Sir Clive Woodward: Two 'drastic changes' England must make for Ireland clash

The World Cup-winning coach, who said he struggled to sleep after the defeat, believes a number of major changes are required.

On Sunday, he wrote in his column for the Mail Online: "It would be very easy to be extremely critical. But I’d rather try to come up with solutions and ways to move forward."

"I see many similarities between the current plight and when I took over as England coach. Back then the gulf between the two hemispheres was significant. Now it is teams much closer to home in Ireland, France and Scotland who are setting the standard."

Woodward wrote: "The first is that England need to improve their speed, athleticism and fitness across the park.

"The French game showed England’s players are not in the same league as Les Bleus when it comes to having the physical ability to play with pace and power.

"It was like men against boys at the breakdown. The French back-row was awesome. Their entire team were superb in contact. They took England to the cleaners.

"England were competitive at scrum and lineout, but it is abundantly clear they do not have the ability to live with teams like France and Ireland in the loose.

"England are not necessarily unfit. But they don’t have the rugby fitness which is required at the top level of the game. They are simply unable to play the sort of game France can. That means they cannot live with them when they are at their best,"

Woodward added: "The second change is between the ears. The mindset of how to play the game must be totally re-thought. France showed that they have the individual skills and collective desire to attack from anywhere from one to 15. They are brilliant to watch.

"The conditions were awful on Saturday but still they kept coming and coming. It was a privilege to witness and impossible to stop unless you enter the arena with a similar skillset and attitude. France scored seven sensational tries and their joie de vivre was shown to me by Damian Penaud’s brace. Truly sensational rugby.

"By contrast, England’s players are prototyped to kick and opt for a safety-first approach. That mindset has to totally switch.

"I had to instil a similar mindset change. I remember physically moving Paul Grayson and Mike Catt on the training paddock to demonstrate how flat I wanted them receiving the ball. I said: ‘If you’re not receiving it here, you’re not playing.’"

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France produced a ruthless display to condemn Borthwick's men to their heaviest home defeat in history, running out 53-10 winners at Twickenham.

As a result, England's title challenge is over in humiliating fashion and means this is the first Six Nations campaign where they have lost two home matches.

This serves as a clear indication that there is still a considerable amount of work to be done by the team to compete with the world's top-performing teams.

The situation could potentially worsen as they are scheduled to play against the number one-ranked team in the world, Ireland, who are still pursuing the Grand Slam.

We looked at the player ratings from Saturday's defeat with the following players dropping out...

15. Freddie Steward

14. Max Malins

11. Anthony Watson

Telegraph 4/10: "Got caught out of position for France’s opener. Never really alleviated any of the kick pressure off Smith. Made way for Farrell earlier than he would have liked."

Rugby Pass 3.5/10: "No one could quibble that he didn’t deserve his place, but he was blown away here and hooked on 46 for Farrell. His display was summed up by how he was roadkill as Flament blasted over for his first try."

Planet Rugby 2/10: "Slade was sloppy with ball in hand and didn’t make use of his boot, either."

Replacement: Joe Marchant

12. Ollie Lawrence

Telegraph 5/10: "A promotion too soon? Probably. Solid enough in front of the uprights but gifted too many kicks to the waiting arms of Ramos and struggled to manipulate space."

Rugby Pass 3.5/10: "Looked confused from the off, disorientation summed up by his head-scratching punt after England win a free at a scrum. That gave the French a soft mark to clear from their 22. His puzzled effort continued right the way through on a miserable evening capped by that gaffe of not touching down behind his line, allowing Ollivon to burgle his second try."

Planet Rugby 3/10: " Outplayed, couldn’t get the attack ticking over. The effort was there in so many instances, but it just wasn’t his night. Given the chance to swim with Owen Farrell on the bench but Smith just sunk."

Mail Online 4/10: "Different player in an England shirt from the one who runs it for Quins."

Evening Standard 4/10: "Failed to take control at the base of the ruck in a messy performance."

Telegraph 3/10: "His job was to quicken the tempo but instead presided over a slow ruck and shanked a horrible box kick. Was hauled off for Mitchell minutes into the second half."

Rugby Pass 4/10: "Very much a case of master and the apprentice, the rookie England scrum-half getting schooled by his oppsite number Dupont. Gone on 46 and not before time."

Planet Rugby 3/10: "He was taken off just six minutes after half-time, and Borthwick would not have been blamed for doing it before then. The French pack put him under immense pressure, but he also made a few daft decisions on attack and made silly errors."

Mail Online 3/10: "Too ponderous from base and replaced early in second half."

Replacement: Alex Mitchell

2. Jamie George

Telegraph 4/10: "Had a poor first half, leaking three penalties and blotted his report card by missing a few tackles. Packed down better after the break."

Rugby Pass 4/10: "Caught in first-half penalty trouble away from the set-piece, conceding three. Another taken off on 65 with the result long since decided."

Planet Rugby 2/10: "He may have won a penalty or two but five missed tackles and three penalties conceded makes for dreadful reading."

4. Maro Itoje

5. Ollie Chessum

6. Lewis Ludlam

7. Jack Willis

Telegraph 5/10: "Hardly his sharpest performance. Spilled the ball as England looked to counter after fine work from Smith, which led to Ollivon’s try."

Rugby Pass 3.5/10: "Took the guts of 35 minutes for him to finally carry the ball but was soon giving away a meek knock-on that sucked whatever enthusiasm was left from home fans. An awful day ended with Penaud leaving him for dead for the first of his late tries."

Planet Rugby 3/10: "He had some success with his carries but not enough to steer his team into the game. He made his tackles for most of the game until asked to defend on the wing. In the end, he was part of the pack that was well and truly on the back foot."

Evening Standard 4/10: "Must have hated being moved to outside centre, but had struggled earlier in any case."

Mail Online 4/10: "Best England game in Cardiff but miles off it and handed ball over."