Matt Dawson column: 'I have not seen a complete England performance like that for many years'

Former World Cup winner Matt Dawson reviewed England's dominant performance against Wales in the Six Nations Championship and their overall Six Nations journey in his BBC Sport column. He also explained why Maro Itoje is the ideal candidate for Lions captain.

Dawson stated that he hadn't seen such a flawless performance from England against Wales in years. In the first 10 minutes of their 68-14 victory in Cardiff, England's performance was "brutal," with a fast and precise tempo. The system they constructed was as efficient as a machine, yet creative, completely dismantling the Welsh defense.

While previous criticisms of England head coach Steve Borthwick were justified, his team selection this time was spot-on, creating an environment where players could perform at their best at the Millennium Stadium. Defensively, England did not commit too many players to the breakdown, but instead retreated proactively, focusing on one-on-one tackles, forming a "white wall" that effectively stopped the Welsh attack.

Dawson emphasized that England waited for Wales to make mistakes, then quickly regained possession, a classic "Muhammad Ali rope-a-dope" tactic. Wales expended a lot of energy but failed to break through England's defense, eventually becoming exhausted. England's intensity, speed to the breakdown, ball handling, and decision-making on when to break and when to find space were all at an extremely high level. In short lineouts, England also fully exploited the strength and speed of their back-row players.

Dawson believes that this game was England's best performance under Borthwick, which may mean more England players will have the opportunity to participate in this summer's British and Irish Lions tour in Australia. Participating in the tour will greatly enhance players' confidence and have a positive impact on their future careers, thereby influencing the future development of the England team.

Dawson strongly supports Itoje as Lions captain. He believes that Itoje has consistently been one of England's best-performing players. Although he is 30 years old and has 93 caps for his country, he still maintains the same energy as when he first started, competing for man-of-the-match almost every game. When top players wear the captain's armband, they gain superhuman strength. Itoje's performance speaks for itself; he is more disciplined, commits fewer penalties, and reduces unnecessary gestures. He used to be exuberant and very outgoing, but now he shows absolute killer instinct in everything he does.

Dawson added that Itoje is the ideal candidate for Lions captain, and he is certain to be selected for the Test squad, having already participated in two tours. While Ireland's Caelan Doris is also a candidate, the competition in the back row will be very fierce, while Itoje has a greater advantage in the second row. Furthermore, Fin Smith has established himself as England's number 10. Despite some current and retired players being biased due to club affiliations, believing that Marcus Smith should be the fly-half, the facts speak for themselves. At the Test level, you must have a fly-half who can control the tempo of the game and make everything look easy. Fin Smith's passing is good, but his touch-kicking is world-class, possibly the best he has ever seen. He wins 40 or 50 meters for England every time. Coupled with his composure and organizational skills, choosing the right gap and making the right decisions, all demonstrate his value.

Dawson believes that France is the deserved champion of this year's competition. They made some mistakes in the game against England, causing them to miss out on a Grand Slam, but they will still be happy to have won the championship. They have emerged from the slump after the 2023 World Cup and regrouped to face the next challenge in 2027. Scotland, on the other hand, is somewhat like his football team, Everton; fans hope every season that the team can qualify for Europe, but ultimately they can only be a mid-table team. Scotland is a good team that can do some incredible things, but they lack sufficient squad depth to compete against a series of top teams for a longer period.

Dawson also analyzed the situation of other teams. He believes that Ireland has gone through a difficult period due to coaching changes and some injuries. They may be misled by their performance in the second half against England, but they are no longer the Ireland team of the past with a full Leinster lineup. However, he is still reluctant to say that they are on the decline, as they still have some excellent players, and Andy Farrell will return as head coach, so Ireland is still a threat in the next World Cup. Wales has done its best, but they lack sufficient personnel to participate in this level of competition, which is why they have suffered 17 consecutive defeats. This is an infrastructure problem that has not been addressed for many years, and they need to climb a big mountain in the next five years.

Finally, Dawson announced his ideal Lions squad, with head coach Farrell set to announce his final squad on May 8: Blair Kinghorn (Scotland); James Lowe (Ireland), Tommy Freeman (England), Bundee Aki (Ireland), Duhan van der Merwe (Scotland); Finn Russell (Scotland), Jamison Gibson-Park (Ireland); Andrew Porter (Ireland), Dan Sheehan (Ireland), Will Stuart (England), Maro Itoje (England, captain), Ollie Chessum (England), Tom Curry (England), Josh van der Flier (Ireland), Caelan Doris (Ireland).