Hartley: Errors cost England in defeat

England must be more clinical in the opposition 22 if they are to challenge for the 2020 Guinness Six Nations title, according to former captain Dylan Hartley.

Speaking as a pundit on BBC One, the 33-year-old said Eddie Jones’ men cannot afford to be as wasteful as they were during their 24-17 defeat to France in Paris.

A brace from Charles Ollivon following Vincent Rattez’s opening try secured a memorable victory for Les Bleus, with Jonny May scoring two brilliant solo efforts for the visitors.

But England passed up several golden opportunities in both the first and second half, leaving Hartley to wonder what could have been.

“It was a collective – everyone made errors today,” Hartley said. “From one to fifteen, guys were making errors and that’s why we had such a poor performance. 

Eddie reflects on the 24-17 defeat to France in the opening round of the #GuinnessSixNations

— England Rugby (@EnglandRugby) February 2, 2020

“The best thing to do is restart, that’s all you can do. If we eradicate personal errors, we’re in that game.

“England had six visits to the 22 and came away with no points – a bit similar to Scotland yesterday. 

“That’s when you hear coaches say ‘be more clinical’ – they need to devise something there to come away with points.”

The hooker, who was captain for England’s back-to-back Guinness Six Nations successes in 2016 and 2017, was also full of praise for France scrum-half Antoine Dupont.

Hartley said: “Antoine Dupont was their key player. Whenever he got the ball, he seemed to do the right thing. Two tries came directly from him – he was fantastic.”

Martin Johnson, another former England captain who has tasted Championship glory, echoed Hartley’s frustrations with the number of chances not converted.

He also labelled next weekend’s clash against Scotland a ‘must win’ for the Red Rose, as they look to get their campaign back on track in the Calcutta Cup encounter.

Johnson said: “Halve your error count in that game and it’s a different game. It was one of the most error-strewn England performances I can remember.

“For England, next week becomes a must win. England needed to turn pressure into scores. You need more subtlety against a big, strong team like France because they can defend all day.”

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Source: 6 Nations