Nothing stands still in top-level rugby. It might be only 11 weeks since England were gazing down at their World Cup bronze medals under the Friday night lights in the Stade de France but significant change is now imminent. Sooner rather than later the head coach, Steve Borthwick, must identify a new wave of players who, as well as winning Six Nations games this year, can potentially dig for gold in Australia in 2027.
Too often over the years this renewal process has started too slowly. The requisite nettles have not always been grasped, allowing valuable game time and team bonding opportunities to dribble away. Some of the scattergun selections of the Eddie Jones era did little for collective confidence, while the Saracens salary cap saga and Covid pandemic further clouded the Twickenham vision.
