Small changes to a number of basics can revolutionise England, writes Matt Hardy

ENGLAND may have won their first Six Nations match in this year’s Championship but they’ll have to step it up a notch if they’re going to breach the bastion of Welsh rugby and storm Cardiff.

England’s record in the 2023 tournament of one win and one loss has come at home, and they’re yet to be tested away.

Between now and then, however, there is a fallow week and therefore some time for England’s squad to work on themselves while other countries like Scotland and upcoming opponents Wales lose a couple of their players back to their English clubs.

STAT ATTACK

Despite being on the end of two contrasting results, Steve Borthwick’s men have been guilty of the same inefficiency in each of their opening games – their ability to convert possession in the red zone into points.

Against both Scotland and Italy, England struggled to come away with points from each entry into the opposition 22.

This means they’re walking away on multiple point scoring occasions.

Scotland were potent in attack and made the most of their limited chances. Italy failed to do the same and so let England off.

Points-per-entry stats aren’t the be all and end all but they do represent how efficient teams are at capitalising on their possession – like runs conceded in a cricket power play or controlling the middle third of a football pitch. Nothing guarantees victory like scoring but being efficient sure helps.

England missed 41 tackles against the Azzurri at Twickenham, the most they have done since records began in the Six Nations Championship, but Italian wastefulness prevented them from making the most of it.

Teams need to be efficient in the way they play and that’s something Jack Willis did in abundance.

The former Wasps flanker now plies his trade in Toulouse and returned to the national fold after a long lay-off.

The No7 made 20 tackles inside his 53 minutes, scored a try, effected

GOLF COMMENT

Sam Torrance meanwhile, holed a fantastic effort from 15 feet to go two ahead with two to play, and that was more or less the end of it. Taylor also got incredibly unlucky when his putt lipped all the way round the hole and out at 17.

Scheffler is as cool as a cucumber and took it all in his stride as he wrapped up his first win since the Masters last April. He hadn’t played badly since, finishing outside the top 21 at just four of 17 events, which helped keep him high in the rankings. He will be defending the Green Jacket at Augusta, too, so to retain a title just a month or two before that shows that he can do it and do wonders for his confidence.

Scheffler wasn’t the only man showing some form in the lead-up to the Masters.

Justin Thomas and 2015 champion Jordan Spieth both earned top-six finishes, while Jon Rahm continued his extraordinary start to the year by coming third. Rahm has two wins already this year and four in his eight tournaments, so I’ve got no idea how the Spaniard isn’t world No1.

Rory McIlroy did- n’t have a great week as he finished tied for 32nd. The Northern Irishman never really got going after he shot 73 on Thursday and his week petered out in the end. But it was a good week, if not necessarily a good final day, for Tyrrell Hatton, who joined Spieth in a group in a share of sixth place on his first PGA Tour appearance of 2023. The world rankings are in a fragile spot at the moment, given the flux generated by the LIV Golf tour. I am a huge fan of the rankings on the whole, and it is difficult to make the system fair for everyone, but sometimes it can be baffling, as last week’s result on the DP World Tour also illustrates. Ockie Strydom won the Singapore Open for his first victory outside of his native South Africa. It was Strydom’s second win in six events, yet he has only climbed to 149th in the latest world rankings. It’s confusing.

Lastly, it was a lovely surprise to hear that Tiger Woods plans to play this week’s Genesis Invitational in Los Angeles. Injuries restricted the great man to just nine rounds of competitive golf last year but this suggests he is on the mend and suggests he has hopes of playing at the Masters. It’s great news for the golf world.

£ Sam Torrance OBE is a former Ryder Cup-winning captain and one of Europe’s most successful golfers. Follow him @torrancesam