The smell of freshly cut Twickenham grass wafts as Dan Cole sits in a windowless room beneath the English rugby house, wearing his training kit and a pair of boots. Having completed the first session of another grueling week at the international camp, the promoter easily moves from the training ground to answering questions from the flock of writers gathered around him.
With his black leather boots tucked under his chair, Cole continues to answer questions with the confidence and humor of a player who’s been there, seen that and done that in elite rugby. The 36-year-old’s England journey is a well-told story; The narrative runs from the particularly grueling 2019 Rugby World Cup final against South Africa to the outstanding individual display in the one-point defeat against the Boks in last year’s semi-final.
Relating to: ‘We were ready for war’: Scotland’s victory in 2018 turned the tables on a powerful foe
Four months ago at the Stade de France, Leicester’s fierce attacking was a crucial factor in England’s dominance of the eventual world champions for most of those tense final four encounters. Still, it was easy to assume that a player who turns 37 in May would join the likes of Ben Youngs, Jonny May and Courtney Lawes in hanging up his national team boots after the tournament.
Cole revealed that a conversation with head coach Steve Borthwick in Paris two days after England’s departure led to his decision to move on. Personal loyalty to Borthwick, whose tutelage at Welford Road revived the front-rower’s career, was a key factor.
“I talked to Steve,” Cole says. “After Courtney announced her retirement at a press conference, Steve pulled me aside and said: ‘Are you planning any press conferences or announcements?’ I said: ‘I need to talk to my wife and you, Steve, because if you won’t choose me, I will. [retire].’” Cole chuckled at the memory. “He said: ‘I’d like you to have that option.’ Fair enough because I owe Steve a lot. And here I am.”
If he plays as expected in next Saturday’s Calcutta Cup at Murrayfield, Cole will have 109 international caps. Only three British men have more: his close friend (and now podcast co-host) Youngs tops the list with 127, Jason Leonard has 114, Owen Farrell has 112.
Since his debut 14 years ago, Cole has seen several transformations in the setup and was dropped after the 2019 World Cup, when Eddie Jones’ team had an oft-cited mission to build “New England”. But things are really changing as it comes time to plan and prepare for the 2027 World Cup in Borthwick and Australia.
Felix Jones is on the staff as an assistant coach and there are many new faces on the roster, including Chandler Cunningham-South, Immanuel Feyi-Waboso and Ethan Roots.
“Steve was deliberately very blunt when he said this was a new team,” says Cole. “There’s some older guys in there, but it’s a new squad, a new direction. There’s a bunch of young guys who are going to keep this thing going for the next four, eight or more years. There’s a lot of young guys, new faces, and we want everybody to stick together and be a team.” “We’re trying to make him feel like part of the team. It used to be: ‘This is how we do it, like it or hate it.’ It’s much more interesting for the younger generation of players who can’t concentrate for two minutes.”
As music blares from the next room as England’s team continue their work, Cole says meetings should be kept “short, sharp and geared towards the social media generation”. Cole doesn’t know who’s DJing, but says “there’s a music committee, I won’t name names.”
Jones won two World Cups with the Boks and Cole says he will bring his own personality to training. England will aim for three Six Nations wins against Scotland as the Irish implement a new blitz defence. “He has a different personality than Kev [Sinfield]” says Cole. “Different intensity. Kev is probably a lot calmer, Felix is a lot wilder.”
As a senior player, Cole’s training intensity changed with age; increased rather than decreased. “It’s best to get the adrenaline going, start and finish the session as quickly as possible. “As you get older, it’s all about stopping and starting,” he says. While a second career grand slam remains a possibility, thoughts occasionally turn to retirement, even if one potential avenue has already been closed.
Cole’s wife runs a florist, and although Cole isn’t involved — “I have zero creativity” — he has offered to help in the future. “I told him, ‘When I retire, I’m going to be a delivery boy,’ but he said, ‘I don’t want you to meet the customers.'”
Is this his last international campaign? Cole isn’t sure. “I didn’t think about it until now.” When the time finally comes his absence will be keenly felt by Borthwick and England.