We have some amazing backs Stephen but it would be helpful if we selected them (Geraghty, Varndell, Simpson-Daniel). Forwards are the problem, ruin everything. The backs never see the ball in time. Beer-belly Vickery and Regan are embarrasing when you consider the young atheletes we could select.

Geraghty awesome at Saxons, and last year against the French. Remember poor Betsen when he streaked by him? Just stood there! No buckling under pressure from him (Mr Cipriani?). One of the best players in the world at the moment. There's some serious "political" problems with the selecting, and it's not just Ashton. Shame.

Ade, Menton, France

Given that rugby is generally watched by more knowledgeable fans than football, perhaps an 'analysis' piece should focus on what was actually going right / wrong...any thoughts on the following?

the England pack is poor defensively in the ruck, leading to the need to commit more players. doing so leaves 10, 12 and 13 to defend the immediate running channel - Italy had at least 4 breaks running a reverse angle into the 10-12 gap in the second half.

if we were committing one less player to a ruck, we could employ an extra flanker in this channel helping to shore things up a little defensively. further, doing so, may reduce the obsession of having a 'tackling' outside centre (although Noon had a good game IMO) and a tackling fly half.

Also, why wasn't Vainikolo used as a ball carrier more?

Keith, London, England

I still think that English rugby missed a golden opportunity after the 2003 world cup. One would have thought that thousands of young lads woudl have embraced the sport and we should by now have an army of almost ready recruits waiting to come through. is there any sign of that?

The current crop is not good enough and the current management is the same. It's time to bring in a level of coaching from abroad that has not been evident in England before. Wales and Italy have done it un our game, and the England football team have done it, so why can't England rugby?

The faults that were masked by the world cup win in 2003 are now showing through. We won then by playing ten man rugby and we got to the world cup final last year by similar means. It's time for a root and branch reform of the game, and then perhaps, instead of being effective very four years we will produce good rugby players and teams, capable of entertaining the public.

David, Wolverhampton,

The team was picked from mid-table, off form, currently second rate premiership teams. Why would anyone expect anything but a poor performance?
Does Ashton actually watch any premiership games?

chris, Cambridge, Cambs

I thought all that mattered was World Cups these days Mr Jones??

Patrick Sawyer, Wellington, New Zealand

Geraghty is the best no 10 in England, and Simpson-Daniel the best winger. Where are they???
England are still struggling to make up for the post 2003 shambles. They failed to develop many new players in that timeframe, and are now reluctant to make up for that lost time. They looked a pathetic rabble in the 2nd half against Wales, and again against Italy. Their subs give a fresh impetus to the shambles rather than give the team a new direction.

David, Kettering,

From the fragility of a New Zealand standpoint, we can at least say this - England will never be accused of being the Best Team inbetween World Cups! Would you like a decent coach? I'm sure we've got another one around here somewhere.

Warwick Delmonte, Auckland, New Zealand

In fact Flood stands out as a player very capable of performing at international level, however it is clear Balshaw is out of his depth. Wilkinson proved today that he still is the best of English fly halfs. I think more needs to be said of Wilkinson's moment of excellence and Cipriani's moment of madness Stephen!

Oggy, London,

The problem with the England pack is that we don't have a truely world class back row. You need to look at 6, 7 and 8. The rest can take care of themselves. I don't see a Back or Hill on the horizon anytime soon, so we are going to have to put up with this rubbish for a good few years more.

Robinson, Cambridge, UK

England have reached the point where they are not even worth commenting on. 5th this year, and lucky at that.

Paul, Nottingham, UK

Get over it Adrian, what's done is done!

I cant wait for you poms to come over here and play u.

Daniel , Wellington , New Zealand

That's harsh on Flood, otherwise I have to agree.

Chris Phipps, Worthing,

i called it but italy nearly did it .
repeat the two AA s have to go,and use centres that are used to winning.
wake up the long suffering english supporters and demand change

john haydon rowe, javea,

I'm afraid England has dropped to depths not seen for a long time. I don't know why, they have the skills and abilities individually. Today they won what was in fact Italy's victory. It is highly unuaual for the Man of the Match to be a member of the losing team. I think that the players should get rid of the self hype and so called "psychology" and just get on with the game. The pressure from the press and the fans seem to cause the players to consider what will be said about them off the pitch every time they get the ball rather than allowing them to concentrate and get on with the game. Criticism is a killer these days and comes from armchair experts. "Show me the man that never made a mistake, I'll show you the man that never made anything." You only learn from mistakes. Like them or not, we need good English performances to raise the northern hemisphere game. When we don't, the game truly suffers.

Peter Wright, West Kilbride,

Fear not Stephen, regardless of Englands form,nous, application or abilities, as long as Wayne Barnes is around, you stand a real good chance of sucess. Still, if he gets it wrong, I await your magnanamous dissertation.

Adrian Firmin, Wanganui, New Zealand

It is becoming more and more apparent that the coaching of this England team is sub-standard. As Guscott has been saying, there seems to be a problem between Wells and Ashton and this is filtering down to the team, get rid of Wells and give Ashton his head. Although Jonny did the biz in the first half, he should have been given the day off today so that Cipriani could have got the vital experience of starting a game, and then performance depending, try him in Paris in the next game. But there remain major problems with this England pack and i fear that they will not be remedied until the coaching malaise is addressed.

Nick , scarborough,