Steve Borthwick reveals the Tom Willis trait which is ‘exactly’ what he wants from this England squad
Tom Willis in action for Saracens with an insert of Steve Borthwick.
England head coach Steve Borthwick believes Tom Willis’ hunger is exactly what he wants to see from the rest of his squad, as the Saracens man earns a deserved re-call to the Test squad.
Willis has been in red-hot form in the Premiership this season but was dropped from England’s squad for the November Tests.
‘That hunger is exactly what I want from this England squad’
The number eight, who has one cap to his name to date, was one of the most high-profile names to be axed back in the autumn; but Borthwick now feels he has made the changes that warrant a spot in the England squad this time around.
“He’s a player that I’ve respected for a long time,” Borthwick said. “When I was coaching against him at club rugby, I thought ‘This guy is a top-quality player’.”
“I spoke to him when he was out in France and then he’s come back to England, and I talked to him about the speed of Test rugby and the movement required at Test rugby, but every report I get from Saracens is just how much work he’s put into developing that.”
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Borthwick added: “He’s always been a formidable ball-carrier and a tough tackler, but he’s added bits to his game. When a player goes away and shows they want to work on those things, I see that, and he deserves immense credit for that.”
He also feels that he has a key trait that he wants to see from the rest of his squad, which could point to Willis earning a start in their Six Nations opener against Ireland next month.
“What I also see with him is that he is an incredibly hungry player,” Borthwick said. “I went to watch him and I saw him diving to make a tackle and grabbed a player with one hand, and he’s at full stretch but he’s refused to let him go until he’s dragged him to the ground.
“A player with that hunger is exactly what I want from this England squad.”
Willis is part of a very strong back-row contingent in the 36-man squad, including the likes of Ben Earl, Tom and Ben Curry, Ted Hill, Chandler Cunningham-South and even Alex Coles, Ollie Chessum and George Martin, however, he looks the likely starter at number eight.
The stats behind Tom Willis’ England return
The Saracens back-row has arguably been the form forward in the Premiership this season, but – as Borthwick pointed out – his efforts have come on both sides of the ball.
In attack, Willis currently leads the way for carries (159), gainline carries (64) and defenders beaten (55), and also sits seventh in the charts for metres made (503) and fifth for offloads (16).
He also gets through heaps of work in defence, where he sits third in the charts for tackles made (135) and joint-sixth for turnovers (8).
