Steve Borthwick takes aim at England flops after record nine changes

Steve Borthwick says that a drop in his “unwavering” standards led to a record nine changes for England’s Six Nations trip to Italy on Saturday.

The nine fresh faces, which come after consecutive disappointments to Scotland and Ireland, represent the most alterations to a starting XV made by any England coach in the Six Nations era, surpassing Brian Ashton’s eight alterations against France in the 2007 championship.

As revealed on Tuesday by Telegraph Sport, Elliot Daly takes over from Freddie Steward at full-back as part of a completely revamped back line from the one which was defeated by Ireland at the Allianz Stadium 10 days ago. Tom Roebuck and Cadan Murley start on the wings, Tommy Freeman moves to outside centre as one of three further positional switches, while Seb Atkinson makes his Six Nations debut in the No 12 jersey. Fin Smith makes his first start of this championship at fly-half while Ben Spencer partners Smith at scrum-half.

Ahead of a decisive trip to Rome, six Prem clubs are represented among a back division which has never before started a Test together. Not only that, the sub-divisions have not, either: the half-backs have never started a Test together, nor the centres, nor the fly-half and inside centre – although they played England age-group and some early club matches side by side – nor the back three.

The England head coach stressed that this was not a knee-jerk reaction. Borthwick admitted that there had been areas to address – notably intensity, the breakdown, and attacking in the opposition 22 – after the dismal defeats to Scotland and Ireland but also that he had been impressed in training by the new-look backline selected to take on the Azzurri.

“[I have] a consistent approach,” Borthwick said. “Why do I think that is important? The society in which we operate is one where we go to polarities, to one extreme or the other. If the team wins, the team is praised exceptionally. If the team loses, it is criticised exceptionally. There is very little middle ground. I will be consistent. We win, I’ll praise the things we do well, and debrief the things we need to do better. If we lose, I’ll praise the things we’ve done well and debrief the things that we’ve got to do better, and we’ll move forwards.

“Clearly, in the last two weeks there are some key aspects of things that weren’t good enough. Those have been addressed. How I address them, that changes. How and when I address them, in what manner I address them, that can vary.

“We have certain standards, and I am going to hold [the team] to those standards. There are certain things that, to me, are unwavering. Unfortunately, in the last two games, on certain things, we’ve not met those standards. All of us have been really disappointed with the last two games. They haven’t been to the required standards that we have set over a long period time; in a lot of areas. But, there’s always a point, after you debrief, that you’ve got to draw a line and say: ‘This is all about moving forward now and playing against Italy.’

“I think this team will play very well on Saturday and get the result we want. Much of this backline has trained for four or five weeks together and trained very well. I say again how much I value what I see in training. I say it to the players, that I’m watching every bit of training and I value performance in training. This is a very strong message about the ethos within the England team, that you will be rewarded for performing in that sense.”

In certain respects, Borthwick’s hand was forced after Ollie Lawrence, the Bath centre, and Alex Mitchell, the Northampton scrum-half, were ruled out with injury, but the England head coach has opted to wield the axe more extensively. Steward, Henry Arundell, Fraser Dingwall and George Ford – all of whom started England’s opening three Six Nations matches – have dropped out of the match-day 23 entirely.

Up front, Jamie George replaces Luke Cowan-Dickie at hooker while Alex Coles starts at lock, with Ollie Chessum dropping to the bench. The front row and second row are the only two divisions which have started a Test together for England as there is also a rejig on the back row, where Tom Curry slides to openside to accommodate the returning Guy Pepper and Ben Earl, on the occasion of his 50th cap, pushes to No 8. Henry Pollock drops to the bench where he is joined by Sam Underhill in a six-two split.

After the 2003 World Cup winners visited England’s Pennyhill Park training base last Wednesday, Borthwick welcomed another visitor on Tuesday: his footballing counterpart, Thomas Tuchel, and his backroom staff. Borthwick had not had chance to properly chat to Tuchel when he addressed the media but said that the players had quizzed the England manager about the art of selection.

“The players were very interested to chat with Thomas about selection and when they name their team,” he said. “Obviously, we name early in the week and theirs is different. The players were talking about the pros and cons of that and how that helped them. I’m looking forward to debriefing [with him] properly next.”

A panic selection maybe, but Borthwick backs his instincts

For now, Steve Borthwick’s policy of prioritising continuity in selection, which has been the defining feature of his post-2023 World Cup rebuild, has been spectacularly scrapped. If changes were expected in response to successive defeats by Scotland and Ireland, the extent of the overhaul is unprecedented for England in the history of the Six Nations, a stunning change of tack in Borthwick’s commitment to avoid knee-jerk reactions.

Indeed, a record nine personnel changes opens up suggestions that Borthwick has panicked.

It is understandable given that he has so far striven to back those he believes in and give them room to make mistakes if the effort and commitment is there in spades. Time and again Borthwick has urged his players to “play big” and wanted them to do so unencumbered by the “weight” of the shirt. 

Yet the manner of the defeat by Ireland was so alarming that this is the time for an old-fashioned bit of fear. There is a sense that the policy of continuity in selection has bred complacency. It takes a special player to maintain the highest of standards when they know their place each week is assured, and injuries to key players – most notably Fin Baxter, Will Stuart and Immanuel Feyi-Waboso – have significantly reduced Borthwick’s options from their autumn campaign. George Martin’s long-term injury has been a major loss, too, given his heft.

The England head coach publicly backed his players in the aftermath of the Scotland and Ireland losses, in contrast to the approach of Andy Farrell, who questioned his side’s “intent” following their defeat by France in Paris. Farrell’s public rebuke landed a punch that the Ireland players could not ignore, and they responded with the finest display since their 2023 World Cup campaign.   

But behind the scenes it is clear that Borthwick’s message to his players has been that standards were not met, particularly in the non-negotiables of effort and intensity. Poor discipline has undermined this. Henry Arundell left England with 14 men for 30 minutes against Scotland with his two yellow cards, the second of which led to a 20-minute red. Against Ireland, both Freddie Steward and Henry Pollock were sent to the sin-bin.

“Let me absolutely clear, and please don’t misinterpret what I am about to say, but we were disappointed about the intensity,” said Borthwick. “There are certain things that are factors; we’ve got to make sure that we have 15 men on the pitch. We’ve played three games where we have long periods where we have had 14 men. We’ve had long periods where people have had to do extra work. This has been a team that has built a very good disciplinary record. That is something that needs to change. 

“Secondly, we’ve got to take our chances and make sure they are not getting and taking as many chances as they are. You’ve got to be consistent and smart about how you play, and make sure you keep your intensity. Those are some of the factors that we’ve discussed. I don’t think in the last game that the intensity was at the level we needed to be. But we’ve drawn a line and look forward to Italy, and that’s what we are doing now.”

The back line selected has not started a Test match together and neither have the combinations – nine and 10, with Ben Spencer and Fin Smith replacing Alex Mtichell and George Ford, the midfield, which sees a Six Nations debut for Seb Atkinson alongside Tommy Freeman, or the back three, which sees Cadan Murley come onto the left wing, Tom Roebuck returning on the right and Elliot Daly starting at full-back.

In the forwards, Guy Pepper’s return reflects England’s need to have a more direct and powerful competition at the breakdown, with Pollock asked to deliver a “super-sub” display from the bench. A start for Alex Coles is deserved. His form for Northampton Saints has been outstanding, and he should bring more energy to the England pack. Ollie Chessum was an option on the blindside flank, which would have provided more line-out options and power, but instead he drops to the bench too.

This is not a side that oozes game-time cohesion. It was founded on the training pitch last week, a sign that it was not in the initial Six Nations plans. 

Injuries (Mitchell and Ollie Lawrence) have also played their part in the changes, but there is another fascinating aspect to this selection. The need for change has given Borthwick the chance to pick a midfield that he has been mulling over since England’s tour of Argentina last summer. 

Atkinson, who will bring hard-edged running to the midfield, would have started at inside centre last autumn if he had been fit. By the start of the Six Nations, there was a sense of loyalty to Fraser Dingwall and with George Furbank injured and Daly playing his way back into form, England needed a second playmaker at 12. Dingwall’s voice and game management was also important. 

But with Daly now back at 15, we will finally get to see how Atkinson will pair up with Freeman, who Borthwick sees as an outside centre long term. Their mettle will be fiercely tested by the excellent Italian midfield of Juan Ignacio Brex and Tommaso Menoncello.

A panic selection maybe, but Borthwick is also backing his instincts over continuity.

[Source: Press and Journal]