'England's style of play is tedious and doesn't allow players to express themselves'

In his latest BBC Sport column, England World Cup winner Matt Dawson discusses England's first loss to Italy and how their kick-heavy strategy needs to change for the trip to Paris.

I did not enjoy my first few games for England.

My first cap came in 1995 and I started all four games in the 1996 Five Nations, which we won on the final game.

I may have been living the dream, but it was not much fun to play in.

Pass and kick - I was under very clear and rigid instructions.

My running game helped me gain international recognition, but I was unable to express myself on the field.

As my confidence grew, I understood that going off script was not a rebellion if done at the right time.

In fact, it gained you more respect - if the decision was the right one - from the coaching staff.

Being brave enough to say in a huddle "guys, we do need to do X, Y and Z here to win" is what I want from this England team.

I know I sound like a broken record, but only a player has a feel for the game on the pitch.

England stuck to their box-kick-heavy strategy in the 23-18 Six Nations defeat by Italy and it failed them.

Right on half-time in Rome, Fin Smith took the ball and went off script, bouncing to the blindside to find Tom Roebuck with a neat cross-field kick for England's try.

Would head coach Steve Borthwick have gone after him in the changing room for playing heads-up rugby? No.

Smith was brave and delivered the right decision under pressure.

That is the only major player-led decision that jumps out at me from Saturday's historic defeat.

It is difficult to list which individuals played badly against Italy - it was just silly errors at key times.

Sam Underhill and Maro Itoje were both having good games, but their second-half yellow cards proved costly.

Underhill's high tackle can happen, but Itoje's penalty was a rush of blood to the head and showed a lack of clear thinking.

It put England in a pressure situation that they simply could not rise to in the final quarter.

Their ability to adapt to a changing picture in front of them has been a weakness all tournament.

There was no urgency until the last passage of play, when the shackles came off and Ollie Chessum broke clear.

The talent within this squad is so clear, but they are performing under their potential.

England are never in a million years going to Paris and beating France by deploying the same kick-heavy strategy.

If they do, that is a red flag against England's coaching ticket.

It may have worked during the 12-game winning run, but Scotland showed you need more than 40 points to beat France - and that was in Edinburgh.

England have got to play - and they have the players to do that.

I do not believe those players on the pitch, particularly the backs, enjoy the current style of play.

There is nothing to lose in Paris, so let them play. Everyone on the planet thinks they are going to lose.

Borthwick would love his backline to just go and play what they see.

A strategy should not rule every move.

Why not go out there and play in a style that is not completely alien to the player base?

I don't see wholesale changes to do this, as Borthwick tried that against Italy and must show some patience.

The only player I would think about bringing in is Fraser Dingwall for Seb Atkinson.

Deploy Northampton's 10, 12, 13 and just go and attack France. Scotland showed they are beatable if you meet fire with fire.

This Six Nations is so unpredictable, and England are the one side that have become predictable.

Tommy Freeman is one of the best attacking players in world rugby. They have the personnel to change their approach.

It is currently a very tedious strategy, which doesn't really allow players to express themselves.

But that does not just fall on the coaches. Everyone is responsible.

The fixes at the moment are pretty huge.

One-off moments that have gone wrong are great to bottle up and have in your locker for the 2027 World Cup.

That is why, after Scotland, the learning from playing with 14 players for 20 minutes would help England in the long term.

Instead, two yellow cards followed against Ireland, and another two came in Rome.

You are meant to learn from those mistakes. England are doing the opposite.

During England's winning run, I wanted tough situations and not an easy ride to the next World Cup.

A three-game losing run shows their form is dipping rapidly.

If one defeat throws off all the great work, then something mentally has to change.

A fine performance in Paris is possible, and that may sound mad.

England suit being the underdogs and have crumbled this campaign under expectation.

A World Cup is all about expectation and usually comes with intense scrutiny. Knowing how not to deal with that will help.

Victory in Paris will help get Borthwick and his side back on track, and his tenure shows England prefer to hunt as the underdogs.

The England players now must look each other in the eye and say something they might not want to hear.

For there even to be an unlikely possibility of a Wooden Spoon shows how far they have fallen off in this campaign.

England's next two games are against France and South Africa. A group this talented is good enough to compete, but it is on them.

Another heavy defeat and serious questions will need to be asked of the coaching staff and players.