NICK CAIN
READ HIS EXPERT OPINION EVERY WEEK 

ONE of the crosses that Steve Borthwick’s England team are going to have to bear after another fourth-placed Six Nations finish is being compared to the Red Rose world champions of 20 years ago.
The unpalatable reality when you consider this 2023 campaign is that, whereas England reached for the sky two decades ago in Dublin to win a Grand Slam of their own, this time they went nowhere.
It meant that the overblown praise Borthwick’s outfit got for dogged defence last Saturday, before ultimately conceding a clean sweep triumph to an Ireland team...