Steve Borthwick is running a fine line in this World Cup. He has finally made England successful but he has done it through a widely derided style of rugby. Whisper it, but he is fast becoming rugby’s Jose Mourinho.
Of course, by its nature, when a new appointment is made, most new coaches are parachuted into an environment which could best be described as a work in progress, at worst, dysfunctional. Usually the team is losing, or at least not living up to expectations, and new ideas, new energy and new motivational schticks are required to turn the tide. The shrewdest coaches can cast aside their fondness for a particular style and instead implement a gameplan that is required.
For those with short memories, it is worth recounting that when Steve Borthwick took over Leicester Tigers, they were in freefall. They had been one position shy of relegation two years running, and were once saved by Saracen’ expulsion for financial irregularities. Indeed, they hadn’t made the playoffs in three years and they hadn’t won the league in seven years, this after reaching the final in every of the previous nine years. In short, they were broken.
Under Borthwick, in his first season, they improved their points haul by 25 and finished sixth in addition to reaching the Challenge Cup final. The next year they won the league. They scored the sixth most tries in the league but conceded eight tries less than the next lowest team. Borthwick slowly turned them into a defence-first side who made sure they didn’t let their heads drop until the final whistle was heard. Of course, they weren’t Fiji, but they were successful and when Eddie Jones was floundering it was Borthwick who was summoned by the RFU top brass.
Nine months on, here we are. Borthwick had an underwhelming start to his England career and he’d barely arranged his desk before some voices in the media were calling for him to exit stage door left. But, like it or not, he has turned a corner in this World Cup.
There has been some revisionism since England won their opening World Cup game, comfortably, against Argentina but there was a time when the prevailing opinion was that England might not escape the group and certainly wouldn’t beat the South Americans. They’ve done both and now have a winnable quarter-final against, most likely, Fiji. But still there is disquiet about their style. So what are they actually trying to achieve?
England are also able to score from distance. That pressures the opposition to not give away penalties anywhere in their own half.
From the outside, it looks like England simply run out of ideas and so hoof a pointless kick to their opponents. This falls some way wide of the mark though. The purpose of Borthwick’s game plan is to ensure his opponents are as far away from the English try line as possible. That has been successful, England have the third best 22 entry difference (their 22 entries minus their opponents) at the World Cup. Those limp kicks when close to the opposition line may not be exciting viewing but they do push the opponents back and force them to play from deep.
From an attacking perspective, not only are England generating those 22 entries but they are also able to score from distance. Against Argentina George Ford was able to knock over drop goals from near enough the halfway line and in Elliot Daly they have someone who can make long range penalties with his howitzer left boot. That pressures the opposition to not give away penalties anywhere in their own half. That can have significant knock-ons where the opposition may choose not to compete at breakdowns to avoid penalties which can gift easy possession and increased ruck speed. Again, it might not be exciting but it is effective.
One of the criticisms of Borthwick’s England has been that they are able to play with careless abandon, as we saw against Japan for the last 20 minutes, or Chile for most of the game, but seemingly choose not to. This takes us to one of rugby’s most obvious but underrated statements; it’s much easier to win a game you’ve already won. Against Japan, England had done all the hard work, built a lead that they were comfortable with, and then cut loose. Against Chile the win was all but assured once they’d stepped onto the pitch. In those situations you can make winning look easy because the game is already yours. Play like that in their likely quarter final against Fiji and the game will be gone before half time.
Wales showed this in their opening match against the Fijians when they played fast and loose and struggled in the first half. In the second half they went back to basics and were actually far more effective. Against Argentina, England never really cut loose but they were facing a structured, usually effective team who could have forced their way back into the game at any point. For Borthwick the plan was to just build the lead and prevent Argentina from getting a losing bonus point.
Borthwick walked into a bin fire with England but he has turned them around
This style could go a long way. England will struggle to put games away against the better sides because they don’t score many tries. But they make it very hard to score against them. If a team don’t concede tries then they will spend much longer in matches and with a chance to take the win. Of course, if you could choose your quarter final opponents then England would be high up there but they have the potential to frustrate and cause an upset against any side in the World Cup.
Borthwick has inherited a raw deal in his first year with England. The ease of the draw and the fact England have strode through the group have meant that very little analysis has been done on them and instead they’ve just been seen as lucky and a bit, well, boring. They have been lucky to receive the draw but once there, they’ve made it look very straightforward. For that Borthwick deserves huge credit. He walked into a bin fire with England but he has turned them around, maybe not fully yet, and they have a great chance of making the semi-finals.
His game plan isn’t exciting, but there are very few teams in the World who would turn their nose up at a semi-final spot just because it came from a dull game plan. And is it dull? It’s technically savvy, effectively done, and quick to implement. Maybe it’s pragmatic rather than dull, and remember pragmatism wins you World Cups more often than not.
England will no doubt retain Borthwick and his group of coaches but to be honest it would be better to replace then now rather than go through the farce of Jones once again. The rugby is of the poorest quality and played completely without inspiration or ambition.
I would take action now and bring in Phil Dowson and Nick Evans. The two are rank outsiders but Dowson would bring in spirit, inspiration and ambition whilst Evans would reintroduce skill.
Won’t happen of course because the RFU are similarly without knowledge of the game and it would appear financial acumen.
do you read that crap you write no man you are so wrong rugby at the highest level have a duty yes duty to entertain the crowds and supporters who sing travel and support their team . England invented that shitty term 10 man rugby its pretty hard explaining to someone that doesnt know the game that it can be really exciting and even gripping when all you see is kick and clap another piece of english handywork every single team is trying to elevate their game so it grows so the game of rugby grows for that two things excitement and intensity ireland vs SA best game for ages that is a benchmark you should be writing about not drop goals from halfway play real rugby or fall on your english sword you know youve got good players so play good jutt your big stubborn english jaw out get your shit together and play hard fast win real ensuring rugby goes UP another notch
Mate- I mean this in good humour and sincerity as a fellow rugby fan. Full stops and commas would be a massive help to the rest of us.
Borthwick was indeed handed a hospital pass by the RFU, but he chose to take it!, he then persuaded the RFU he needed all of his coaching team from Tigers to come with him, which being the RFU They acquiesced to.
Instead they should have at least shown a scintilla of due diligence and insisted that at least his attack coach come from a different background and mindset, there are no points of difference within the current team.
Evans should have been retained.
England don't score many tries because their attacking shape and numbingly conservative mindset won't allow them to.
Being a difficult side to beat is hardly an epitaph of champions!!
Really??? I hope there is a deeper understanding than this: The purpose of Borthwick’s game plan is to ensure his opponents are as far away from the English try line as possible.
Cripes mate. Why did no one think of that before?
Well argued and Very Good analysis. It is not the authors fault that the rest of the English media & uninformed fans put unreasonable expectations on any English team that has a little success. The RFU have done the right thing by taking total power over players away from the clubs. Borthwick is doing the same as Woodward in 1999. They will get as far as they can but with no real expectation of winning, just not making fools of themselves. Ireland will not be the same team next time around.
They cant afford to play Bazball all the time just yet Michele but they earn themselves the right to be more entertaining when they have control of the game. They know full well they will get fans back to the games by playing good entertaining rugby and winning. Fans need hope
All this nonsense hype. It’s like every football World Cup for England. We beat a couple of rubbish teams and all of a sudden journalists and fans get worked up into a frenzy. What they have achieved so far is literally the absolute minimum expectation.
The reality is, this is a very poor England side with the most rudimentary of game plans. And the game plan doesn’t suit the personnel. Sure, England can bully a Japan/Argentina with a suffocating defence, solid set piece and physicality. But trying that same game plan against any of the top 5 teams in the world won’t work because England don’t have the physicality, set piece or defence to dominate those teams. Even outside of the top 5, England would struggle against the likes of Wales and Fiji.
And there’s the problem. coming in to the tournament, regardless of the tactics and squad selected, England were expected to make the QF and had a good chance of making the SF but were never going to go beyond that. So they might as well have thrown caution to the wind, picked some exciting players for the future and starting developing a game plan that could lead them to success in 2027.
As it is, we learn nothing, watch rubbish rugby and we still won’t win the thing.
Could they be the dark horses of this World Cup? I didn't rate them much chance before it. The performance against Argentina was impressive with only 14 men. Sure it was boring, but the composure is what impressed - they came up with a plan and implemented it perfectly with no sense of panic. It was WC rugby.
This is a great article. We rugby fans seem to have short memories -- remember how awful Ireland were those first months under Farrell? I like Steve Borthwick -- I like his honesty and attitude. I don't mind this style at all: They have to start somewhere!
I actually found it really annoying when people were all excited about the style of play against Chile. I don't see the point of that display at all. Why practice what you are not going to do against tough opposition?