Steve Borthwick’s problem is that even gradual rebuildings labeled as evolution rather than revolution still require time. And after taking over as England head coach 14 months ago, he inherited a fan base that was rightly fed up with pleas for patience. At least the upside of Scotland’s fourth straight defeat is that fans will be more open to more fundamental changes.
There were also encouraging aspects of England’s performance, although some bright spots became more apparent once the home team took control of the game. Indeed, some from Borthwick’s bench have given him the license to accelerate improvements, both tactically and selectionally, that will always be needed in the team after the last World Cup.
Ben Spencer and George Martin were the first to be introduced after Duhan van der Merwe’s third try approximately seven minutes into the second half. The latter, who replaced Ethan Roots, was making his first Test appearance since the World Cup semi-final against South Africa. Martin is an imposing presence. Meanwhile, he has managed to lock in alongside Maro Itoje with Ollie Chessum switching to the blindside winger.
Spencer was a scrum-half in the Premiership and was renowned for his accurate strikes. Danny Care’s screen was speckled with errors. A strike that saw England lead 10-0 at half-time was just as skewed and invited pressure as the visitors looked confident. Hindsight makes us all experts, but Borthwick must have considered promoting Spencer into the starting line-up and keeping Care in his distinctive role as the impact replacement following Alex Mitchell’s injury.
As it happened, one of Spencer’s first contributions was to hit a perfect box kick. Tommy Freeman followed and climbed over Van der Merwe. Ben Earl caught the bounce and fed Martin, who charged 15 meters to the opposition 22. With this move, England won the penalty and reduced the difference to 24-16.
Still only 22 years old, Martin still needs to mature. But it was a collective mistake that led to his most glaring mistake. England were inexplicably slow to withdraw for the next restart. Russell, as always, was alert and ahead of the game. He ran towards the midfield line and delivered a kick that isolated Martin in the backfield. He conceded possession and momentum in a moment of fumble.
Borthwick brought the remaining six players onto the field between the 57th and 68th minutes. It was telling and quite unusual for England to have a long 12 minutes with Theo Dan replacing Jamie George with a completely revamped squad. A rough diamond with raw talent and significant physical abilities, Chandler Cunningham-South defended strongly and hard-working. At one stage he drove Ewan Ashman and two more Scots forward. Rory Darge and Jack Dempsey showed the value of stopping power and post-tackle threat all evening long. Cunningham-South’s potential is huge.
Immanuel Feyi-Waboso produced the most promising cameo of all time. With his arrival, England’s backline has been completely revamped. Spencer and Fin Smith were halfbacks, while Ollie Lawrence and Freeman were midfielders. Elliot Daly and George Furbank remained on the left wing and full-back respectively, while Feyi-Waboso occupied the right wing. There were whispers about how successful the 21-year-old was in training, and Feyi-Waboso quickly translated those efforts.
With England trailing 30-16, his rushing caused Scotland to lose the restart. A few phases later, Feyi-Waboso raced around a pile, received a pass from Spencer and dived between Cameron Redpath and Blair Kinghorn. He had wandered down the right flank to the opposite 15-yard channel to open his account as a striker in the Test match.
Other moments underlined Feyi-Waboso’s determination to become more involved vis-à-vis Ireland and France. Ben Healy’s lofted ball was caught well and Spencer bounced to win another box kick back. In the 75th minute, Russell tried to divert Feyi-Waboso with a diagonal shot. Van der Merwe was under pressure, but Feyi-Waboso read the situation well. He turned and caught the shot all the way, displaying his rare acceleration with a powerful counter punch. Even then Feyi-Waboso had broken out from his flank and was gaining ground. As part of an off-the-line kick play, he ghosted into Fin Smith’s shoulder and went 10 meters forward with two tackles.
Borthwick later reiterated that he had wanted them to be England internationals for “a long time”, noting that some of his replacements “hadn’t played a lot of Premiership rugby”. Feyi-Waboso is the greenest by that measure, having made just 12 league appearances for Exeter Chiefs since his competitive debut last season. And yet he was brave enough to make his mark in the Calcutta Cup clash at Murrayfield, which was starting to slip away from England.
Spencer and Smith slowed down some attacks in the final quarter and their side trailed by nine points. This was clearly a team directive. Spencer and Russell move the ball at Bath when they need to. Time in the saddle for half-time is vital. Sometimes you have to rip off the band-aid and pick it up.
Borthwick has used experienced players as a security blanket so far in the Six Nations, as he did in the World Cup. Although they are looking at the trajectory of another three-defeat season, their squads in Ireland and France must look more clearly to the future. A primer for Feyi-Waboso certainly seems like a reasonable way to summarize this policy.