Will Stuart hopes England have developed the winning habit after reigniting their Guinness Six Nations title push with one-point wins against France and Scotland.
Seven successive narrow losses to top tier opposition, including in the Championship opener against Ireland, exposed an inability to deliver at clutch moments while heaping pressure on head coach Steve Borthwick.
But by toppling France and Scotland back to back at Allianz Stadium they appear to have turned a corner, even if they rode their luck against both opponents.
Now facing matches against Italy and Wales to close out the tournament, Stuart believes the tide has turned for England.
Leading from the front 🏆 pic.twitter.com/qKYlt36WDz
— England Rugby (@EnglandRugby) February 22, 2025
“For me winning and losing is very habitual. You lose a few games in a row and then you evolve from that, trying to get out of that rut and winning,” the Bath prop said.
“Even in tight situations, to win is a massive moral boost. You get a huge boost from it.
“When we were losing really tight games, you could feel the growth of the team. That was exactly the same scenario I felt at the end of last year.
“I could feel massive growth, I could feel like we were being competitive. We just needed the dam to break at some point.”
England avoided an unprecedented fifth successive loss to Scotland to lift the Calcutta Cup for the first time in five years – and this time Stuart was able to celebrate the moment.
Here’s your #GuinnessM6N results table following the third round of matches! There’s still everything to play for! 🏆 pic.twitter.com/swwK6R2Hke
— Guinness Men's Six Nations (@SixNationsRugby) February 23, 2025
“The last one we won in 2020 was my first Six Nations and that was the storm year,” he said.
“My mum and girlfriend weren’t happy. They came up, I didn’t come off the bench and then we get on a plane but they were stuck in Edinburgh because of the storm! They have refused to go back up since.
“A few of the games I have played in against Scotland have been really frustrating. The Covid one with the retro shirts…I came off and felt like we threw…not to discredit Scotland, but I didn’t know how it ended up like that.
“The last couple of years, I have felt we have really not been at the races and they have put us to the sword. We haven’t been in those games.”
