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The 'rip it up' England team Woodward wants Borthwick to pick
By Liam Heagney
Ex-England coach Clive Woodward has remarkably called on current boss Steve Borthwick to radically alter his Rugby World Cup squad before next Monday’s World Rugby deadline for the tournament.
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August 28 is the final day for countries to submit the names of their 33-strong panels for France and although the English have officially named their choices, the 2003 RWC-winning coach has claimed some players should be dropped – including the banned Billy Vunipola.
The No8 became one of two players – the other was skipper Owen Farrell – to be suspended in midweek in a brutal 12-hour period for Borthwick.
Vunipola was given a three-match ban, a sanction that can be cut to two by tackle school, for his red-carded tackle on Ireland’s Andrew Porter, while Farell was handed a four-match suspension with no scope to reduce it for his red-carded tackle on Wales’ Taine Basham.
It rules both players out of England’s opening matches at the World Cup versus Argentina and Japan and while Vunipola can become available for selection versus the Japanese in Nice once he successfully completes tackle school, Woodward has called on Borwthick to drop the player from his World Cup squad altogether and instead bring Zach Mercer to France.
Mercer was cut from England’s RWC training squad at the end of June, but Woodward now wants him recalled at the expense of Vunipola. He has also demanded the selection of regular full-back Freddie Steward at inside centre so that England commit to the past their reliance on a midfield built around Manu Tuilagi.
He would pair Steward with Henry Slade, a player axed from the Worl Cup squad when announced earlier this month, and would also bring in the firepower of the overlooked Adam Radwan.
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To cap the alterations, he would pick Anthony Watson at full-back, start Marcus Smith with Alex Mitchell at half-back, promote rookie Theo Dan at hooker, switch Courtney Lawes to the second row and bring in Tom Curry at blindside.
Woodward said this would be his ideal team to take on Fiji this Saturday in the final Summer Nations Series of the four-match England warm-up programme. However, with three of his preferences not even in camp, he was looking for a different team from the XV that Borthwick was to eventually confirm at 12:45pm on Thursday.
Writing in his latest Sportsmail column, Woodward reckoned: “England should rip up their World Cup squad and start again. World Rugby rules permit a coach to take out players and bring new ones in up until August 28. Steve Borthwick should do exactly that.
“It would be harsh to tell players who were expecting to go that they are no longer travelling to France. But as a head coach, you must make tough calls. And let’s be fair, the players haven’t set the world alight in the two games with Wales and defeat by Ireland. The message should be clear: ‘Sorry, but you have had your chance.’
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“England must throw caution to the wind as they are in a real corner now. World Cups are not about development. They are about winning. Nothing else matters… Sometimes, you have to tear up your plans. Borthwick has to react to ensure England are in the best possible place to beat Argentina and Japan.
“If England bring in a host of new players for this weekend and it doesn’t work, then they haven’t lost anything. They can still revert to the current crop and double down. Given his ban, Vunipola should not go to the World Cup.
“He is not the player of four years ago. Zach Mercer would bring some much-needed pace to the team. Vunipola can rejoin the squad if there are injuries in France, which is almost a given.”
With a view to getting the most out of playing Smith at out-half, Woodward went on to explain his rationale for selecting Steward at No12. “To get the most out of Smith, he needs a back line equal to his attacking talents and a licence to play. With this in mind, I would consider playing Freddie Steward at inside centre.
“Steward is a great defensive full back but England need a running threat there which is why I would play Anthony Watson. For too long England’s midfield thinking has been dominated by Manu Tuilagi.
“We need to get creative. Steward is strong defensively and he would do well in midfield. New Zealand switched Jordie Barrett from 15 to 12 through necessity rather than by design and it has worked a treat. Against Fiji, I’d play Steward and Henry Slade at centre.
“It was a big call to leave out Slade in the first place but the paucity of the side’s backline displays in the last three weeks has shown England badly miss his footballing ability.”
Woodward fascinatingly went on to explain his other changes and the reasons for them, concluding: “England have nothing to lose now. Given the current direction of travel, it is conceivable that Borthwick’s team might not even qualify from their pool. That would be unthinkable for English rugby and must be avoided at all costs.”
Clive Woodward’s England team versus Fiji:
15. Anthony Watson; 14. Adam Radwan, 13. Henry Slade, 12. Freddie Steward, 11. Henry Arundell; 10. Marcus Smith, 9. Alex Mitchell; 1. Ellis Genge, 2. Theo Dan, 3. Kyle Sinckler, 4. Maro Itoje, 5. Courtney Lawes (capt), 6. Tom Curry, 7. Ben Earl, 8. Zach Mercer.
- Click here to read the full Clive Woodward Sportsmail column
Wow he really has lost the plot
The £500k p.a. Boys Itoje, Genge and Sinckler don’t have the heart or interest. If I was Smith I’d say screw it, leave camp and go on holiday. It may pay £23k a game but with this ENG management it’s going to be very dark days even after the World Cup. Same for Mercer. What’s the point joining this lot when it clearly obvious some players can’t be bothered, others not good enough and the tryers get dragged down and tarred with the same brush of mediocracy. The current narrative is it’s like 2007 when the players took over allegedly and got to the final. Very different characters and leaders on that team. No comparison. Can you see this team locking the current ENG coaches out of the changing room? And if so what is the point of Borthwick. The guy is a dinosaur relying on a 20 year old power and kick strategy. ENG don’t have the power and when they try and bully they get a red card.
The team Woodward has selected is terrible. Key players out of position, a fly half who has never been able to step up to international behind a pack that would be going backwards. The only positive is there will be some records broken and they won''t have to further embarrass themselves in knockout stages
At least Woodward is consistent with his philosophy : Destroy everything, no matter the result and then blame the next guy.
He's one of the main reason England got rid of Eddie Jones so close to the WC, which is a shame because Borthwick might have been a great coach if he had 4 years to become one, in 6 months this was mission impossible and now he'll be toast to continue.
As a side note, I still don't understand why England got rid of players so long before the deadline... Bringing Mercer back when he's been out of the group since June? Might as well say that the whole summer preparation was useless...
Should have done as France, keep everyone involved until the last moment, at least should you need to call replacements they will know the game-plan and might have some connection with their teammates... I would have loved Mercer to play but calling him now is admitting a huge prior mistake and Borthwick cannot pull that off with the current results...
"Lyon switched Tuisova from 14 to 8 through necessity rather than by design and it worked a treat. Against Fiji, I’d play Henry Arundell in the back row"
Some people say I don't know anything about rugby, but take a look at this guy!