That says it all about Steve Borthwick arriving on the Monday morning when most international coaches are rightfully taking a breather after two months in the middle of the Six Nations war; The England boss will instead fly to New Zealand to begin preparations for his side’s summer tour. . Borthwick can look forward to his time at home as he begins implementing a performance program he hopes can lead to the All Blacks in July.
Even before a thorough review, Borthwick’s work is never done as he left this championship with great courage. There was a strange atmosphere within the England squad in the hours after their defeat against France in Lyon; The team was defeated on the night but was on the rise overall after a tournament in which they made significant progress. They rose to the challenge of backing up an outstanding performance against Ireland, finding a way to take control after a slow start, and despite Thomas Ramos having the final say in this Six Nations, England have plenty to shout about.
“I think the team is making progress,” predicted the analytical Borthwick. “I’m pleased to create some cohesion within the team. I look back at the level of continuity of the team and the players that played together in the last World Cup cycle and we were pretty low in the world in terms of that consistency.
“What I’m going to do going forward is continue to build continuity in the selection to give the players time to understand, to give the players the opportunity to play with each other and learn what it’s like to play with each other.
“There will be mistakes. We need to learn faster than anyone else. One of the signs is to see a team that learns very quickly. We were disappointed with what we did at Murrayfield and we learned from it very quickly. We agreed with the players that we will learn from this defeat very quickly so that when we find ourselves in this situation again “I said we could – and we undoubtedly will – turn the situation around and get the win we want.”
Defeat in the Calcutta Cup meant England would never truly challenge for the title, but they proved to themselves and their fans that they could compete with the best teams in this tournament. A narrow loss to South Africa in the semi-finals provided a sense of direction, but there were still fears that Borthwick would struggle to take sides beyond this over-specific indulgence strategy; They have shown the ability to thrive in these Six Nations.
While Ireland’s display of strength was the most obvious example, perhaps Saturday’s narrow defeat showed the adaptability England will need to become one of the best teams in the world. They began to confuse France, narrowing the competition and stalling at every opportunity. This was in stark contrast to the sheer intensity of the Ireland performance, but when it came time to press the button England pulled through with three tries in seven minutes before half-time, showing their attacking potential at both ends.
“We talked about coming out of the blocks and actually going to France,” center Ollie Lawrence said of the change in mentality in the interim. “With a few tries we managed to get it to pay off, but unfortunately we couldn’t stop it in the end. But there was some really good attacking intent.”
The attack has taken time to recover this season but George Furbank added an extra counter-attacking threat while Marcus Smith showed flashes and flaws in his return to full-back against France. Immanuel Feyi-Waboso looks set to become a star on the wing, while the midfield of Ollie Lawrence and Henry Slade looks fairly balanced, but England may want more from their experienced outside centre. One of the players of the tournament, Ben Earl, thrived in a freer role, helped by having three long-arm locks in the starting side to do some of the dirty work.
Borthwick is expected to lead a relatively settled squad to New Zealand, but Manu Tuilagi may have played his last match in England and Danny Care’s career appears to be coming to a natural end. Tom Curry’s ongoing injury problems are a real concern, but Sam Underhill has come through five games intact; This is a big positive for a player finding his wages at Test level again. Relying on Dan Cole and Joe Marler might not be ideal at this point, but some young players are starting to emerge.
Defensively, Felix Jones’ system will continue to provide opportunities for the best opposition, but it has started to work as hoped, surprising both Scotland, Ireland and France at times. It will take time for this to fully materialise, but for the first season under the management of the Irish World Cup winners, England could have hoped for a bit more. While Kevin Sinfield is chasing England’s summer job, Borthwick may be looking for a new member of his squad. The head coach suggested that four assistants offer the right mix of broad expertise while maintaining the tight inner circle he prefers; An experienced head-to-head attack coach, Richard Wigglesworth, could be a smart hire.
Not everyone was pleased with Borthwick at the tournament in England; Matters off the field were more concerning than on the field. Protracted negotiations continue over the Professional Playing Partnership (PGP), which will be introduced in the summer and will shape English rugby for the foreseeable future; this includes the introduction of enhanced EPS agreements that will bring a group of senior players under closer control.
There was frustration at the start of this campaign with the lack of a common approach to injury monitoring between clubs and country. The lack of Premiership action during the tournament, allowing Borthwick to have extra players in camp, is a positive but he still wants more.
“We started the tournament with some players unavailable and we need our players to be available,” the former lock explained. “You can see there is an improvement now with the Premiership. You see the standard improving and the players being more ready for Test rugby. “Going forward, when we have a Test, we need to make sure that these players are ready and fit from the start of the tournament.”
The Premiership race looks likely to be exciting and challenging; numerous contestants will stake their claim to travel to Japan and New Zealand. But where both he and his predecessor were previously searching for individuals to form the body of this England side, anyone arriving now would be an additional limb to widen their canopy. It’s testament to their progress that the absences of Owen Farrell and Courtney Lawes have gone almost unmentioned this year.
Is there enough here to consistently challenge the quartet who are clearly on the rise heading into the World Cup? The All Blacks will provide a chance to answer that question. It’s been a decade since England last set foot in Aotearoa, and the magic and mystery of what remains the toughest test in men’s rugby remains the tour. But Borthwick will go south with faith and joy; The UK project is going well.