When England gathered in Girona on Tuesday to begin preparations for the Six Nations Championship, it was a squad pulled together from nearly all points of the Prem.
Nine of the 10 clubs in the league have players in the group with only Newcastle, bottom of the pile, unrepresented.
The spread is both a blessing and a curse for Steve Borthwick. Few other international coaches can call on such a breadth of supply lines but at the same time synchronising the behaviours of players from clubs who see the game in very different eyes, in the limited amount of time together enjoyed by Test sides, can be a problem.
The English club system, with its salary cap, is designed to disperse talent. One club – unless they are cheating – cannot hog all the best players.
It stands to reason then that a national coach has to play a canny game of pick-and-mix to pull together an England side that is the sum of its parts.
Fitting the jigsaw together, especially when a team is trying to simultaneously shape a multi-layered game plan, is no easy task and in the past some international coaches have cut their losses and asked the side to stick to simple ABC rugby. This was Borthwick’s approach in the early stages of his tenure. But as he has grown into the job, he has expanded England’s horizons to the point where he seems to want the team, within limitations, to play. It is not yet quite a licence to thrill but the tension on the handbrake has definitely been eased.
This being the case, how Borthwick goes about finding the fluency he is searching for in this Six Nations will be interesting.
In the quest for cohesion, going heavy with players from a specific club can act as a useful shortcut.
The Prem leaders have the most players in the 36-man squad – eight – and it is not beyond the bounds of possibility that all of them could be involved against Wales.
What Borthwick has to consider as he weighs up his myriad selection options ahead of England’s opening game of the championship against Wales is how much emphasis to place on existing club connections.
If he chooses this route in the upcoming championship, then Northampton would be his most logical port of call.
The Prem leaders have the most players in the 36-man squad – eight – and it is not beyond the bounds of possibility that all of them could be involved against Wales.
Even without the sidelined Fin Smith, Borthwick could easily pick four Shoe Army foot soldiers in his starting backline for England’s opener a week on Saturday.
The England head coach, who increasingly views Tommy Freeman as a centre, has a ready-made partner for him from Franklin’s Gardens in Fraser Dingwall and George Furbank is fit at last to offer his ball-playing capabilities at full-back.
Another Saint, Alex Mitchell, is inked in at No 9 while Henry Pollock, Alex Coles, Manny Iyogun and Trevor Davison all have a case for a bench role. The Allianz Stadium dressing room could feel like a Saints reunion.
“I think that familiarity helps massively in international rugby,” said Mitchell. “I’m lucky in that I know how everyone plays now in the England squad but the more players you know, the more you play and train with them week in, week out, the more it does help you going onto the international stage.”
The Northampton crew, fresh off the back of their first win at Sale for eight seasons at the weekend, are in confident shape.
Watching some of their rugby this season, you cannot help but appreciate its slickness. The harmony, particularly in attack, is something to behold. Their manipulation of space and iguana-eyed inter-passing is exceptional. It has delivered 58 tries in ten Prem games this season.
I think we can try and imprint some of our game plan. We can try and use a bit of our knowledge to help the team get better.
Mitchell feels that there are areas of Saints-ball which they can bring to an England side looking to evolve their attacking game.
“I think we can try and imprint some of our game plan. We can try and use a bit of our knowledge to help the team get better,” said Mitchell.
“Obviously international rugby is different with the kicking game and the defences are a lot better so you’ve got to change up the game plan a tiny bit but there are little details you can imprint and try to push that forward on the international stage. You just have to find a bit of a balance.”
If international rugby tends more towards the sledgehammer than the sword, it is worth pointing out that the Northampton way is not just made up of pretty patterns. It involves thumping great big holes too. The Saints top the post-contact metres charts in the Prem this season.
The enviable depth that England have built up has presented Borthwick with some tricky puzzles to solve. Localising some of his thinking could help with the solutions.
This is not to say Borthwick should ignore players from other clubs with superior claims to a place. It is just that when it comes to his coin-toss calls he may find it beneficial to work around the Saints.
Other nations, with fewer supply strands, have used the one-stop shop theory to a much greater extent. Warren Gatland famously called up 13 Ospreys for the 2008 Six Nations match against England at Twickenham.
More recently, Andy Farrell picked 12 Leinster players in his Ireland starting line-up to face New Zealand in Chicago in the autumn. Gregor Townsend could reach double figures when it comes to Glasgow players for this Six Nations.
England will never get to that point but their best teams have tended to have dominant club threads.
Borthwick has plenty to consider as he heads towards 2027 but the England side that shoots for the stars in Australia may well be best served with Northampton at its core.
Clive Woodward’s World Cup-winning side of 2003 had three Leicester players in the pack and another three Tigers’ forwards on the bench.
Eddie Jones’s team that reached the World Cup final in 2019 was built around a six-strong Saracens representation in the starting line-up in Yokohama that day.
There were seven Harlequins starters in England’s 1991 World Cup final side including the captain Will Carling.
Borthwick has plenty to consider as he heads towards 2027 but the England side that shoots for the stars in Australia may well be best served with Northampton at its core.
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…unless you play for Bristol.
Great article and Lee Blackett is certainly going to earn his money in the run up to RWC 2027.
You can probably argue there are 3 potential back lines to choose from;
CURRENT TEAM
Mitchell, Ford, Freeman, Dingwall, Lawrence, IF-W & Steward.
SAINTS STYLE ATTACK
Mitchell, Smith, Freeman, Dingwall, Lawrence, IF-W, Furbank
RWC 2027 (possible)
Mitchell, Smith, IF-W, Van Rensberg, Lawrence, Caluori, Freeman (or Furbank)
It’s hard to argue against the current team doing a good job last Autumn, so they may get their chance. You can’t help but think the Saints Style of Attack would add a new dimension in the attack . . . . But roll forward another 2 years and Van Rensberg & Caluori probably change that picture, which creates a whole new combination of options.
That’s a really interesting conunderum to consider . . . . but in Lee Blackett we trust, so let’s see what he comes up with.
Saints style attack shoud read: Mitchell, Smith, IF-W, Dingwall, Freeman, Arundell, Furbank
If you are starting versus Wales in London then you may not need the immediate super cohesion and can use that match to build cohesion. If it was a relatively tough opener then bias towards a particular team might make sense as that gives a head start on cohesion and reduces that potential weakness.