England v Australia: Steve Borthwick’s five selection headaches for Wallabies clash as players ‘come knocking’ for spots
Steve Borthwick could be forced into some tough decisions after their defeat to New Zealand last weekend.
England suffered yet another agonising defeat to the All Blacks last weekend, and that leaves Steve Borthwick with plenty of food for thought heading into this weekend’s clash with the Wallabies.
The hosts looked to have sewn the game up after 60 minutes, however, a late New Zealand resurgence saw the match swing back towards the visitors.
There were some solid performances across the England squad, yet Borthwick will be rueing this latest missed opportunity and faces some tough calls this week in the build-up to Australia.
Here are the key headaches Borthwick has to ponder this weekend.
Front-row replacements
The game rapidly swung back into New Zealand’s favour at the 60-minute mark, and a large part of this was down to the sheer impact of their front-row. Fin Baxter, Theo Dan and Dan Cole were just unable to get a foothold into the game against their counterparts, and the trio could now be sweating over their spots in the side.
Trevor Davison has been one of – if not the – form tighthead in the Premiership since the start of last season, and fully warrants a spot in this England 23. He has been the cornerstone of a solid Northampton pack, and his prowess in this department played a crucial role in their title win. Whilst Cole is an experienced head, could it be time to give Davison a go? Davison can also cover loosehead if needed.
Sale’s Asher Opoku-Fordjour is also an option to come onto the bench. He has excelled at tighthead so far in the league but also has the ability to slot into loosehead – like he did for the England U20s – and that is another tick in his box. It might be a touch early for him at this stage, but he is an option nonetheless.
Elsewhere, Luke Cowan-Dickie could be drafted in. Dan is an excellent player and did have some decent touches around the park, but the set-piece faltered upon his arrival. The Sale man is an experienced Test operator, and will only continue the solid work of Jamie George in this department if brought into the mix.
6:2 or 5:3?
England went bold with a 6:2 split against New Zealand, but if anything it backfired. Their replacement forwards simply lost the battle up-front, with the likes of Patrick Tuipulotu running riot in the final stages.
If you can’t use the 6:2 to get dominance back into the game – as the Springboks do with the Bomb Squad – there isn’t really a point in using it. England could have better used this extra bench spot to have a player like Ollie Sleightholme (who we’ll come onto later) to break the game up and inject a new dynamic to the attack. Whilst Borthwick still carried a couple of backs on the bench, they weren’t given a solid platform to play off and it ultimately cost them the game.
It’ll be a big call either way, but the England boss needs to get the most out of his bench this weekend.
Replacement half-backs
As mentioned above, the backs that Borthwick had on his bench struggled to get into the game, but they also haven’t done themselves any favours either.
George Ford has taken most of the headlines for his two misses in the final exchanges – ones he would usually ice – but that in itself will cause a huge headache for Borthwick. The Sale Sharks man is still coming back to full fitness following a lengthy spell on the sidelines, and his misses this weekend suggest he might not be fully recovered just yet. Around the park, England also lost that extra bit of zip that Marcus Smith brought to the party.
This could also lead to Northampton’s Fin Smith coming in this weekend. The 22-year-old has been involved with this new-look England attack a lot longer than Ford so will be used to the system, but importantly he also plays a similar style at his club side. F. Smith is also fully fit, and in decent form too, so should certainly come knocking at Borthwick’s door.
Harry Randall is an exceptional scrum-half, and has excelled for Bristol this season, but you feel Saturday wasn’t the right game for him. New Zealand bombarded the ruck, and this stopped him getting consistent quick-ball which he thrives off, and again the dominance up-front caused him to play from a messy platform. But, saying that, a Test player needs to ice those killer passes, and Randall didn’t do that. Jack van Poortvliet is a lot similar to Ben Spencer – who will likely start again this weekend – and could be a decent option from the bench.
Sub timings
Again, the bench take most of the focus of this piece, but a HUGE problem facing Borthwick this week is how and when he uses his bench in the first place. The modern game, particularly at Test level, sees teams almost pre-plan changes for certain periods of the game, but that fully backfired for the England boss this weekend.
The full front-row replacements and the fly-half switch screamed of a set plan to close out the game, but they came off when they were having an impact on the game.
Look at how Scott Robertson used his bench instead. The All Blacks have had that exact issue for much of the Rugby Championship, and it cost them the title; but against England, they brought players in when they would actually make a difference. Tuipulotu was potentially a forced change, but he brought his side to life with a brilliant display. Likewise with their prop replacements, who came on just as the starters began to creek a bit. These changes were incredibly clever moves, and eventually won the All Blacks the game.
Borthwick needs to use his bench differently from how he used it against New Zealand.
Potential backline changes?
The first real headache in the starting XV comes in the back division. When they got going in attack, they looked fairly sharp; but they didn’t have the game-breakers that New Zealand had to do it consistently. This could lead to a couple of changes.
Sleightholme could be a brilliant option to bring into the starting XV this weekend. He is a real X-factor player, and whilst only having around 10 minutes of Test rugby under his belt looked incredibly comfortable at this level. His power and pace would also complement the work of Immanuel Feyi-Waboso too, and it could be a nice dynamic.
Alex Lozowski could also be a shrewd choice at 13. Henry Slade didn’t do anything wrong against New Zealand, but bringing in Lozowski could take the attack up another gear. The Saracens back has been in electric form in the Premiership, and his playmaking skills have become so vital to their rapid attacking transformation; so there’s no reason he couldn’t do this against the Wallabies.
These are by no means bolted-on choices, and for all we know Borthwick could opt for the same backline to build continuity, but these could be clever moves to inject a new dynamic into their attack against the Wallabies.
