Archive February 23, 2025

World Cup winner Matt Dawson examines the status of the battle for the British and Irish Lions selection at fly-half in his BBC Sport column.

I’m always in the camp of winning over entertainment.

Of course England want to entertain the fans, but when you’re in that white shirt, you just want to win the game.

As a player, I never thought ‘ how can I do this to entertain the fans? ‘

England could be the most ugly team in the world if France and Scotland were to start a 10-game unbeaten run, and Allianz Stadium’s roof will still fall off.

The fans love coming to Twickenham, knowing no-one beats you or messes you around.

After the victory over Scotland, the bars and pubs around the ground were absolutely rammed two hours later.

Over the past couple of games when they have fallen behind, England have gained some valuable experience for these players to recoup and win.

It will stand them in good stead.

The obvious error, in my opinion, is kicking the ball when you should have done it.

When there is a five-on-three in attack, let’s isolate that final defender and walk in for the try.

I don’t mind kicking when it’s really static. When the game is not moving in a positive way, it’s challenging to break down Test defenses.

However, regardless of the opposition, it seems like England is accepting scenarios from training that “this is what we are going to do.”

In the autumn and earlier in the year’s Six Nations, where they were “full metal jacket” ready to attack, I started to feel that England were getting away from that.

At the conclusion of the first half, when they had some territory and possession, the first line broke. The top teams finish those opportunities off, and Marcus Smith did so through the middle, which will frustrate them.

I’d like to see England take a little more calculated risk because they have some really talented and talented people.

After the game, I adore their candor and honesty. They were aware that they had not yet played their full potential, but they did so in particular in the defense sector. They had a chance because it was so powerful and dominant.

England are flying in and competing for the ball at the breakdown, but their right-hand side was weak, showing a pattern.

Defensively, England are going nowhere. They look solid and Fin Smith delivers some big hits at fly-half if you put them on around the fringes, but they desperately need to get better if you watch them elsewhere.

Scotland had done their homework, and their defense of France was somewhat derailed by how they were drifting in the direction of the flag.

Blair Kinghorn and Duhan van der Merwe would attack them if England had waited too long. England didn’t know until they entered the dressing room because they were brilliant.

Then, by not competing as much and spreading more, they changed their strategy for defense. They improved their resumption of the game and gained more control over it.

After Fin Smith’s penalty, England moves up six points, but they should have been screaming at one another right away to exit and get the win.

The game would have been ended if Scotland had scored on its last three points.

For me, that mentality is still a little lacking.

If a game is going to decide the Six Nations and you are playing France or Ireland, you must assume they will eventually convert and prevail by a point.

Italy returns home next, and this is a fantastic opportunity to raise the risk of their attack.

I’m not asking for any change in personnel – it’s about making different decisions in those Test-match scenarios.

Grind Italy down, kick our goals and score tries.

England should be 20-point winners of the game with Maro Itoje leading the charge and Maro Itoje’s two victories at home pumping their hearts out.

Although they can’t influence France and Ireland, Grand Slams are difficult to find at the Six Nations and are already in the makings.

If Scotland’s Finn Russell made one of his three kicks it would have been another headline man-of-the-match Calcutta Cup performance.

You can have a bad day, and it will go down as a cross in pencil rather than ink for the British and Irish Lions selection, but he pulled the strings and did it beautifully.

I actually don’t think the Lions fly-half is decided by any stretch.

Sam Prendergast, from Ireland, is wearing a beautiful international jersey. He is making mistakes, but it doesn’t seem to stymie him, much like Fin Smith, who continues to improve his understanding of the game internationally.

Although I’m a big fan of Marcus Smith, there is no room for expansion abroad. Because England has two fly-halves in the team, and the opposition struggles to defend that flowing option, he makes a good full-back option.

But when George Furbank comes back to fitness I think Steve Borthwick has a conundrum, and I don’t think Marcus is the answer at 15 long-term.

You can’t blame him too much for it because he hasn’t played a lot in that role, but France and Scotland did occasionally make use of him.

He is not using his traditional line-breaks or catching the ball enough.

Instead of playing in the backfield where he just wants to get his hands on the ball, he might find it advantageous to be a little bit on the bench and watching the game before starting and stomping on it.

I believe that Marcus’ first reaction is to find out what’s going on.

He will win man-of-the-match awards all day because he has the talent to do so for the Harlequins.

But when you are playing a New Zealand or a South Africa, Fin Smith’s instinct of ‘ Where is my inside centre? Where are my forwards? What’s the information? ‘ is what the team needs.

World Cup winner Matt Dawson examines the status of the battle for the British and Irish Lions selection at fly-half in his BBC Sport column.

I’m always in the camp of winning over entertainment.

Of course England want to entertain the fans, but when you’re in that white shirt, you just want to win the game.

As a player, I never thought ‘ how can I do this to entertain the fans? ‘

England could be the most ugly team in the world if France and Scotland were to start a 10-game unbeaten run, and Allianz Stadium’s roof will still fall off.

The fans love coming to Twickenham, knowing no-one beats you or messes you around.

After the victory over Scotland, the bars and pubs around the ground were absolutely rammed two hours later.

Over the past couple of games when they have fallen behind, England have gained some valuable experience for these players to recoup and win.

It will stand them in good stead.

They have a solid set-piece, which is going to handle most teams. Ollie Chessum is coming in, and the back row is getting the balance at the breakdown.

The obvious error, in my opinion, is kicking the ball when you should have done it.

When there is a five-on-three in attack, let’s isolate that final defender and walk in for the try.

I don’t mind kicking when it’s really static. When the game is not moving in a positive way, it’s challenging to break down Test defenses.

However, regardless of the opposition, it seems like England is accepting scenarios from training that “this is what we are going to do.”

In the autumn and earlier in the year’s Six Nations, where they were “full metal jacket” ready to attack, I started to feel that England were getting away from that.

At the conclusion of the first half, when they had some territory and possession, the first line broke. The top teams finish those opportunities off, and Marcus Smith did so through the middle, which will frustrate them.

I’d like to see England take a little more calculated risk because they have some really talented and talented people.

After the game, I adore their candor and honesty. They were aware that they had not yet played their full potential, but they did so in particular in the defense sector. They had a chance because it was so powerful and dominant.

England are flying in and competing for the ball at the breakdown, but their right-hand side was weak, showing a pattern.

Defensively, England are going nowhere. They look solid and Fin Smith delivers some big hits at fly-half if you put them on around the fringes, but they desperately need to get better if you watch them elsewhere.

Scotland had done their homework, and their defense of France was somewhat derailed by how they were drifting in the direction of the flag.

Blair Kinghorn and Duhan van der Merwe would attack them if England had waited too long. England didn’t know until they entered the dressing room because they were brilliant.

Then, by not competing as much and spreading more, they changed their strategy for defense. They improved their resumption of the game and gained more control over it.

After Fin Smith’s penalty, England moves up six points, but they should have been screaming at one another right away to exit and get the win.

The game would have been ended if Scotland had scored on its last three points.

For me, that mentality is still a little lacking.

If a game is going to decide the Six Nations and you are playing France or Ireland, you must assume they will eventually convert and prevail by a point.

Italy returns home next, and this is a fantastic opportunity to raise the risk of their attack.

I’m not asking for any change in personnel – it’s about making different decisions in those Test-match scenarios.

Grind Italy down, kick our goals and score tries.

England should be 20-point winners of the game with Maro Itoje leading the charge and Maro Itoje’s two victories at home pumping their hearts out.

Although they can’t influence France and Ireland, Grand Slams are difficult to find at the Six Nations and are already in the makings.

If Scotland’s Finn Russell made one of his three kicks it would have been another headline man-of-the-match Calcutta Cup performance.

You can have a bad day, and it will go down as a cross in pencil rather than ink for the British and Irish Lions selection, but he pulled the strings and did it beautifully.

I actually don’t think the Lions fly-half is decided by any stretch.

Sam Prendergast, from Ireland, is wearing a beautiful international jersey. He is making mistakes, but it doesn’t seem to stymie him, much like Fin Smith, who continues to improve his understanding of the game internationally.

Although I’m a big fan of Marcus Smith, there is no room for expansion abroad. Because England has two fly-halves in the team, and the opposition struggles to defend that flowing option, he makes a good full-back option.

But when George Furbank comes back to fitness I think Steve Borthwick has a conundrum, and I don’t think Marcus is the answer at 15 long-term.

You can’t blame him too much for it because he hasn’t played a lot in that role, but France and Scotland did occasionally make use of him.

He is not using his traditional line-breaks or catching the ball enough.

Instead of playing in the backfield where he just wants to get his hands on the ball, he might find it advantageous to be a little bit on the bench and watching the game before starting and stomping on it.

I believe that Marcus’ first reaction is to find out what’s going on.

He will win man-of-the-match awards all day because he has the talent to do so for the Harlequins.

But when you are playing a New Zealand or a South Africa, Fin Smith’s instinct of ‘ Where is my inside centre? Where are my forwards? What’s the information? ‘ is what the team needs.

In the slalom in the Italian resort of Sestriere, Mikaela Shiffrin won the 100th Alpine skiing World Cup championship on Sunday.

The American, who returned to action in January after two months out with injury, finished 0.61 seconds ahead of second-placed Croatian Zrinka Ljutic.

The win means the 29-year-old is the first skier, male or female, to reach triple digits in World Cup race victories.

After her victory, Shiffrin expressed her heartfelt congratulations by saying, “Today, many things had to go right for me and wrong for others.”

” In the end, I did something right. “

The most successful alpine skier in the world has previously discussed her mental health issues when competing following a freak race injury.

When she led the second leg of a massive slalom race in Killington, United States, she had already won her 100th victory in December, but she lost her balance and slammed into the safety nets at the finish line.

Shiffrin sustained a puncture wound and muscle damage to her stomach, an injury she told BBC’s Ski Sunday was” weird, gross and painful”.

She missed two months of training before coming back to racing at the end of January with her record-equalling 15th career world championships medal in Saalbach earlier this month.

” Everybody’s been so nice and so supportive, “she added.