Former England scrum-half Matt Dawson was scathing about his former side’s display against Italy. Despite winning 47-24 to keep their Six Nations title hopes alive, the Red Roses were regularly cut open by their visitors and appeared to take their foot off the gas in the final quarter.
Steve Borthwick’s side will play Wales next Saturday in Cardiff. They are now second in the table, a point off France, and another bonus point victory will leave Les Bleus needing to beat Scotland in Paris with four tries of their own. However, the 2003 World Cup winner believes England still lack a clinical nature despite notching three wins in a row.
“I have been disappointed that England have been unable to maintain the level of that good stuff we’ve seen,” he said on BBC 5 Live during the latter stages. “There has been a handful of opportunities were England have had so much forward momentum yet they manage to slow their own ball down.”
He later added: “There were moments up until 50-55 minutes that England were in complete control. I was expecting them to put the afterburners on, but instead it was the handbrake in the way they went about their business towards the end.
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