have played in that game? It was the worst sort of defeat. They were nowhere near in any facet of the game.

At the Aviva today England don’t even need to win to be better. They just need to turn up. It is an opportunity for redemption or at least a first step in the right direction.

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England have got to turn their hurt into a performance, even if they are playing the number one team in the world, who are bang in form going for a Grand Slam and would like nothing better than to do it against them.

Paul Grayson's exclusive column in the Daily Mirror is brought in association with CINCH

Thomas Ramos skips out of a tackle as France inflict humiliation on England at Twickenham (AP)

It is a mountain they have to climb. Their new coaching team are four games into the job. You don’t re-establish good culture in a month.

These players had nearly seven years of doing it one way, which won them a lot of games but not a lot of trophies. It got worse and worse and change became necessary.

Good teams aren’t made overnight. Habits have to become ingrained. But there are certain non negotiables, such as physicality in contact, absent a week ago.

Marcus Smith (centre) has paid price for England loss with Owen Farrell taking over at 10 against Ireland (Getty Images)

A defensive system is worth nothing if you don’t have the stomach for the fight. Without physical presence you can’t dominate the collisions or slow ruck ball down.

You can practise your technique all you want, it’s about getting your head in the right space and having the heart for the fight.

The talk coming out of camp is of a chance for ‘retribution’ and a vow to ‘come out swinging’. All well and good. But if you talk big then don’t show up, words start to mean nothing.

Paul Grayson