Steve Borthwick was frustrated by the manner of England’s defeat to Scotland yesterday, citing too many fundamental errors.
And the Red Roses boss is eager for his players to learn from their reality check in Edinburgh.
“We’ve got to make sure we respect what a good team Scotland are, and the chances they took. But ultimately we made it too easy for them to score, in terms of the chances they took.
“But they were also very clinical, a huge lesson for our team as we develop is that number of turnovers makes it very difficult to win.
“What you saw there is a team that’s trying to develop, add layers to the game, and made errors today. Sometimes you get away with it, and sometimes you get punished. Today’s a big learning experience. It’s a really painful lesson.
“This is a Scotland team that’s been together a long time, their 10-12-13 started together in a dozen Tests. That’s the first time our 10-12-13 has started together, and it looked like that, didn’t it?
“Our lack of cohesion in what we did showed too many fundamental errors. It doesn’t matter the result or the scoreboard in that sense, if you don’t maximise your potential, it’s disappointing. And I don’t think the team maximised its potential.”
