Rugby Disaster Strikes Again: Horrific Data Predicts Dire Future

What's gone wrong for England? Four weeks can feel like a long time in sport. At 19:00 GMT on 7 February, England had just won a 12th successive match - the third longest run of victories in their 155-year history of Test rugby, after crushing Wales by 41 points.

Grand Slam aspirations were in full effect. By 19:00 GMT on 7 March, England had followed comprehensive defeats at the hands of Scotland and Ireland by losing to Italy for the first time. They start round five this Saturday staring into the abyss of four defeats in the same championship for the first time in half a century, with aspirations of a clean sweep fading into the prospect of a deeply uncomfortable inquest.

England lost to Italy for the first time in 33 meetings between the sides [Getty Images] "We are all disappointed and frustrated," said head coach Steve Borthwick in the aftermath of the historic loss in Rome. "We came to this tournament with really high aspirations, as did the players, and we've been unable to meet those targets we set for ourselves. " Perhaps what has frustrated the England boss most is that while losing to Italy was a first, the manner of that defeat was anything but a new thing - particularly in terms of defence.

The match-winning try scored by Italy utility back Leonardo Marin once again involved a line-break in the 10-metre channel - a microcosm of England's vulnerabilities out wide after being eviscerated there by Scotland and Ireland. England missed 35 tackles leading to a break or a try in rounds two, three and four, with more than half of those coming in wide areas. Both tallies are the most of any team.