State of the Nation: England’s ‘attacking revolution’ helps Steve Borthwick’s side ‘realise their potential’
England players celebrating with an inset of Steve Borthwick
Following the conclusion of the 2025 Six Nations, we update you on the state of the participating nations. Next up, it’s Steve Borthwick’s England.
England came into the Championships with some serious pressure after a lacklustre Autumn Nations Series but exceeded expectations with their highest finish since 2020 as they came second.
Crucially, they also improved as the Six Nations went on and ended the campaign with 20 points – six points higher than last season and their highest tally since 2017.
This all points to England finally starting to realise their potential under Borthwick which they were threatening to do, and are now putting themselves into a position to become serious title contenders in the future.
Six Nations summary
Borthwick’s side faced the unenviable task of facing defending champions Ireland away from home in their opener, but they didn’t show any signs of cracking in the opening spell. Cadan Murley’s early score, plus five points from the boot of Marcus Smith, gave them a slender lead at half-time, and they could have had more. These missed opportunities came back to haunt them though, as a Jack Crowley-inspired comeback saw Ireland pull away to win 27-22.
This gave England a familiar sense of dread heading into their next Test, as title favourites France arrived at the Allianz. Les Bleus blew opportunity after opportunity in the English capital, however, while Borthwick’s side kept their cool. Despite missing several chances, a Louis Bielle-Biarrey try looked to have sealed the win for France, before Elliot Daly shattered French hearts as he crossed in the 79th minute and giving Fin Smith an easy conversion to seal England’s maiden win of the campaign.
With their Tier One curse finally ended, England could really go and attack the Championship, and when better to do that than in the Calcutta Cup clash with Scotland. But, England adopted a completely different style and once again had to rely on the other team’s missed opportunities. Scotland again thought they won it late on, as Duhan van der Merwe crossed out wide to give Finn Russell a chance to seal the win, but his effort hit the post and England held on to claim their second victory.
But, the second fallow week gave Borthwick’s side a chance to re-group and re-strategise, and they did exactly that heading into Italy. England came out all guns blazing against the Azzurri and romped to a dazzling 47-24 win, but it came at a cost as Ollie Lawrence was stretchered off with an Achilles injury.
With the title still in their sights, thanks to a France win in Dublin, England headed to Cardiff. There was again pressure on Borthwick’s side, with this the perfect situation for Wales to end their 16-match losing streak, but they again hit the ground running and absolutely tore Wales apart with a 10-try battering.
Standout players
Versatile back Tommy Freeman was potentially a surprise name on the Six Nations Player of the Championship shortlist, but nonetheless he had an outstanding campaign. The Northampton man ended the Six Nations as England’s top try scorer with five efforts, scoring against each team in the process, and overall had a strong influence on this new-look attack both on the wing and in midfield.
Keeping with Northampton men, Fin Smith looks to have become the long-term 10 for Borthwick after his impressive campaign in the starting XV. Not only did he improve as the rounds went by, but he also showed he could play in completely different styles to suit different games and still also had the minerals to ice pivotal moments.
Up front, the big talking point of Borthwick’s squad selection was the call to make Maro Itoje captain, but he was utterly sensational throughout this Six Nations. Being given the captaincy role seemingly took his game to new heights, which has also boosted his Lions captaincy credentials.
The back-row combination of Ben and Tom Curry, Ben Earl and Tom Willis also earned incredibly high praise throughout this Championship. All four men became crucial components within Borthwick’s side, all excelling in their different roles. On top of their individual work, they also quickly found a synergy with one another and arguably proved to be the best back-row unit in the Six Nations by the end.
Finally, Ellis Genge and Will Stuart also deserve some flowers for their scrummaging work, which has clearly come on a lot this Six Nations. The pair just seemed to iron out all of the creases from the past year in this area, and quickly turned the scrum into a key weapon. They have done their Lions chances no harm at all.
Stat leaders
While it might not have been the Championship Marcus Smith was hoping for, given he was shifted to fullback, he did end it as England’s top points scorer with 30 to his name. He also just pipped Fin Smith to that title, with the Northampton man ending on 29.
The Quins ace was also England’s main metre-maker this Six Nations, with 459 across his five outings.
Earl has quickly become one of the most feared ball-carriers in the Test game, and he was once again up to his old tricks as he finished with 63 carries this Championship – only behind Blair Kinghorn across the whole Six Nations too.
Freeman was also a serious attacking force, not just for his tries, as he led the way with eight linebreaks – again only behind Kinghorn across the Championship.
Skipper Itoje was once again at the heart of his side’s defensive efforts, with 53 tackles in his five Tests. He also led the way for defensive ruck entries for England with 142.
A big talking point of England’s game was their turnovers and back-row trio Ben Curry, Tom Curry and Earl all notched five steals apiece.
Success story
England’s biggest success story this Six Nations, by far, is their attacking revolution in the latter stages of the Championship.
Despite showing solid attacking intent against Ireland, England returned to their stagnant kicking tactics that had seen fans turn on them. While this did get them over the line against France and Scotland, fans again grew tired of this gameplan and boos were heard at the Allianz whenever the ball was kicked away.
But, after a week in York, something changed. When England returned to action against Italy, there was a genuine attacking intent about them. Alex Mitchell was given the freedom to be a threat around the park rather than box-kick, and that in turn brought the best out of Fin Smith and the rest of the backline. Around this, too, England’s improved breakdown skills gave them consistent quick-ball, which then allowed them to play that style they were after.
In their final two games, England scored 115 points (47 against Italy and 68 against Wales) and notched a tidy 17 tries in the process. This was a far cry from their eight tries in the opening three and a tally of 64 points. Crucially, too, we finally saw England put their foot on the throat in the final Test against Wales – again a trait they hadn’t shown so far under Borthwick – as they scored four tries in the last 15 minutes.
England have now set themselves a standard when it comes to attack, and it seems we will be seeing much more of this moving forward. If they can play like this consistently, you feel there’s a title in the pipeline somewhere.
Main regret
Hindsight is a wonderful thing, but England’s biggest regret will probably be the second-half performance against Ireland – which has cost them a Six Nations Grand Slam. England got off to a strong start in Dublin but took their foot off the pedal at half-time and eventually let Simon Easterby’s side claw their way to victory.
While we might never know what England would have gone on to do if they’d won that opener, when looking back at the campaign overall they should be kicking themselves for that second-half showing.
This Six Nations won’t be filled with too many regrets though, considering they have taken great strides this Championship, both in terms of their performances and results as well.
Results
England v Ireland (Ireland won 27-22)
England v France (England won 26-25)
England v Scotland (England won 16-15)
England v Italy (England won 47-24)
England v Wales (England won 68-14)
👀 READ MORE: State of the Nation: Italy’s ‘disappointing’ Six Nations is testament to Azzurri growth despite French ‘humiliation’
