Scotland and Wales are works in progress and even Italy are improving, but at Twickenham there is only gloom according to Eddie Butler in The Observer.
"Defeat may have taken a weight off their broad shoulders, but the mood of Twickenham, restlessly muted even before the ball was kicked into play eight days ago, seems to have stuck. England are struggling and everything that has happened since their first taste of defeat in this year's Six Nations seems to have made the gloom darker.
"Blame for a style drawn from the cautious side of undemonstrative has been pinned on relegation in the Guinness Premiership, the trapdoor that apparently makes every player afraid to take a bold step. Such an influence on the national game may come as something of a surprise to the think-tanks at Leeds, Worcester and Sale, who might be excused for feeling that if they had a few more fully fit England internationals in their ranks they might not be in the dogfight to avoid the drop.
"There is an extension of the English malaise, in that it dominates coverage of the Six Nations and spreads into corners where rugby may not be viewed quite so lugubriously. Wales, for example, do not seem to be glum, despite having a record of hysteria that should make Martin Johnson the Mr Happy of Euphoria Street."
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