What an absolute sack of sh*t that was on Saturday. So much has been said already that I'm not going to repeat it (much). For me, Farrell looks shot and like he needs a break from the pressure. That certainly means giving up the captaincy, but I think it's got to the point where he needs a break from England as well. My 100% uninformed opinion is that the RWC final and the Saracens mess affected him far more than anyone realised and that he would admit - he doesn't seem like the most talkative or in touch with himself person. I'm still a big fan of his, and I believe he will come good again. But if you look back 2-3 years he was capable of making decisions in the moment and doing some lovely passes to put people through or round the opposition. He just doesn't do that any more, I think his mind is so jumbled he's lost the ability to just do what feels best at the time. It probably doesn't help that he doesn't have Tuilagi outside him either as a bosher or to draw defenders and create space for others. I think that this a failing of the coaching rather than Farrell himself - we've got to accept that for the foreseeable (maybe forever) we haven't got Tuilagi available and so need to change the plans to suit who we do have.
2 other people to single out. Youngs and Billy:
I accept that Billy plays himself into form, but it is not England's responsibility to do that, that is down to his club and the player. It's all very admirable staying at Saracens for their year in the championship, but even without COVID he was never going to get the right kind of match experience. He should have been seeking a season long loan somewhere else where he would play against top opposition. As it is he needs to be dropped, otherwise he'll just about play himself into form by the end of the 6 nations, in time for another break where he'd lose that form before the next set of England and/or Lions games.
Re: Youngs. Eddie has always had a blind eye at 9. Someone else will know the number of new caps he has handed out there, and it won't be many (well, unless you count 5 minutes off the bench at the end of a game). Youngs is probably very comfortable knowing that if he is fit he starts. I'm not saying that he isn't good (no one who gets 100 caps isn't good), or that he doesn't try. But I can't see anyone who doesn't have someone breathing down their necks as a rival not pushing themselves 100% to improve, even if it is subconsciously.
I said in the Autumn that my guess was that Jones's 2020 mission was to (re)shore up the set piece and really nail the defence before adding the attack in 2021. The evidence form Saturday suggests i was completely wrong and that Jones has no intention of doing that, more's the pity. I'm not in the camp of getting rid of him yet, but he's got to make it obvious that he is heading in some direction at some point very soon, otherwise I will be.
