Brendan Gallagher: Good riddance to record run, now Eddie can experiment

It had to happen – and in fact you could argue it might have been better for England if France had nicked the win they probably deserved at Twickenham first up seven weeks ago.
Long unbeaten runs are great but only up to a certain a point. Alex Ferguson wrote about this once when one of his United teams went on a long unbeaten year despite playing progressively worse football.
A mixed blessing.
Believe it or not, such long runs can begin to drag you down, especially when you are a young developing team badly wanting the freedom to experiment and expand your game – and lose occasionally with a specific long term aim. Like building a side to win the 2019 World Cup in Japan which is the only thing Eddie Jones is really interested in.
With the one glorious exception of the Scotland game when the sun shone and the Scots unexpectedly didn’t ‘turn up’ England have played throughout this tournament like a side defending a proud unbeaten run and chasing New Zealand‘s record.
They should have lost to France but squeezed home in the last ten minutes, they could have lost in Wales but did produce five minutes of quality rugby at the death and they failed to show much nous against Italy.
And then finally they got found out good and proper against Ireland who are world leaders at pricking bubbles and who showed exactly how good they can be when they turned over New Zealand last autumn.
So the record has gone and in many ways good riddance. It will not hog the headlines or the column inches any more. No longer will it be in the back of players’ minds, either. Now England can get down to the building and experimentation that is required. Life is about to get very interesting.
Dylan Hartley, right, has done an unexpectedly wonderful job as captain – bravo – but his England days are almost over. It really is time for Jamie George, Tommy Taylor and Luke Cowan-Dickie to battle it out at hooker and for Owen Farrell to take the skipper’s armband.
James Haskell has done a staunch job since RWC2015 and nobody will ever forget his magnificent series winning contribution in Australia last summer but he is not the future at seven for England.
I can’t at this precise time tell you who is the future England seven – Zach Mercer is my hunch but nothing more – but with the backline England can put out they must find a quicker openside going forward in both senses of the word. Meanwhile do England continue with Maro Itoje at six? Possibly, but he remains England’s best lock as well.
That’s a real dilemma that needs to be mulled over while in the backs there are others as well. Jonathan Joseph looked a world beater against Scotland but anonymous last night and although a devastating runner on his day does not have a complete skillset. Elliot Daly, in contrast does, and you fancy Daly could slot in tomorrow if asked at outside centre.
Daly could play full-back as well and you wonder if that is now where Eddie Jones is also looking at him. Mike Brown is solid and fiery but his refusal to even look for the pass or off-load on occasions is beginning to limit an England side with so much potential firepower out wide.
Another option at full-back could see Anthony Watson switch there because England have a surfeit of wings while there are some who still wonder what exactly Alex Goode has done wrong. Sometimes England still seems to cry out for his cool head and eye for space.
Christian Wade? Do England just continue to wantonly ignore his extravagant talents or do they try to incorporate this erratic miracle worker somehow, perhaps off the bench. It takes no imagination whatsoever to see him turning – or finishing to use Eddie’s favourite term – a game with a moment of brilliance.
And are we totally convinced by George Ford? Brilliant against Scotland, cracking in the final five minutes against Wales but unconvincing elsewhere. England need to be much more dominant up front for Ford to be an absolute certainty because he lacks conviction playing on the back foot.
There is nothing he does that Danny Cipriani can’t do and the latter often demonstrated more flair in making things happen in a Sale side that used to struggle for parity. Ford still has a fair bit to prove in the eyes of many.
So, now the run is over, England and Eddie can go to work and it could be exciting. Despite defeat yesterday England will still be strongly represented on the Lions tour – and rightly so – and as soon as that party is finalised he can select his squad to play Argentina in two Tests this summer.
That is going to be an unusually important summer tour against what should be a full-strength Pumas.
The next wave will be encouraged and keen to make their mark and there will be every chance of carrying that through to the autumn when Jones might look to rest many if not all of his Lions.
England a year from now could look a very different team.