England have acknowledged their discipline needs to improve significantly if they are to be remotely competitive at this year’s Rugby World Cup. Billy Vunipola is facing a ban after his red card in his side’s 29-10 defeat in Ireland and Steve Borthwick admitted he was “incredibly disappointed” by the result.
Borthwick also said he understood the frustration of England fans after another below-par display. “I empathise with the supporters,” the head coach said. “We wanted more progress on the pitch than we saw. Against the best side in the world we needed 15 players on the pitch.
“When it was 15 v 15 it was a tight battle but unfortunately it didn’t stay that way. I’m incredibly disappointed, as I think every England fan will be.”
With Owen Farrell also due to face another disciplinary tribunal on Tuesday, England face an anxious wait to discover if they are about to lose the services of a further senior player. “There’s going to be another week of disruption,” Borthwick said. “We knew that was coming but it’s going to be amplified with Billy. Hopefully we’ll get a conclusion on both matters this week and it won’t go to another week. It’s another challenge that’s been thrown at us.”
Courtney Lawes, playing in his 99th Test, also accepted his team had fallen short of expectations once again. “It wasn’t the performance we wanted at all,” the captain said. “We knew it was going to be hard away from home against the No 1 side in the world but we really hurt ourselves in certain areas, discipline being one. We are pretty disappointed.”
Vunipola is now unlikely to feature in England’s opening World Cup pool game against Argentina but Lawes insisted the No 8 was not a dirty player. “People aren’t doing this on purpose. Split-second decisions happen. People want to try to get us on the front foot. We’re not trying to hurt each other.”
Lawes also insisted there was still hope for England despite four defeats in their last five Tests. “If we tidy up a couple of areas we’ll be a very different team. We won’t give up.”
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Ireland, meanwhile, are awaiting the results of a scan which will determine whether their hooker Dan Sheehan will be fit for the start of the World Cup. “Dan’s lost a bit of power in his foot,” reported the head coach, Andy Farrell.
Farrell also felt Vunipola’s costly dismissal further underlined the importance of collective discipline. “It highlights massively for us that it isn’t just tackle height, it’s discipline in general. There are cards everywhere at the minute and there is a realisation that at the start of competitions, certainly World Cups, referees are going to be red hot on stuff. Making sure we’re the most disciplined side is something we’re chasing down.”
