Steve Borthwick relishing the ‘great challenge’ of emulating Sir Clive Woodward’s England feat in New Zealand
England head coach Steve Borthwick and former Red Rose boss Sir Clive Woodward.
England head coach Steve Borthwick is hoping his team can take inspiration from Sir Clive Woodward’s 2003 Red Rose side when they do battle against the All Blacks in New Zealand later this year.
In the year of their only Rugby World Cup triumph, England faced the All Blacks in a one-off Test in Wellington and clinched a narrow 15-13 victory, despite having back-row stars Lawrence Dallaglio and Neil Back sin-binned.
Keen to emulate Woodward’s team
The Red Rose will take on New Zealand in Dunedin on July 6 and then in Auckland a week later and Borthwick, who was an unused replacement for that Test 21 years ago, wants his team to emulate the feat set by Woodward‘s team.
“Whenever you play against New Zealand you have to be tactically smart and mentally very tough to get the results you want to get,” he told Sky Sports.
“I was on the bench in 2003 and the standout memory I have of the game was when we were down to six forwards. The need to stand firm, the team had to get out of that situation and find a way to win.
“Talk about being tactically smart and mentally tough – the team Clive Woodward developed then was exactly that. That is the next step for us, it is a great challenge.
“The player depth and quality New Zealand have of players that are skilful, athletic and powerful ensure they are always a very, very good team. They have a formidable record.”
Ahead of their clashes against the All Blacks, Borthwick’s charges will head to Tokyo to take on Japan, who are coached by former Red Rose head coach Eddie Jones.
Borthwick, who served as assistant coach under Jones, during the latter’s previous stint as the Brave Blossoms boss from 2012 to 2015, is expecting exhausting conditions in Japan and is preparing his team so that they can acclimatise quickly to their surroundings.
“We have a team of England players who are taking the next step in their development against a very skilful Japan team, who have been very clear about the brand of rugby they want to play,” he added.
“It will be challenging conditions: hot and humid. We have heat protocols in place, making sure the players are ready for it physically, emotionally and mentally, and that they can handle the ball. We are training for those conditions now.”
Special praise for some players
The 44-year-old mentioned Saracens’ Ben Earl, Northampton Saints’ Fin Smith, Harlequins’ Fin Baxter and Exeter Chiefs’ Greg Fislau as players who have caught his eye with their fine play this season and said of his group: “We have seen the start of an emergence of a new England team with transition post the 2023 World Cup.
“We have got a group of really experienced senior internationals who have played for England for a number of years.
“They are helping develop a group of exciting young players who have added a new dimension to the way we want to play. I am very confident in this group of players.”
On Sunday, Borthwick announced a 19-strong training squad, which included Baxter and Fislau, with players from Northampton, Bath, Sale Sharks and Saracens to be added after they have concluded their Premiership play-off campaigns.
