Marcus Smith hints at electric future as inexperience costs England dear | Andy Bull

Despite the Six Nations loss to Scotland, Eddie Jones’s side have the makings of a great team if they can learn key lessons

Last time England made the trip to this stadium was back in February 2020, their last away game before the world turned upside down. That was a tight, miserly game on a miserable wet, grey and windy day, and there were long stretches here when it felt as if they had picked the contest up right where they’d left it before the pandemic.

The biggest difference was in the England team. Only five of this starting XV had been in that one: Elliot Daly, Tom Curry, Lewis Ludlam, Maro Itoje and Kyle Sinckler. One of them, Daly, was playing in a different position while another, Ludlam, was making his first start since that previous encounter.