‘He’s either going to make me captain or I’m not in the squad’ – Dan Cole in ‘reflective’ mood as he reveals Steve Borthwick phone call
Dan Cole reacts to being left out of the England squad.
England stalwart Dan Cole has opened up on missing out on the Six Nations squad and how the news was broken to him by head coach Steve Borthwick on Monday night.
The 37-year-old was left out of the 36-man squad announced on Tuesday as Will Stuart, Asher Opoku-Fordjour and Joe Heyes were selected as the tighthead options.
That leaves Cole facing up to the prospect of his England career possibly being over and he was in a “reflective” mood when he addressed his Six Nations non-selection.
Phone call
Speaking on For The Love Of Rugby, Cole explained how he’d missed a phone call from Borthwick due to father duties and feared the worst when returning the call.
“I had a missed call on Monday night so I called Steve back and at the time I thought he is either going to make me captain or I am not in the squad,” the prop laughed.
“No, as soon as you get a phone call from Steve it’s a bit like, this is probably not good.
“We spoke and he basically said he didn’t envision me being in the matchday 23 and he didn’t then want to make me hold a tackle bag for the Six Nations. I thought that’s valid and fairly respectful in that regard and I get his point where he’s going and England have to move on get younger and evolve.”
He added: “I’ve known that for a while. Yes it hurt when you hear it as ‘that’s it’, cause it’s not like I’m 25 and you get another chance down the line. Once I’m out I’m going to be out.
“But then you look back and I’ve got 118 caps, been to four World Cups. My career could have been over in 2015, I thought it was over in 2019 when I didn’t get picked and I was at peace with that and 2023, brilliant.”
As Cole mentioned, it has been a hugely impressive career from the Leicester Tiger and his longevity as a tighthead prop in the international game must be admired.
However, he is refusing to officially call time on Test action and will carry on giving his all to his Premiership club’s cause until his services are no longer required.
Reflective mood
“You’re a bit more reflective and if this is the end of my career… I’m not going to officially retire because as I’ve said before you’re closing the gate after the horse has bolted,” he explained.
“Some people are quite angry about the end of their international careers, I’m not. I know it’s coming at some point and the career I’ve had overall I’ve learned so much and I wouldn’t swap my career for anything.
“I’m very fortunate and grateful to everyone who has helped me along the way and if it the end it’s the end. I’m not going to be bitter and angry about it, I’ll just turn up to training and keep going until Leicester tell me you’re done.”
