Steve Borthwick makes frank admission ahead of England’s Rugby World Cup

England head coach Steve Borthwick believes his side does not have the same preparation levels as some of the other teams for the Rugby World Cup.

The main reason for this is that the coach has only been at the helm since the end of last year after Eddie Jones was removed from the role.

It has not been plain sailing for Borthwick and England, who come into the World Cup with five defeats in the last six Tests, making their opener against an impressive Argentina side that much more difficult.

Sticking with approach

Borthwick’s approach to coaching is statistically driven – something he has recently been criticised for. However, the England boss is looking to continue building on what he has been trying to develop within the Red Rose camp.

“We always study the tactical elements of what we do. I said when I came in, we need to build a way of playing and to have a consistent base,” Borthwick said.

“You can’t change everything from one week to another week. You need to have a way of playing you can build upon.

“Ideally, you start building that post the last World Cup, as most other teams have. You have seen the growth of Ireland and France – these teams who have started building since then. We’re not one of them.

“We’ve been trying to build it over the past six months, and in many ways, because the coaching team only came together 10 or 11 weeks ago, we’ve been trying to do this for 10 or 11 weeks.

“What I’ve been trying to do is strengthen the direction we’re going in and trying to get better at it. For us, it’s continuing the growth and making the foundations stronger.”

Quality is there

The head coach issued a reminder that England does have quality players, and now it is all about finding a way for the stars to align in a cohesive tournament. That starts this weekend against Argentina.

“I look at this team and see the likes of Ellis Genge, Joe Marler, Owen Farrell, Courtney Lawes, Maro Itoje…the list could go on,” Borthwick said.

“We’ve got players who know how to perform on the biggest occasions, and that’s one of the central things we need to do this Saturday – perform together.”

“We’re going against a really good Argentina side, potentially the best Argentinian side in their history.

“So we know that’s a challenge, but it’s one the boys can’t wait to get involved in.

“I can’t stress enough, coming to Le Touquet, being here – the World Cup’s really now begun. This is it. We are in it.”

READ MORE: Rugby World Cup Pool D Preview: Squads, fixtures, star players and more