Twickenham does not rock to the core very often these days so when it does you wonder if it might just fall to pieces beneath you. The last time that happened, before Saturday night, was in the autumn of 2022. It was Eddie Jones’s penultimate match in charge when a thrilling comeback against New Zealand enabled England to pull level, only for Marcus Smith to kick the ball out, end the match and take the draw. If we are looking for signs of progress then, suffice it to say, there was no tinge of regret to his last-gasp kick against Ireland.
Relief, however, was in abundance. Because, make no mistake, England needed that. Their supporters, certainly but, more than that, and as Steve Borthwick pointed out, his players were in need of validation of their progress. The head coach talks of his players having “trust” in what he is trying to do and, as much as they believe in Borthwick, a statement victory was fast becoming a necessity. You could see it in the reaction of the players afterwards – the youngsters jubilant, the senior players experiencing a cathartic release.
They capitulated against Scotland, went into themselves when the proverbial hit the fan, and Borthwick had spent the next two weeks trying to make sure it wouldn’t happen again. The very fact that he talked about the jersey weighing heavy on his players was a surprise – the danger being that it added to the burden – but evidently it had the desired effect against Ireland.
“The players’ trust in you is really important,” he said. “It’s vital. If they don’t trust you, it’s so difficult. There was a fair spell through 2023 where we were working on relationships to try and develop that trust. I think what is important for players is to get visible, tangible results. I have been showing them the progress they are making, showing them the evidence, but sometimes it is hard to see it, especially when everything is played out under such scrutiny.”
So where does this victory rank in the annals of history at Twickenham? The helter-skelter 2022 draw all happened so fast that there was a greater sense of disbelief. Before that there was the one-point 2021 victory over South Africa, though again there was an element of pleasant surprise to that, and the Six Nations win over France earlier that year which was played out in an empty stadium. Both were impressive but there are cautionary tales from each given England lost their next matches on both occasions – at home against Scotland and away against Ireland respectively. Neither victory feels as seminal as this, however, and it is hard to think of many since the 2012 win against the All Blacks.
If there is cause for frustration it is that England need to be written off to produce a performance such as that on Saturday. It was the case when Jones was in charge that England would deliver the very best of themselves when dismissed as no-hopers and judging by their World Cup campaign, and the showing on Saturday, the same can be said under Borthwick. “It sharpens the focus,” Jamie George said last week.
In fairness, the difference this time is that England finally imposed themselves on illustrious opposition. The word from the camp in the two-week buildup to the match on Saturday was that England were in effect doing everything on fast forward in training. The gameplan was to have faith in playing at tempo, to brush off mistakes and keep playing at pace. That it worked is testament to the players and shows the coaching acumen that Borthwick and his assistants have. It is also a demonstration that the players are developing the “trust” of which Borthwick speaks. It has not always been the case – during the World Cup warm-up campaign there were doubts within the squad as to the gameplan – but the performance against Ireland was on the back of a willingness to stick to the script.
How else did they achieve it? It helps that Borthwick could call upon George Martin, for whom a significant England career beckons in the role of enforcer, and Alex Mitchell and, in Ben Earl, Borthwick has the outstanding back-row forward of this year’s championship at his disposal.
In many ways, though, it is George Furbank who epitomises this England side. Borthwick has repeatedly talked of an offload he made at Murrayfield that went to ground. His point being that England lost the ball but it was the correct decision to make. It seems to be an apocryphal story but Furbank is someone who does some wonderful things with the ball in hand and also drops a few clangers. Borthwick’s decision to back him is a surprise given he coached Freddie Steward at Leicester but also shows his determination to accentuate the positive, which is a trait with which he is not instinctively associated.
Now the challenge is that England must back up their performance at Twickenham against a France side who thumped Wales in Cardiff on Sunday. There is an outside shot at winning the championship and there is an expectation for them to perform like they did against Ireland again. “If there is anything I can encourage the players to do, it is to go into the next battle,” Borthwick said. “If the players are in a supportive environment and we work with them to continue to improve, then I think the team will move forwards.”
Coming out swinging when backs are to the wall is one thing but if Borthwick can bottle whatever it is that brings England to life when they are given little chance then you suspect he is on to something.
