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'He said he had watched every one of my carries for the last 2 or 3 years'

By PA
Anthony Watson - PA

England star Anthony Watson has described Steve Borthwick as “a ridiculously good coach” ahead of his likely ascension to English rugby’s top job.

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And Watson also reserved considerable praise for ex-England head coach Eddie Jones, whose seven-year reign ended last week when he was sacked following a poor Autumn Nations Series campaign.

Leicester boss Borthwick, a former England forwards coach and England captain, is the clear favourite to succeed Jones.

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He masterminded Tigers’ Gallagher Premiership title triumph last season, transforming Leicester from relegation candidates when he arrived in the East Midlands to champions.

Wing or full-back Watson joined Leicester from Bath earlier this year and he is cruising into top gear after 10 months out because of a serious knee injury.

“I don’t really want to get caught in the if or when of him going, but what I will say is that Steve is a ridiculously good coach,” said Watson, whose blistering 50-metre solo try helped Tigers claim an opening Heineken Champions Cup win against Ospreys.

“The whole set-up at Leicester, I want to play for all of the coaches. Kev (defence coach Kevin Sinfield) is one of the most inspirational blokes I’ve ever met, Steve is straight down the line but an absolute legend, a guy who I would ride out for, and the same with Wiggy (player-coach Richard Wigglesworth).

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“I don’t know what it is – I can’t even put my finger on it – but I just want to play for those guys.

“Steve is genuinely an honest bloke. He will tell you exactly how it is. There’s no sugar-coating it. Whether you like it or not, he is going to tell you.

“And secondly, everything he says is backed up by evidence. I remember in pre-season he came up to me and we were talking about the breakdown.

“He said he had watched every one of my carries for the last two or three years and what I needed to do on the ground to make sure we can retain possession.

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“I don’t know how many carries that would have been, but two, three years’ worth of carries is a decent amount. For him to trawl through all of that just shows you how dedicated he is.”

Watson, who has won more than 50 England caps and played in five Tests for the British and Irish Lions, made his Red Rose debut a year before Jones took charge.

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He featured in 39 England games under Jones, starting 36 of them, and has no doubt about the Australian’s quality.

“Eddie is another world-class coach – and a world-class human,” Watson added.

“He was the first to call me after three months to see how my ACL recovery was progressing, how my Achilles was going, taking time out of running a World Cup programme to send me off to do one-on-one speed coaching.

“There are very few people who can see the bigger picture like him. I am disappointed I won’t be able to continue to work with him.

“There aren’t many people who give up their entire lives to rugby like Eddie Jones does.

“It is distressing to see someone give up so much – and then get so much heat from outside – when he has dedicated his life to the game.”

Watson could prove to be an integral part of the new England coach’s plans building towards the World Cup in France next year.

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But he says that enjoying his rugby is the priority after spending so much time on the sidelines.

“I want to help this team (Leicester) win and get to where we think we can get to,” he said.

“Week in, week out, if that gets me back into the England squad, then cool. If it doesn’t, that’s life, isn’t it?

“I am not putting unnecessary pressure on myself to get back into that squad. I just want to enjoy my rugby for a period.

“I want to be playing and training week in, week out and not worrying about any niggles or anything. What happens off the back of that, happens off the back of that.”

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Oh no, not him again? 2 hours ago
England internationals disagree on final play execution vs All Blacks

Okay, so we blew it big time on Saturday. So rather than repeating what most people have all ready said, what do I want to see from Borthwick going forward?


Let's keep Marcus Smith on the pitch if he's fit and playing well. I was really pleased with his goal kicking. It used to be his weakness. I feel sympathy for George Ford who hadn't kicked all match and then had a kick to win the game. You hear pundits and commentators commend kickers who have come off the bench and pulled that off. Its not easy. If Steve B continues to substitute players with no clear reason then he is going to get criticised.


On paper I thought England would beat NZ if they played to their potential and didn't show NZ too much respect. Okay, the off the ball tackles certainly stopped England scoring tries, but I would have liked to see more smashing over gainlines and less kicking for position. Yes, I also know it's the Springbok endorsed world cup double winning formula but the Kiwi defence isn't the Bok defence, is it. If you have the power to put Smith on the front foot then why muzzle him? I guess what I'm saying is back, yourself. Why give the momentum to a team like NZ? Why feed the beast? Don't give the ball to NZ. Well d'uh.


Our scrum is a long term weakness. If you are going to play Itoje then he needs an ogre next door and a decent front row. Where is our third world class lock? Where are are realible front row bench replacements? The England scrum has been flakey for a while now. It blows hot and cold. Our front five bench is not world class.


On the positive side I love our starting backrow right now. I'd like to see them stick together through to the next world cup.


Anyway, there is always another Saturday.

7 Go to comments
C
CO 2 hours ago
Scott Robertson responds to criticism over All Blacks' handling errors

Robertson is more a manager of coaches than a coach so it comes down to intent of outcomes at a high level. I like his intent, I like the fact his Allblacks are really driving the outcomes however as he's pointed out the high error rates are not test level and their control of the game is driving both wins and losses. England didn't have to play a lot of rugby, they made far fewer mistakes and were extremely unlucky not to win.


In fact the English team were very early in their season and should've been comfortably beaten by an Allblacks team that had played multiple tests together.


Razor has himself recognised that to be the best they'll have to sort out the crisis levels of mistakes that have really increased since the first two tests against England.


Early tackles were a classic example of hyper enthusiasm to not give an inch, that passion that Razor has achieved is going to be formidable once the unforced errors are eliminated.


That's his secret, he's already rebuilt the passion and that's the most important aspect, its inevitable that he'll now eradicate the unforced errors. When that happens a fellow tier one nation is going to get thrashed. I don't think it will be until 2025 though.


The Allblacks will lose both tests against Ireland and France if they play high error rates rugby like they did against England.


To get the unforced errors under control he's going to be needing to handover the number eight role to Sititi and reset expectations of what loose forwards do. Establish a clear distinction with a large, swarthy lineout jumper at six that is a feared runner and dominant tackler and a turnover specialist at seven that is abrasive in contact. He'll then need to build depth behind the three starters and ruthlessly select for that group to be peaking in 2027 in hit Australian conditions on firm, dry grounds.


It's going to help him that Savea is shifting to the worst super rugby franchise where he's going to struggle behind a beaten pack every week.


The under performing loose forward trio is the key driver of the high error rates and unacceptable turn overs due to awol link work. Sititi is looking like he's superman compared to his openside and eight.


At this late stage in the season they shouldn't be operating with just the one outstanding loose forward out of four selected for the English test. That's an abject failure but I think Robertson's sacrificing link quality on purpose to build passion amongst the junior Allblacks as they see the reverential treatment the old warhorses are receiving for their long term hard graft.


It's unfortunately losing test matches and making what should be comfortable wins into nail biters but it's early in the world cup cycle so perhaps it's a sacrifice worth making.


However if this was F1 then Sam Cane would be Riccardo and Ardie would be heading into Perez territory so the loose forwards desperately need revitalisation through a rebuild over the next season to complement the formidable tight five.

28 Go to comments
LONG READ
LONG READ Mick Cleary: 'Borthwick needs to have faith in Marcus Smith' Mick Cleary: 'Borthwick needs to have faith in Marcus Smith'
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