ON the 11th day of Steve Borthwick's first coaching camp, England lost the opening match of a much-heralded new era.
On the 14th day as a new unit, England pushed another glut of coaching changes out of the Twickenham door.
On the 19th day, England must host a resurgent Italy in west London.
Everything is in a state of flux, from the RFU executives' futures, via the coaching staff all the way to the Test line-up.
England might just be enduring the most wide-ranging systemic change in the professional era, and its truncated nature can only prove a Six Nations hindrance.
Professional rugby players crave routine and structure, two bedrocks that new boss Borthwick is swimming against the tide to provide for his squad. This is bound to impact performances and results.
Former Test captain Borthwick insists his side is a week-to-week team, and they can ill-afford to be anything else.
But while "all we're focused on is this week" might as well be carved in blood into page one of the annals of sporting cliche, rejecting everything else in favour of tunnel vision remains a particularly challenging discipline.
Ireland, the world's No1 side, boast a head coach who has been in the set-up for seven years and top dog for three, but even Andy Farrell's men would be forgiven for allowing minds to wander to the big picture on occasion.
This story is from the February 10, 2023 edition of Evening Standard.
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This story is from the February 10, 2023 edition of Evening Standard.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
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