Six Nations 2010: England display a chronic lack of intelligence

By Mark Reason Published: 10:11PM GMT twenty-seven February 2010

Careworn: Danny Care"s plunge in to fails to forestall Keith Earls scoring a try for Italy Photo: AP

This England group is full of gym bunnies, but where is the tactical appreciation? Jonny Wilkinson and Riki Flutey have vision, but the rest of the rabbits can perceptibly see past their nose.

Danny Care again put in a witless performance, usually as he did when he was sent to the sin bin last year. England"s scrum-half can have fizzing breaks, but the rest of his diversion is a liability. If he is not putting Wilkinson in difficulty with his strained three-step pass, he is putting his group in difficulty with moments of idiocy.

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The impulse when Care dumped Ireland"s scrum-half off the turn caused a chastisement to be topsy-turvy and could have cost England the game. It was an situation that had been coming. Care had outlayed the prior 10 mins chatting in Ireland"s faces similar to a beer hall bore. It says most for Ireland"s fortify that one of their players didn"t time him. Mind you, England"s captain Steve Borthwick competence have got to Care first.

The difficulty is that Care does not appear means to learn. One former general pronounced he would have done Care find his own approach home from Dublin last year. That approach a couple of of England"s fans could have told the scrum-half what they thought of him. Johnson right away needs to say: "Grow up or get out." The impulse when Care flapped a lax turn at the behind of to Wilkinson in the initial half led to Ireland"s initial try and did cost England the game. Care"s tedium is symptomatic of England"s miss of wit. Where is James Haskell"s rugby brain? When a French physical education instructor was not long ago asked what he thought of England"s No 6 he usually shrugged and said: "Non." Haskell is not alone in his miss of rugby nous. Nick Easter was offside in his follow-up of kicks time and time again. Why? How most times can one man have the same inapplicable designation and not learn. England"s at the behind of row is usually a bit low and rather as well full of themselves, Lewis Moody excepted.

The most appropriate thing for Martin Johnson is that England did not scratch a win simply since they can whack and Ireland cannot scrummage. Now England"s physical education instructor cannot censor at the behind of results, he has to face up to the truth. His group is not unequivocally clever. They scored one try from one inch, Ireland scored 3 from all collection of the pitch. Even but the turn they had some-more ideas.

Johnson has to slice up his at the behind of row and find a little men who can think for themselves. He has to find a scrum-half he is probably called Paul Hodgson who can assistance Jonny carry out a game. He has to find a little rugby men, not a bucket of surging athletes who don"t unequivocally have a idea what this diversion is all about.

A renowned former general told me not long ago that if he were Johnson he would ask for a Winchester rifle. That approach he could fire a player each time they done the sort of dumb inapplicable designation that drives coaches mad. That annoyed the thought that not most England players would tarry a game. "Ah, came the reply, I would usually wing them." If that were the box afterwards Ugo Monye probably would not have a prong left. England"s wing keeps being put in to space and he keeps unwell to see up for support. He had the blinkers on opposite Italy and he was again blind to his options yesterday. Two high Wilkinson passes combined space for Monye in the early stages and England"s wing fell down the spark attic steps.

Mind you, Monye is not alone. Keith Earls was guilty of the same thing when he had Jamie Heaslip screaming up in support. Yesterday in Cardiff Jamie Roberts done a mangle and unsuccessful to find James Hook on his shoulder.

This has turn endemic. All the regard that Matthie Bastareaud has perceived in new weeks is one of life"s good mysteries. Where is the happiness in the French centre, where the artistry. We used to speak about the pianists in the backs, but Bastaraud couldn"t even fool around the cymbals. His hands are catastrophic.

Johnson pronounced yesterday that England are not perplexing to fool around voluptuous rugby, they are perplexing to fool around in effect rugby. It was a doom-laden statement. You usually goal that he is not deliberation a lapse to the dim days of Matt Banahan and Ayoola Erinle, the stone-age men with hands similar to stone-age tools.

Danny Cipriani is streamer for Melbourne and who can censure him. He probably looks over his shoulder and sees Johnson appearing over England"s dim eerie mills. He sees a group but joy, a group but wit. Who wants to fool around rugby similar to that? Who wants to watch rugby similar to that? After 100 caps John Hayes still can"t scrummage, but he knows his approach turn the rugby field. England can perceptibly tract their approach out of the sauce room.