'Absolute madness': Clive Woodward rips into Borthwick in wake of NZ loss

Former England head coach Clive Woodward has sharply criticized Steve Borthwick’s decisions during England’s 24-22 loss to New Zealand, calling his substitution strategy “criminal” in a scathing column.

Borthwick is under fire for a number of bizarrely timed substitutions, most notably that of George Ford for Marcus Smith. Ford went on to have a shocker, missing a try-saving tackle on Mark Telea and two kickable chances to win the game in the dying moments.

A fuming Woodward wrote: “England’s latest defeat by New Zealand left me genuinely angry. Steve Borthwick’s methods must be questioned because the game was there for the taking.”

England held a promising 22-14 lead at the 60-minute mark when Borthwick made “premeditated substitutions,” removing key players Ben Spencer, Marcus Smith, and Chandler Cunningham-South, despite their strong performances. “It was absolute madness,” Woodward wrote, “Not only was that trio standing out in an error-strewn yet titanic game, but they were also not fatigued in any way, shape or form.”

Woodward described Smith’s reaction on the bench: “When Smith sat down, he almost looked around and shrugged his shoulders as if to say ‘Is that it? Is that me done?’” He argued that England, with an eight-point lead, should have pressed on instead of attempting to contain New Zealand.

Labelling the tactic as “a criminal and decisive mistake,” Woodward slammed Borthwick’s apparent reliance on pre-planned replacements. “In international rugby, you cannot simply contain an opponent and look to hang on to your advantage. You have to earn the victory for the full 80 minutes.”

He also questioned the impact of replacements Harry Randall and the aforementioned Ford: “When Ford came on, he was waving his hands and urging the team to calm down… the message was, ‘We’re going to hold on to this now’ rather than ‘We’re going to continue to play and win the game.’”

Woodward called for the need for adaptability over rigid planning, writing: “International coaching cannot be — and will never be — about premeditated replacements.”

He called on England’s management to address these issues swiftly, urging that “this pain should hurt, and hurt for a very long time, predominantly because defeat was totally avoidable and of their own making.”