Clive Woodward ‘incredibly angry’ as he claims England are far better than Italy

The England rugby team are under siege as they stand on the brink of their worst Six Nations in history

Sir Clive Woodward has led the furious reaction to England’s humbling defeat to Italy in Rome, hitting out at coach Steve Borthwick and claiming England are a far better side than Italy.

The former World Cup-winning coach was stunned by England’s third consecutive defeat that left their Six Nations campaign in ruins and Borthwick’s job on the line.

Woodward insisted the players were not to blame for England’s recent implosion, instead questioning the head coach’s tactics. The RFU released a statement on Sunday, backing their man to remain in his job.

Writing in his Daily Mail column, Woodward said England’s first defeat by Italy had left him “incredibly angry”.

He wrote: “Steve Borthwick’s side fully deserved to lose the game. The first thing to say is that everyone will now be looking at the players as the first target for criticism.

“My view is clear. It’s not the fault of those who took to the field in Rome yesterday.

“England would never have won at the Stadio Olimpico regardless of who was wearing white because the biggest problem is not the personnel. It’s how England are playing that’s the issue.

“And let’s be honest, it is now a huge, huge problem.”

He believes the current performances are unacceptable for a nation with the money and playing resources of England, adding there is nobody qualified at the RFU to hold Borthwick to account.

He added: “Italy are nowhere near as good a team as England, but they did everything Borthwick’s side didn’t. They had a solid game plan that suited their players.

“It was one that they carried out, to ensure England and the RFU suffered humiliation.

“Rome is known for brutal gladiatorial killings and England’s latest loss could yet mean the end of Borthwick’s regime.”

Despite the criticism, which has come from all angles since the events of Saturday, embattled boss Borthwick is convinced he should remain in charge of the national side, replying “absolutely” when asked if he remains the right man for the job.

“The RFU, myself, Conor O’Shea (director of performance rugby) and Bill Sweeney (chief executive) speak regularly and discuss the vision of the team going forward,” Borthwick said.

“We know the team have accelerated its development over the last 12 months and also understanding that right now in this Six Nations there are going to be some tough challenges ahead and clearly we have not got results in those challenges we have wanted.

“The team’s growth in the last 12 months has been very, very strong and you can see the vision of where the team is going to be and you see the players coming through.

“Right now this is a tough period, but what we will do is learn from it and make sure we are stronger going forward.

“It is tough right now and we are not hiding away from the fact it is tough. We are not where we want to be in terms of results and in terms of performances.”