England's Kicking Strategy Under Scrutiny After Third Straight Six Nations Defeat

England's kicking-focused rugby strategy is facing growing criticism from fans after the team suffered its third consecutive defeat in the Six Nations The latest setback came against Italy, intensifying scrutiny of the team's pragmatic style under head coach Steve Borthwick While the tactic of chasing high balls to gain territory was tolerated during a prior 12-match winning streak, it has become a point of contention amid the team's current run of losses The strategy has been effective at times, creating issues for opposition defences adjusting to 2024 law tweaks that outlaw the blocking of chasers Statistically, England's approach is not a dramatic outlier in the tournament; they average 30.75 kicks per match, only one more than Italy, Ireland, and France Scotland is the only team in the competition employing a markedly different strategy, with an average of just 23.25 kicks per game The public debate now centres on whether England's pragmatic style has become problematic for their performance