Where do England go from here?

England entered the 2018 Six Nations as favourites after back-to-back title wins, but a run of three straight defeats not only consigned Eddie Jones’s side to the ignominy of a fifth-place finish but also cast doubt on whether his regime is capable of building towards a strong display at the 2019 World Cup in Japan. A pivotal summer now awaits.

England began the Six Nations with two solid but unspectacular victories over Italy and Wales, but the wheels then came off during a poor first 40 minutes at Murrayfield, where Scotland stormed to a sizeable lead and then closed out a 25-13 triumph to win the Calcutta Cup for the first time in ten years. England had recorded 22 wins out of 23 games under Jones before this year, so everyone was hoping that the defeat was just a minor blip.

However, England failed to bounce back during a tricky fixture in Paris, where they eventually succumbed to a 22-16 loss, and the sense of despair was deepened again during the 24-15 defeat to Ireland at Twickenham. In less than a month, England have gone from heroes to almost zero and now must regroup ahead of a difficult set of fixtures for the remainder of 2018.

Jeremy Guscott believes that it may be time for England to “rip it up and start again” as the team doesn’t appear to have made any progress in recent years. Jones will struggle to address problems such as the lack of strength in depth in key areas, and there is mounting criticism about the Australian’s style of play and what exactly he is trying to achieve.

For punters betting on England during the upcoming summer tour of South Africa, there is solace in the fact that a few key changes could put them back on the road to success as form players such as Mako Vunipola and Maro Itoje will be ready and waiting to make a return. Moving forward, England will then face South Africa, New Zealand, Japan and Australia during the home autumn series, which should give a good indication about whether they can put their Six Nations woes behind them.

Jones will now have to take a long, hard look at himself and his squad as they prepare for a potentially huge 18 months. Cutting down on penalties conceded will be a target as England gave away 59 across five matches in this year’s Six Nations, while Jones will try to add some much-needed leadership on the field. Ireland captain Rory Best has also suggested that the quick turnaround following last summer’s Lions tour may have also been detrimental for England’s players.

He said: “The Premiership boys negotiated five weeks off this time, but then some of them seemed to get only about a two-week pre-season. When you are putting your body through that toll you have to take time to put your feet up. It doesn’t catch up with you straight away, but given the toll of a long season, it can catch up with you at a point, probably when you least want it to.”

Now is the time for Jones to earn his money. While it may appear all doom and gloom at the moment, the tide can quickly turn, and England will hopefully be able to showcase their World Cup credentials by returning to top form this summer.