England underprepared for Six Nations, RFU review says

Lack of fitness contributed to England's second-half decline against Scotland. Credit: Getty Images/Julian Finney

A A damning Rugby Union review concluded that the England team lacked the required level of fitness to compete in the Six Nations Championship, Telegraph Sport has learned.

Steve Borthwick's first campaign as head coach ended in disappointment as England went on to win two consecutive league titles. Of particular concern to Borthwick was the level of preparation of his side when they arrived at camp, which was confirmed by England's second-half defeat against Scotland in the first leg when they squandered a 20-12 lead at Twickenham.

Although the report concluded that fitness levels had improved as the championship progressed, England remained trailing in the final quarters of their losses to France and Ireland. The appointment of Aled Walters to lead strength and conditioning this summer is seen as critical to England's preparation for the World Cup and the rugby style that Borthwick demands.

However, in the immediate aftermath of the 29-16 loss to Ireland in Dublin, Borthwick hinted that Premier League clubs have an obligation to teach players how to work before the first players arrive for England's training camp on 11 June. «We don't want to spend the World Cup training camp trying to get in shape,» Borthwick said. “We want to use the World Cup camp to get better. Once the players leave on Sunday and return to their clubs, we will not be able to control them.”

Premiership Rugby insiders dismissed the notion that England had nothing to do with individual player management plans and were looking to forge better relationships with the head coach, which were heavily strained under Borthwick's predecessor, Eddie Jones.

Another disappointment revealed in the review, which is conducted annually by anonymous insiders, was the limited size of the team. England coaches. Over the week following a 20-10 victory over Wales, England had to use several under-20s to make up for lost time in training.

Bortwick announced a 36-man squad for the start of the season. Championship, but had to cut it down to 29 players at the beginning of each training week. France head coach Fabien Galtier, on the other hand, could have made a team of 42 players and left older players for training weeks.