Places like Twickenham work in funny ways. When I was in charge of England, I would always hear rumours the RFU executives were talking to coaches from other countries. People can be mischievous about starting those rumours.
You’ve got to tread carefully. I would hear the usual names: Rassie Erasmus, Warren Gatland, Michael Cheika, Jake White. I’m sure it’s no different for Steve Borthwick now. As a coach, you’ve just got to try to win games of rugby and let the union make a decision.
England have lost five Tests in a row. Chief executives are always tricky during runs like that because they’re feeling the pressure. Boards generally hate media pressure. They hate being under the microscope and their reaction to that can be very interesting.
Sometimes, they’re very supportive and they tell you to get on with it. Sometimes, you don’t see them – and that’s when you know something is probably coming!
The really good CEOs ask questions about your approach to things. The not-so-good CEOs ask you rugby questions because they’ve had lunch with someone like Will Greenwood. They’ll come back from their nice restaurant and say, ‘I was speaking to so and so the other day and they said you should have a look at this…’ That can be difficult.
Bill Sweeney is a guy who listens to a lot of people and has strong opinions of his own. He has been very supportive of Steve up until now, so I would say he is committed to him going through to the World Cup. I’m a big admirer of Steve and I think they would be silly to change coach.
Steve Borthwick will get things right. England will beat Fiji easily. If they don’t, I’m sure there will be plenty of goings-on at Twickenham
When I was in charge of England, I would always hear rumours the RFU executives were talking to coaches from other countries
They’re having a bad run and the team isn’t functioning like it should but I think Steve will get things right. England will beat Fiji easily. If they don’t, I’m sure there will be plenty of goings-on.
A lot of teams have been blown out by South Africa at Ellis Park, like England were last week. Steve will be concerned and looking to redeem himself against Fiji. He’s moved one or two players around, bringing in Henry Slade and Guy Pepper, but they are not major changes.
For all the skill Slade has, he’s probably never played as well as he’s capable of for England. At his best, he’s a very silky player, with good feet and a good sense of the ball. I’ve always felt like there’s a bit more in him at Test level, so it will be interesting to see how he takes this chance.
There’s a big difference between club level and Test level. At club level, you’re in a set system and you’re training together all the time. At Test level, you’ve got two weeks and you’ve got to adapt to a playing style that suits that group of players. It’s about your ability to adapt.
This weekend, Steve probably wants more of a kicking game to pin Fiji back. Slade’s left boot gives you a great kicking option. He’s played almost 80 Tests now, so he brings a calm head and they need that now.
Tommy Freeman has moved from outside centre to the wing and you know he can finish well wherever he is playing.
I subbed him off at half-time when we played South Africa in 2022. Sometimes, you don’t get your selection right on the day and the only way you can change momentum is through changing personnel. It’s hard to just change tactics or shift your intensity. Freeman has matured a lot and now he’s one of the first picks for England.
I’m interested to see how Noah Caluori goes from the bench. He’s only 19 but he has obviously got something a bit special about him. When Ed Smith was in charge of England cricket as national selector, one of the things he looked at was how long it took a Test batsman to score his first 50.
For all the skill that Henry Slade has, he’s probably never played as well as he’s capable of for England
England just need to be able to play flatter and faster when they get unstructured ball
If he scored his first 50 in his first three innings, then the chances of him becoming a successful Test batsman were very high. It’s similar with rugby and Caluori will be an interesting case study. If you’re going to pick a Test to make your debut, Fiji is probably a good one. It won’t have the same physical intensity as playing South Africa at Ellis Park.
The big takeaway from the opening weekend was how quickly the best teams score. When you get turnover ball or regain the kick, the best teams are scoring in two or three phases. When South Africa got the ball, they really got on top of England. They played flat to the line, not retreating to structured play. Centre Jesse Kriel picked from the base of the ruck two or three times to keep generating quick ball. That’s a nuance of the game that is really important at the moment.
If that’s the trend, you need to be able to keep your defensive line in place when you’re facing quick ruck-ball. You need to keep working off the ball. South Africa and Ireland have the highest work-rate off the ball at the moment.
England just need to be able to play flatter and faster when they get unstructured ball. Their work-rate dropped off in the last quarter in Johannesburg but you can change that pretty quickly.
Benhard Janse van Renburg will help with that. He is a typical, tough South African player. They bring a huge work ethic. They love the physical side of the game and they just keep going.
I know in England it’s a big thing about where you were born but the rules state that if you’ve lived in a country for five years, then you can play for that country. Janse van Rensburg made that commitment and good for him.
It always surprises me that England don’t put more emphasis on bringing in players from around the world because their depth isn’t what they think it is.
Dave Ribbans was the best example when I was in England. I had a short stint with the Stormers and I remember looking through their succession plan. Ribbans was ninth in the Stormers hierarchy, so he came to Northampton and made an immediate impact. He was a good, physical, no-nonsense South African lock.
South African centre Jesse Kriel showed England how it’s done by picking from the base of the ruck two or three times and generating quick ball
Borthwick shakes hands with Benhard Janse van Rensburg – the South African import will bring a huge work ethic to the England team
We had a look at Val Rapava-Ruskin, the Georgian prop at Gloucester, too. He is an extremely talented player, fast for a prop, but he just hasn’t been able to make the step to international rugby.
We also had a look at Herbie Farnworth, who moved over to Australia as a teenager to play rugby league. He is a supreme league player who would walk into the England team tomorrow. He’s physical and fast with a very good sense for the ball. He would be an excellent, stand-out Test player. Despite all of the RFU’s money, we just didn’t have the wherewithal to bring him over.
The countries that need to increase their player depth, like Scotland, Wales and Ireland, have these massive databases. They have had people recruiting for years now. In Japan, we have a list of players who have done five years or have a paternal link. Then you watch them play, go and meet them and see if they want to play. The French league brings in a lot of foreign players from an early age.
England’s approach to it is a bit antiquated. I was watching England play cricket on Thursday and Jofra Archer is an unbelievable talent who comes from Barbados. In reality, that’s not the head coach’s responsibility. Someone like Conor O’Shea, the director of performance, would be in charge of that but they had no interest when I was there. They always felt like they had enough players in their own system.
Steve won’t be worrying about that at the moment, though. His focus will be on beating Fiji, so the RFU are not looking over his shoulder.
