Steve Borthwick says England are still heading in the right direction despite their frustrating 2-0 series defeat in New Zealand. The head coach believes his squad have won the respect of their opponents and silenced numerous Kiwis who warned him the All Blacks would comfortably sweep his team aside.
England were unable to protect second-half leads in both Tests but Borthwick has been encouraged by their progress and is looking forward to facing the All Blacks again at Twickenham in November.
“I was being told by people in the street about 10 times a day how much we were going to get blown away at Eden Park,” said Borthwick after England’s 24-17 loss. “I was told in the lift today that it was a privilege for us to play at Eden Park and we would be lucky if we got away with less than 50 points conceded. Some teams wouldn’t have come back from 24-17 down but this team kept fighting. I’m very proud to work with them. A lot of people were writing us off.”
Borthwick was not unduly concerned by his side having suffered four defeats in their last six games. “The team is making progress and we are learning very quickly, but it shows we still have a lot to do. We get into winning positions, we are not too far away, but we have to learn to convert them into wins. I feel pride in the players and excitement for what I feel this team is capable of in the future. There was so much the team did well tonight.”
England’s players felt they were unlucky not to have forced a draw in the closing moments. “I was just really proud of the players’ effort to stay in it,” said Jamie George, the captain. “I am not sure there are too many teams that try and take on the All Blacks like we did in the latter part of that game.”
The hooker was also convinced England could have had a late try, with the television match official instead giving New Zealand a clinching penalty. “I am reluctant to say too much but there is frustration around it for sure,” said George. “If you use the TMO there are opportunities to see all sorts going on in there. The ball was short of the line and the ball was on the floor so for me the game needs to play on at that stage.”
His front-row colleague Dan Cole, now England’s most-capped male forward after beating Jason Leonard’s longstanding record, was similarly dismayed. “I thought the reason we went around the front was because the maul got collapsed in the middle. We got done for truck and trailer but we were held up short at the line. It was not how I thought the game should end.”
Theo Dan and Freddie Steward will be monitored after sustaining second-half head injuries, with Dan’s early departure further reducing the potential impact that Borthwick had hoped his bench would deliver. “A number of those changes meant we didn’t necessarily have the fresh legs we thought we were going to have. You need that against a team as good as New Zealand.”
The New Zealand coach, Scott Robertson, in contrast, was delighted with the impact of his replacements, not least the experienced Beauden Barrett. “Our bench was pretty critical today and last week as well,” said Robertson, who was also happy with the scrummaging contribution of the prop Ethan de Groot, whose technique attracted some scrutiny after the first Test. “We took a lot of notice [of World Rugby’s feedback], that’s why we won those scrum penalties.”
