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How Steve Borthwick inspired England's 'night and day' mindset shift
England’s performances in the first half and the second half of the Guinness Six Nations this year were so radically different that there were essentially seven teams in the tournament.
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It is not hard to differentiate between the two England teams either. The first three matches against Italy, Wales and Scotland (who all finished below England in the table) can succinctly be labelled under ‘bad’, while the last two matches against eventual winners Ireland and second-place France can be labelled ‘good’.
The lowest point for England probably came in the second half against Scotland in round three, where, after a promising start to the match, they gound to a halt.
Northampton Saints’ 21-year-old fly-half Fin Smith was given the thankless task at Murrayfield of trying to revive an English attack in the final quarter that was already stone cold. It was not a good day for England, but it did serve as a turning point for the team.
Joining The Rugby Pod this week, Smith discussed what went on behind the scenes in the aftermath of the Calcutta Cup loss and how it revolutionised England’s attitude in the build-up to a clash with the then-Grand Slam chasing Ireland.
In a campaign where head coach Steve Borthwick’s defence-centric training methods had been questioned by retired England players who had previously been in his camps, Smith explained how he changed the focus entirely after the Scotland defeat.
This shift immediately bore fruit against Ireland at Twickenham, as England not only went on to win, but outscored Andy Farrell’s side in terms of tries, as they did the week later against France.
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“To be fair, it was Steve-led,” Smith said.
“I think it was after the Scotland game- we’d been driving a lot of the messages around our kick game and our defence and stuff and I think we’d attacked really poorly in that game.
“But I think after that Steve stood up and said ‘look, let’s just have a real big focus on our attack these next couple of weeks.’
“He said we’re one of the best defensive sides in the world, we’ve got a great kicking game, if we can just nail home this attack, we’re going to be a really tough team to beat.
“Those two weeks we had before Ireland were 90 per cent just talking about our attack, speed of ball, all of these things.
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“That felt like a real turning point where a lot of the leaders in the team took the pressure off us a lot and there was a real licence to see space and play quickly and really go and try and beat teams with our attack.
“The shift in mindset between Scotland and Ireland, there was a real night and day change. I thought we were playing some brilliant rugby those last two weeks against Ireland and France and set us in really good stead for what’s to come in the summer.”
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“We need eight or nine new players, who are hard-wearing and durable and experienced Premiership performers”. So why are they scouting a retired fullback who himself admits that his “body is broken”?
1 Go to commentsBrumbies hand, knocked a Crusaders hand. Therefore, knock on in goal. Crusaders, goal line drop out should’ve been awarded. most likely after that 24 each at full time, so extra time would’ve been the right an entertaining outcome. Act Jim
1 Go to commentsSpeell cehck
1 Go to commentsColeman is gaawwwwnnn.
1 Go to commentsnext SA head coach?
3 Go to commentsGreat try by van Poortvliet.
1 Go to commentsThey have been cruelled by injuries but almost nobody (Sevu Reece and Fletcher Newell big exceptions) has played above himself which regularly happened before. Surely Scott Robertson had maintained the recruitment programme and it looks like a reasonable squad. Last in this competition will stall a lot of careers. Penny seems likeable. But it’s not enough even though this was better. We haven’t been good enough and it’s not helped by the “it’s been 15 years since… “etc “after nearly every match. Seems somehow a soft gifting of something once valuable. Kieran Read giving comments last week almost choked describing the easy surrender of possession by the forwards. I’d love to think that the senior players some of whom are back can show enough pride in the jersey to test the Blues next week.
3 Go to commentsWho will Joe select for the back three with so many in form candidates? Just hope he doesn’t get shafted like Dave Rennie and to a lesser extent Deans.
6 Go to commentsAlways reluctant to blame a coach when losses rack up, but Penney must go. The backline is dysfunctional and the coach must carry the can. No cohesion, no idea and in many cases, minimal skill. The trains out of Roma St depart faster than the ball from Crusaders’ set pieces. Wouldn’t be surprised if the forwards went on strike.
3 Go to commentsAdding to earlier comment. Cullen Grace has been playing great at no6. Lio-Willie , who was on fire a few weeks ago, had a bad game. I think Cullen should have been moved to 8 earlier, Dominic Gardiner on earlier. Feel for Quinten Strange , put in a big shift .
6 Go to commentsWe dominated the scrums Ben Curry was all over pitch again .Surely James Harper got to be one of best English tightheads
1 Go to commentsRoos is a better option at 6 than 8 for the boks. Needs to work on his windgat though.
1 Go to commentsThe Sharks’ 2nd team maybe?
1 Go to comments‘radical’
1 Go to commentsCome back to Christchurch Robbie, please!
1 Go to commentsI think there is zero chance Sam Cane will be selected for another Test. There is simply no point except sentimentality. Razor is not sentimental- ask Wyatt Crocket. Razor is a ruthless selector
5 Go to comments> It would be best described as an elegant solution to what was potentially going to be a significant problem for new All Blacks coach Scott Robertson. It is a problem the mad population of New Zealand will have to cope with more and more as All Blacks are able to continue their careers in NZ post RWCs. It will not be a problem for coaches, who are always going to start a campaign with the captain for the next WC in mind. > Cane, despite his warrior spirit, his undoubted commitment to every team he played for and unforgettable heroics against Ireland in last year’s World Cup quarter-final, was never unanimously admired or respected within New Zealand while he was in the role. Neither was McCaw, he was considered far too passive a captain and then out of form until his last world cup where everyone opinions changed, just like they would have if Cane had won the WC. > It was never easy to see where Cane, or even if, he would fit into Robertson’s squad given the new coach will want to be building a new-look team with 2027 in mind. > Cane will win his selections on merit and come the end of the year, he’ll sign off, he hopes, with 100 caps and maybe even, at last, universal public appreciation for what was a special career. No, he won’t. Those returning from Japan have already earned the right to retain their jersey, it’s in their contract. Cane would have been playing against England if he was ready, and found it very hard to keep his place. Perform, and they keep it however. Very easy to see where Cane could have fit, very hard to see how he could have accomplished it choosing this year as his sabbatical instead of 2025, and that’s how it played out (though I assume we now know what when NZR said they were allowing him to move his sabbatical forward and return to NZ next year, they had actually agreed to simply select him for the All Blacks from overseas, without any chance he was going to play in NZ again). With a mammoth season of 15 All Black games they might as well get some value out of his years contract, though even with him being of equal character to Richie, I don’t think they should guarantee him his 100 caps. That’s not what the All Blacks should be about. He absolutely has to play winning football.
5 Go to commentswhat’s happening to Ian Peel?
1 Go to commentsAs a Crusaders fan , so disappointed , again.But I think Fergus Burke was all class for the Crusaders in his first game since October last year. Fletcher Newell , was so good at prop. Johnny McNicoll has been gold since returning from Wales. Noah Hotham brilliant , in a coming of age second season for the Crusaders.Jone Rova did really well at centre. The end of the game was tough.Sevu Reece , what a game/season in tough times.
6 Go to commentsFellas a balloon
3 Go to comments