"Given to them" - Mike Tindall hands Ireland no credit for beating England in Six Nations

This opinion has circulated across social media, following the remarks being made on the 'Good, Bad and the Rugby' Podcast. Many were quick to disagree with Tindall's perception, as a determined Irish team racked up a 42-21 triumph, in what stands as a new record margin of victory for Ireland at Twickenham.

"They [Ireland] were desperate to win that game, and I think a few of their individuals stood up and had great games. But, and there is a big but in this, they did not have to do anything to win that game. It was all given to them by England." Tindall said on the podcast.

Tindall followed up this point by highlighting how England's handling errors were apart of the downfall, as the ball was spilled multiple times across the deck following a disrupted breakdown.

"My genuine worry isn't about 'dropsies' or things like that, because that can happen. It can become infectious. You ultimatly try harder when someone else makes a mistake, and then you make a mistake, and they need to find a way of resetting.

"My worrying thing was urgency to attacking breakdowns in certain parts. The amount of times the ball flew out the back [of the ruck] to [Alex] Mitchell, it rolled out the back. It wasn't controlled. Ireland were after it, which is fair enough from their point of view, but it was just never on a plate. It was especially in the first half."

Tindall revealed how he was frustrated by an apparent lack of urgency by the England players, who were not hitting their top speeds to support the breakdown contest. The 2003 Rugby World Cup winner shared how England need to take learnings from how hard Wales battled at the breakdown, in their hard-fought losing effort against Scotland.

"I was watching the Wales game, the urgency of the Welsh. Tomos Williams, if no one is there [at the ruck], he's clearing out. Whereas I felt, a lot of the time, our guys were exposed because no one was there [in support at the ruck]. The urgency to clear out wasn't there. That would be my biggest concern. There were times when i'm going 'why is he jogging', or 'why has he not read that?'"

Social media was quick to react to Tindall's statements, arguing that Ireland did in fact deserve more credit in their historic victory over England. The comments section of the post from X was populated with opinions, varying in intensity against the former England midfielder.

One Ireland fan said; "Embarrassing from Tindall. He spoke a lot pre tournament about the last day being a decider. He is probably just trying to make himself feel better."

A Springboks fan added; "That’s a hot take if I ever saw one. England allowed themselves to get blitzed…? Give credit where it’s due!"

A third rugby fan said; "Lol! England are well overdue a win over Ireland. They'd have wanted to win that, Ireland have been owning England for sometime now"

The 2026 Six Nations now enters the fallow week, with no matches scheduled for this coming weekend to give the players a chance to recuperate. Round 4 gets underway on Friday 6th March, as Ireland host Wales, before England travel out to Rome for a must-win clash against Italy. Scotland host France as the first and second ranked sides close out the action.