England rugby hero Matt Dawson has sparked a war of words with Ellis Genge by telling the prop that his criticism of pundits is “utter nonsense”. It comes after Genge said those criticising Steve Borthwick’s side were “out of touch”.

The 30-year-old argued in February that the praise of England’s performances was never as loud as the criticism. His comments were made amid a national newspaper column in which 2003 World Cup winner Will Greenwood wrote that England “play no rugby” under Borthwick, despite their Calcutta Cup victory over Scotland.

Genge’s reaction prompted former England star Chris Ashton to admit on the BBC’s Rugby Union Weekly podcast that he felt reluctant to be too critical of Borthwick’s players. Speaking on the same platform, Dawson did not agree and hit back at Genge.

“Just say exactly how you feel,” the former scrum-half told Ashton. “And saying exactly how you feel doesn’t mean you’re being critical.

“You are well within your rights from your international career to have… That would be my answer to Ellis Genge, by the way. Just because you’re playing the game now and someone’s a little bit older than you, doesn’t mean that they don’t understand the game. That is utter nonsense.

“I don’t care what he thinks. I genuinely don’t care what he thinks about what me or another pundit will say, whether he listens to us or not, that’s his decision. But you are well within your rights, you understand the game.”