The Times sought the opinions of a group of distinguished former players from the past 40 years to identify where it is going wrong for England and what they can do to keep all 15 players on the pitch.
"How is it that England, which is renowned as the most disciplined of rugby countries, has leapt to the top of the leaderboard in penalties conceded in this championship, outranking even Italy, who have so often held that dubious honour? Even though they beat Italy comfortably, England conceded more penalties and gave their opponents the same number of kicks at goal as they took themselves.
"It is a problem that hangs over England as they face France at Twickenham on Sunday, with tough questions being asked of the side's leaders, Martin Johnson, the team manager, and Steve Borthwick, the captain. But are they to blame? Should the erring players take responsibility, or are England suffering at the hands of overzealous referees?"
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