My concerns: attack, defence and attitude

WATCHING England now is the most frustrating thing in the world. I want them to do well, but it does not look promising when a lot of the players are playing worse for England than they do for their clubs.

- JEREMY GUSCOTT

It's almost as if this squad is being asked to play in a way they do not for their clubs, and are undertaking roles that are unfamiliar.

Why, for example, is Maro Itoje no longer challenging and jackaling for the ball in the way he used to for Saracens, and England? Steve Borthwick has got to fix the whole shebang, because England are failing on so many fronts. However, if we look at just three areas it seems like a huge task with the opening pool game against Argentina in Marseille less than two weeks away.

To make the urgent corrections required before they play the Pumas, England should give themselves basic benchmarks in attack, in defence, and in attitude.

England's attack has not been good for a number of years, but now it has slipped even further. Here's a simple challenge to help head coach Borthwick's team sharpen their attack.

If England are 30 yards out from the opposition try line and they produce half a dozen quick phases, then the chances are good that if they execute with enough accuracy they will score - but at the moment they don't appear able to do it.

England look like a team waiting to be told how to play, rather than knowing what to do and requiring only fine-tuning from the coaches.

What makes me cringe most is when I see the ball being kicked in the 22, whether it's on the ground or in the air, unless the kick offers a 90 per cent scoring chance.

England have to be much more comfortable when they have ball, and keep it in hand. You have got to have brains to play rugby union, and often England look as if they are lacking in brainpower. For instance, they are struggling to put six meaningful phases together in which the ball comes back within three seconds - and if you can't do that consistently when you attack it's difficult to see how you can score tries against modern international defences.