Former England forward Courtney Lawes believes the current side’s struggles in the Six Nations are partly down to a younger generation that hasn’t experienced enough adversity.
England are under intense pressure after three successive defeats in this year’s championship, losing to Scotland, Ireland and Italy.
The slump has left coach Steve Borthwick and his squad facing heavy scrutiny ahead of a crucial showdown with France in Paris.
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Writing in his Times column, Lawes suggested England’s younger players are facing the first real test of their careers.
“England have no choice when they play France on Saturday. After three consecutive defeats, their attitude in Paris has to be: kill or be killed. Figuratively speaking, of course,” he wrote.
“But I don’t know if enough of England’s young players really know what that means. How many of them have faced any true adversity in their rugby careers or even in their lives?
“The defeat by Scotland really put a hole in the England ship. There is a clear age divide in the squad. The older, experienced boys are not performing at a world-class level.
“The young boys are having their resilience tested for the first time. It is really difficult in those circumstances to get back on course.”
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According to Lawes, many of the emerging players in the squad are experiencing adversity for the first time.
“Up until now, those younger lads have known only sunshine and rainbows in their international careers. This Six Nations has been a massive wake-up call.
“They are getting a real taste of what rugby is like when the sport that means so much to them is not going well. It can crush you and destroy your confidence.”
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