Nearly two and a half years ago England claimed a dominant victory here against Georgia in the best-forgotten Autumn Nations Cup. It was a match memorable for little other than England handing first Test starts to Jack Willis and Ollie Lawrence and proceeding to maul their opposition to death. So much has changed in the ensuing years and months – not least both players losing their jobs – yet equally, there are considerable parallels to this victory over Italy that represent a smallish step in the right direction for England under Steve Borthwick.
Both Willis – who was making his first start since that victory over Georgia – and Lawrence were excellent against Italy. They were standout performers in a workmanlike performance which was far more robust defensively, stifling opposition who were supposed to pose considerable threats. It was reminiscent of November’s win over Japan in that sense – England kicked the leather off the ball that day – and Borthwick evidently had a plan for this potential banana skin. Namely, to muscle up in the forwards and for England to lineout drive their way to a first win of his tenure.
The key questions facing Borthwick, however, are whether his midfield overhaul worked and how he keeps Willis in the side when Tom Curry returns to fitness. Addressing the first point, Lawrence ran hard and straight and stuck to the task admirably. The last time he lined up with Owen Farrell on his inside and Henry Slade outside him he touched the ball just once. Here he was far more involved but you could not help wonder whether Marcus Smith at fly-half with Lawrence and Slade in the centres is the best blend available to the head coach.
The counterargument is that, though he needed no invitation to put boot to ball, Farrell carried out an effective gameplan to a tee – even if some of the second-half grubbers were met by groans in what was only Borthwick’s second match in charge.
Lawrence was named the official man of the match but Willis was the supreme performer for the 53 minutes he was on the field. That both players excelled, having been forced to move on from Worcester and Wasps respectively, will not be lost on Borthwick, who spoke of their resilience in the week and rewarded them with long-awaited returns to the side for the way they have reacted in adversity.
Willis began the match at an extraordinary pace and after 12 minutes scored the opening try and celebrated with a guttural roar, letting out 53 weeks of frustration. For it was here, against Italy, two years ago that Willis suffered a devastating knee injury. It was the second of his career and sidelined him for more than a year. That he battled back into the England fold and earned a place on the summer tour of Australia, only for his boyhood club Wasps to go bust, prompting his move to Toulouse, explains the cathartic release when crossing the whitewash.
He is easy to spot on the field for a number of reasons. Firstly, the left knee that was so badly injured back in 2021 is still taped, a constant reminder of all that time in the physio room, all those hours in rehab. Secondly, because when he is playing like this he covers pretty much every blade of grass on the field. He had made 14 tackles after 25 minutes, 16 by half-time and 20 by the time he made way. It was the kind of ubiquitous performance that brought to mind the old tale told by photographers that after an All Blacks match at the 1995 World Cup, they looked at the pictures they had taken and Josh Kronfeld, another tireless flanker, was in every single one.
Willis played a key role in winning a breakdown penalty that was kicked to the corner which preceded the maul from which he scored. He levelled Italy’s livewire Ange Capuozzo twice and won another breakdown in the first half. He is highly rated by Borthwick and would have started against Scotland but his commitments for Toulouse meant it just was not feasible and points to a longer term problem for Borthwick.
It is a unique problem in that Willis is only eligible because the Rugby Football Union has made an exception to its insistence that players must be based in England for those who were made redundant by Wasps and Worcester. It is not going away, however, because the trickle of players choosing to move overseas after this year’s World Cup has turned into a flood and the more Willis and co prosper abroad, the more tempting it is for others to follow. Borthwick has more pressing matters at hand though with Wales, France and Ireland still to come in this championship. Steps forward like these help, but there are many more to go.
