Six Nations 2022: Marcus Smith departure shows that Eddie Jones regime in England still has a divided personality

In just one weekend, the Six Nations has already inspiring up strong emotions. In Scotland, the Calcutta Cup has once again come to a close, with renewed optimism and pride after Saturday's big results in England. To say Eddie Jones and his team come home with a lot to think about is a known understatement. Six Nations Rugby Fans can buy Six Nations Tickets from our website.

The wrong decision to remove Marcus Smith from the fray neatly represented the split personality

Even taking into account the difficult conditions at Murray Field, the visitors' 20-17 loss will be a source of serious and long-lasting frustration. In addition, there are some disturbing trends. For the third year in a row, every little hope of a Grand Slam was gone in 80 minutes and for the fourth time in five seasons, Jones was unable to flank Scottish manager Gregor Townsend.

If England were to overcome the world next year, they could do worse than pluck a few leaves from Scotland's books. Did Townsend beat his flyer Finn Russell at the start of the last quarter, trailing his team 17-10? Of course not. The Scots had a clear plan, kept their cool, believed in their playmaker's abilities and it paid off in the end.

What about England? The wrong decision to remove Marcus Smith from the fray neatly represented the split personality that remains a hallmark of the Jones regime. The young half-flyer did pretty much everything he asked for and gave England the lead with a clever, brilliant attempt to separate the older half-flyers from the mediocre.

But then - scared - he's gone. Instead of being trusted to do the job, he sat idly in the stands. It felt like a conservative move, and worse, a premeditated one. England supporters will be booed throughout the stadium when the match is played at Twickenham. In fact, the British momentum and rigor basically disappeared from him.

Of course, there are other unconnected factors. Perhaps England didn't always like the friction of the greens. Russell certainly deserves credit for the perfect two-inch punt that eventually extended the Red Roses' defence to the breaking point. In the end, it was a team decision to pick that decisive late brawl over the penalty that could lead to a draw. The fact that George Ford's cautious punt and Sam Skinner's tackle together ruined the visiting team's day cannot be entirely blamed on management.

On the other hand, perhaps it is time to admit that nervous refereeing decisions or absent friends are not the main reason why England remain on the brink of another uneasy campaign. Their problem is not the lack of talented individuals or enviable depth or even the addition of captaincy options. They simply lack the collective clarity of thought that Scotland and other countries have shown.

England supporters will be booed throughout the stadium

Saturday's game is a good example of this. How did they get so little dynamic penetration of the gain line, other than the occasional thrust from their back-row Sam Simmonds and Lewis Ludlam? Why does the home team play so effectively? Is Joe Marler's sideline throw really the way forward? And if they really wanted to play fast, what was the point of dragging Smith away at key points in the game?

Italy in Rome this Sunday should at least offer a chance to quell that fear. There is no doubt that England's rolling hammers are starting to look more and more effective. They also lost their first game two years ago and then won the title. It's certainly not impossible that they can beat Wales and Ireland at Twickenham before heading to Paris next month.

In this case, Jones would have every right to enjoy the moment. No one loves the constant tactical conundrums of international rugby more than the Australian, who continues to scour the sports world for small tweaks that can help solve the game's biggest problems.

That said, Jones' tenure in England increasingly feels like it’s being sponsored by Wordle: it seems like there's a different problem to solve every day. No one said it was an easy task, but surely Smith is a five-letter answer, not a question mark? The lack of consistent and absolute belief in people feels like perhaps the most disturbing thing in England.

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