DUBLIN -- England's Ben Earl is adamant "the dam will break" and the team will start turning their narrow defeats into wins, as they turn attention to their Six Nations clash with France.
England lost 27-22 to Ireland on Saturday in Dublin. It was their seventh defeat in their last nine Test matches -- the two victories coming against Japan -- and it was a familiar story, as England fell away in the final quarter of the match. England went into the break 10-5 up, but shipped 22 unanswered points until they managed to score two tries late on to secure a losing bonus point.
Again, England saw the match ebb away from them once both benches had been emptied, leaving the players with familiar frustrations post-match.
"We've played a lot together," Earl said. "We've been through a lot of hurt together. There's no denying that we're trying to give our all. It's never been for a lack of effort. I trust in Steve, I trust in the players that the dam will break and we'll start getting momentum. The Six Nations is about momentum, winning Test matches is about momentum. We just need to get one. We'll wait till that, and we'll keep turning up. We're not disheartened."
England's tries came from debutant Cadan Murley, and then late scores from Tom Curry and Tommy Freeman. It was the first time Maro Itoje captained the team, while Borthwick went with a new-look back-row with Ben and Tom Curry lining up alongside each other, and Earl at No.8.
Borthwick talked about the inexperience of their team compared to Ireland post-match, and Earl said they will take time to gel.
"There's no hiding away -- we're here to win," Earl said. "But at the same time, we have to see where we're at. There's players that were playing today for the first time, there's players that are playing who haven't been in the squad for a while.
"There's context to this. There's new leadership. You can't just magic up 100 caps for everyone. But the way that we're playing, the way that we're trying to be aggressive in attack, comes a little bit from our youthful exuberance as well.
"That's not to make excuses, but I think you can see how we could go and win that game.
"I know I keep saying this -- the dam will break and we'll start winning them. And then this whole narrative changes."
It doesn't get any easier for England. They have France up next, fresh from their 43-0 win over Wales on Friday. France will head to Twickenham as overwhelming favourites, but England fullback Freddie Steward is confident his team will turn the tide next weekend.
"There's no need to worry," Steward said. "I'd like to think from today, of course we're fuming that we haven't come away with more but there were bits today. We keep saying it but the challenge is that 80-minute performance.
"It'll be a big challenge, France at home. It'll be a hell of a game, hell of a challenge for us but we're back in front of our fans, we're back at the Allianz [Twickenham]. Regardless of today and that we came away with a point, the boys will be wanting to prove a few people wrong in that game."
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