England 'need defensive improvement' says Guscott

10/02/2012

The England rugby team defended well against Scotland in the Calcutta Cup, but it needs to be better around the fringes of the breakdown, former player Jeremy Guscott has said.

Previewing this weekend's Six Nations game against Italy in Rome for the BBC, Guscott said this was a "glaring" weakness against Scotland and better sides would have taken advantage.

"We saw breaks from Jim Hamilton, Richie Gray and Ross Rennie and a side with more confidence than Scotland would have finished off at least one of those moves," Guscott said, singling out the break by Rennie as one that should "definitely" have led to the Scots crossing the line.

Fans enjoying Twickenham hospitality packages for the upcoming matches against Wales and Ireland may be hoping the new-look England team can develop better defensive methods to prevent such situations.

Interim coach Stuart Lancaster has shown faith in his young team by naming the same 22 who travelled to Edinburgh for the match in Rome.

By Liz Johnstone