For a man whose grasp of detail has staggered many a colleague in his playing and coaching careers, Steve Borthwick can also display a mastery of imprecision and obfuscation. One might have thought that the England head coach might have used his first opportunity to speak to the gathered media since being given strong backing by the Rugby Football Union (RFU) following the review of England’s worst-ever Six Nations to go on the offensive; to lay out how, and why, he had been charged to take the side forward into this summer’s Nations Championship and beyond to the 2027 World Cup.
Instead, to a series of wide-ranging questions, came a run of half-answers. Now, if it could be understood that the cautious Borthwick not wishing to reveal the details of the review that has, again, been guarded like state secrets by his union, there was plenty otherwise upon which one might have hoped to have been more brightly illuminated. Take, for example, the matter of captain Maro Itoje, who could be rested for some, all, or none of the summer tour after a gruelling year in so many ways. What decision had Borthwick reached? “It is an ongoing conversation,” he replied. If Itoje does not travel, would you look to a new skipper or a different leadership team? “We can have that conversation when I finalise the squad, rather than hypothetically.”
When pressed on what had improvements or difference in mentality he would be asking of his squad after the Six Nations missteps, Borthwick talked of improving discipline and chance conversion, and of the so-called weight of the shirt – common threads as he sought to explain the misfires during the campaign. He leaned upon the performances against Wales and France at the start and end of the tournament as indicative of how he wished his side to play, though again demurred when pressed on specifics.
Perhaps that caution was understandable given the demanding itinerary ahead. Borthwick did, at the very least, confirm that he would not be splitting his squad despite a schedule that includes three Tests in three weeks on three different continents. England’s summer world tour follows a curious route from Vannes to Johannesburg to Merseyside and on to Santiago del Estero, and their travelling band will stick together. “I’m excited by it, by challenges like that,” Borthwick stressed. “I’m looking forward to learning even more about the players – who gets enthused and loves a challenge like this, who steps up to a challenge like this.”
Naturally, mind, there will be a need to use a deeper pool of players given the fixtures fall at the end of a long season. That could be seen in a larger-than-usual squad that arrived at Pennyhill Park on Monday for an alignment camp, with six uncapped within their number. While the sky-high ceilings of wing Noah Caluori and Kepu Tuipulotu might ordinarily have prompted most probing, the selection of Benhard Janse van Rensburg instead rather dominated the discussion. The South African-born centre is not yet eligible for England, but will be come 8 July – he is a man that Borthwick has long believed could be a key piece in the midfield puzzle, having first had discussions over his future plans during the demise of London Irish.
No doubt, though, there are plenty within English rugby who believe it unjust that Janse van Rensburg has squeezed out, say, Ollie Lawrence and Max Ojomoh, both asked to prove a point as Bath chase another Prem title. Borthwick, however, claimed that he was merely picking the best players available to him – or at least those who soon will be.
“I pick the players I want to pick, that I think are the right players for us,” the England head coach explained. “I think he’s an outstanding player and an outstanding character. World Rugby rules are very clear about when players become eligible. I’ve enjoyed working with him this last day and a half and I’m looking forward to seeing him on the field tomorrow.”
The likelihood is that Janse van Rensburg is, in time, deployed alongside Tommy Freeman in the centres, with Borthwick now seeing the Northampton man primarily as a No 13 when in England colours. That, in part, is due to the developing depth on the wings, with the emergence of teenage scoring phenom Caluori, return to fitness of Immanuel Feyi-Waboso and development of Adam Radwan bolstering Borthwick’s options. Joe Marchant may also come into that mix at some point after his move to Sale from Stade Francais; he and Courtney Lawes, a fellow Top 14 returnee who has reversed his retirement, are not yet under consideration but have been spoken to, while former All Black Hoskins Sotutu will not become available until the conclusion of his contract with the Blues in Super Rugby.
They, and many others besides, are being watched closely by Borthwick, aware that ill-luck and ill-circumstance will strike several times before England take on the Springboks at Ellis Park on 4 July. The loosehead prop Fin Baxter has already been ruled out of the summer as he awaits a second surgery on a foot issue worse than first feared. The winding road ahead may be just as rocky as that which England have already bumped along.
