Andy Goode: Blackett's a masterstroke by England but key decision looms

Lee Blackett has more than served his apprenticeship, passed his audition and Steve Borthwick has shown his evolution by getting him on board permanently.

There are certainly times in the past when you could have accused the England head coach of being stubborn or conservative but this move is quite the opposite and I’m convinced the team will be all the better for it.

England’s attack showed some encouraging signs under Richard Wigglesworth during this year’s Six Nations, finishing on a high with a 10-try victory in Cardiff, and Blackett took that further with 13 tries in three Tests this summer.

Who knows if this decision would have been taken if Wigglesworth hadn’t have been called up to serve under Andy Farrell on the British & Irish Lions tour but who cares, Borthwick has seen enough to know that he wants Blackett involved permanently and acted swiftly.

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Coaching isn’t all about getting on with players, far from it, but it is much more collaborative in the modern game and it speaks volumes that you never hear a bad word said about the 42-year-old and people are queuing up to sing his praises.

It’s a results business and he’ll know that won’t count for too much if he doesn’t hit the ground running in the autumn and then the white heat of the Six Nations but it’s refreshing to see a coach rewarded for his body of work in the domestic game.

Blackett led Wasps to a Premiership final as a very young head coach, won the title last season as an assistant coach with Bath after reaching the final in the previous campaign and earned rave reviews for his work with the Scarlets in 2022/23 as well.

His empathy with players and ability to empower them are possibly his best assets but he’s also proven himself to have one of the best attacking minds in England, if not the world, and the adaptability to play a number of different ways.

This feels like a great appointment and good timing with a World Cup still two years away but Blackett has to be backed and trusted because there has been too much chopping and changing in terms of the England attack coach in recent years.

Some of that happened under Eddie Jones but it has continued under Borthwick and Blackett is England’s 11^thattack coach in nine years, which isn’t exactly a recipe for success.

It’s still a very young coaching group that England have, and there is a lack of outside influence in terms of either foreign coaches or those to have worked with other nations once Andrew Strawbridge departs, but Blackett has a wealth of experience under his belt.

To be fair to Borthwick as well, he did try to add that to his staff with the likes of Felix Jones and Aled Walters but that didn’t turn out well for a variety of reasons and, from what I’ve heard, seems to have learned from those experiences and evolved as a boss.

In theory, the dynamic between Blackett and Borthwick should be similar to the one he had with the more conservative Johann van Graan at Bath, who scored an extraordinary and pretty much unprecedented 205 tries in 37 competitive matches last season.

He might not have Finn Russell to work with at England but there are four excellent fly-halves vying for the white number 10 jersey and which one gets the nod will be the most important decision for Blackett, in conjunction with Borthwick of course.

The head coach will have the final say but let’s hope his new attack coach is trusted to have a significant input into the decision.

Fin Smith is in pole position for me as he was in possession of the shirt before being called up by the Lions but George Ford did a tremendous job in Argentina, Marcus Smith has all the tools to unlock defences, albeit he seems to be seen more as a utility back or full-back at the moment, and there’s also a certain Owen Farrell waiting in the wings.

Blackett has worked with all types of fly-half, so I don’t see him having a tendency towards one more than another, but the Northampton man has an all-round game and is capable of putting any game plan into action, as well as being the incumbent, so he’d get my vote.

Whoever is picked, England have already developed from a team that was pretty much renowned for their kick chase and not a lot more a couple of years ago into a side that scored 115 points in the last two games of the Six Nations.

Shorn of 13 players as a result of the Lions tour, with Jamie George and Farrell added to that squad later on too, they continued that form in twice beating an Argentina team that have proved how tough they are to beat in this year’s Rugby Championship.

The building blocks are in place, Blackett has served his apprenticeship in the Premiership, with England A and now on the summer tour and Borthwick has acted decisively in snapping him up full-time. It’s hard to see a downside, unless you’re a Bath fan, of course.