Steve Borthwick’s England verdict after ‘scenario none of us have faced before’
England's Harry Randall breaks through against the USA
Steve Borthwick has given his verdict on England successfully wrapping up their Americas tour with a 40-5 victory over the USA to stretch their Test-match winning streak to seven.
Having clinched a 2-0 series win over Argentina at La Plata and San Juan in recent weeks, England moved on to Washington DC where they continued their good run on Saturday with a six-try display in a match that encountered severe weather delays.
The kick-off was pushed back by almost an hour due to concerns about lightning strikes in the area, and the teams were then sent from the field to the dressing rooms after just 29 minutes of play due to further warnings that resulted in a 40-minute stoppage.
A much-changed England XV were 14-0 up at that juncture following converted tries from Curtis Langdon and Luke Northmore, and they picked up where they left off when they returned with Caden Murley, Jack van Poortvliet, Harry Randall and Gabriel Oghre getting on the scoresheet.
“The game lasted a long time…”
Speaking after the win, which featured Test debuts for starters Max Ojomoh, Joe Carpenter, Arthur Clark and subs Oghre, Charlie Atkinson and Oscar Beard, Borthwick enthused: “The way the players handled it was brilliant.
“They were challenging conditions and with the weather break, the game lasted a long time. It’s a scenario none of us have faced before – to deal with those conditions, with six new caps in the team today, was magnificent.
“There are things you want to do better, yes, but I thought they were brilliant. I’m pleased with the way the players have approached all the games. All three were very different, and it has been a great experience in so many ways.
“We have had 10 new caps over three Tests and got depth developing – we can all see the physical nature of the team, which is athletic, quick, fit and the way the England team’s moving.”
England’s run of seven wins is their best sequence since 2020. They next play against Australia on November 1 at Allianz Twickenham in an Autumn Nations Series that also includes fixtures with Fiji, New Zealand and Argentina.
