'Exactly what he said to me': Ben Earl predicted how Ireland game would unfold
Ben Earl was at the forefront of England’s seismic victory over Ireland after predicting to Steve Borthwick the impact he intended to have at Twickenham.
Earl has followed up his outstanding World Cup with an equally impressive Guinness Six Nations that has been rewarded with man-of-the-match awards against Wales and Andy Farrell’s champions.
The Saracens number eight was magnificent in Saturday’s 23-22 upset to continue his surge towards world-class status, bossing Ireland’s back row and barging over for a vital 60th-minute try as one of numerous powerful carries.
In a sign of his growing confidence, Earl told his head coach hours before the game how he expected his 29th cap to unfold.
“I sat with Ben on Saturday morning. He talked and showed me what he wanted to do against Ireland. And he pretty much did exactly what he said to me. That is down to him delivering that,” Borthwick said.
“It is phenomenal the thought process he is going through and how ambitious he is as a player to get better.
“Ben played his first 15 games off the bench. Even in last year’s Six Nations he played a run of games and then he was out.
“I think he feels backed. I get the impression he feels he is growing as a player and he wants to keep getting better.”
By defying expectations to topple the defending champions, England revived their title ambitions heading into the final weekend even if Ireland remain firmly in the driving seat.
A courageous gameplan that placed an emphasis on attack was well executed with the try count won 3-2, providing redemption after an error-strewn defeat by Scotland a fortnight ago.
Had England not imploded at Murrayfield, they could have been challenging for the Grand Slam themselves but Borthwick has been careful not to rebuke his young team.
“Post the Scotland game, there was evidence that the weight of the shirt was on the players,” he said.
“I believe we need to create a supportive environment. Everybody involved with English rugby is under incredible scrutiny. That’s just the way it is.
“There’s incredible expectation and I’d rather be involved in a team where there is expectation upon it than not.
“But with that I want to make sure that young players are coming into a supportive environment. I want to see their point of difference on the grass.
“Mistakes are going to happen and we are understanding of that, but we don’t want to repeat mistakes. We have got to learn fast.
“The team went through a difficult experience at Murrayfield, reviewed it properly and then addressed it on the training field.
“The players weren’t perfect against Ireland, they made mistakes, but at Murrayfield I thought we made a mistake and then went into ourselves, played a little bit small.
“Against Ireland they made errors and got into the next battle. If there is anything I can encourage the players to do, it is go into the next battle.”
Comments on RugbyPass
I guess we may all agree on the fact, that the ABs and Boks are the two in contest for No 1 in rugby history (the triple-A sort of) …. the Wallabies, England and France are the next tier, with Ireland being the new kid in town (AA) …. in my view it makes little sense creating imaginary competitions (unless you have too much time to waste)
43 Go to commentsWhat a joke. Total joke and the pundits commentating, all of whom know a bit about the game, could barely disguise their contempt. Reaching for the card then pulling back when he realised a red card would carry further match suspensions is simply not his decision to make. A clear and obvious influence on the outcome of this match and indeed, the championship path.
4 Go to commentsI like the idea, in NZ the Ranfurly Shield and NPC coexist, both having their own bragging rights. The World Cup would be the pinnacle, but the competition and travels of these trophies would be interesting.
43 Go to commentsDon’t worry Sonny bill Williams leave that awkward situation about the curfew in the pass whoever it was it doesn’t matter its no big deal we back our All Blacks through the storm and the thunder until we see the Sun light again.
42 Go to commentsWho listens to this retard? He was a massive liability as a player but obviously a media sensation
42 Go to commentsI’m not surprised by such ‘virtue signalling’ by Sonny Boy. Butter wouldn’t melt in his mouth. He’s such a pious Islamic muppet, imo.
42 Go to commentsI’ve actually never heard of the guy (then I don’t watch League as it is boring). But if he is good enough.. then good luck to him. If not, well, he can always return to league.
2 Go to commentsIt is pretty clear that by almost any measure that NZ are a more successful rugby nation than South Africa. Quite aside from the distasteful events during the last RWC final. NZ lead SA in all significant measurements.
43 Go to commentsDickson went to his pocket for a card, saw who it was, changed his mind and spoke at length to TMO. One angle clearly shows Care diving over a Saints player to kill the ball. 1st yellow, reason given for not Red was player was falling backwards. He was only falling backwards after contact with Lawes. Graham try should have stood. Mitchell did not have both hands on the ball, ball went forward from a Saints boot dragging over it. 2 intentional knock-on's. One of which had an overlap on the outside. If Quins are happy to win by intentional foul play, then it does not say much for them. Would appear to be a bad day for Karl Dickson, also for the RFU in appointing a Ref who spent 8 years as a player at one of the clubs.
4 Go to commentsLet’s not forget about Ardie Savea just yet.
6 Go to commentsThe URC and the Euro Championscup can’t run at the same time, basically dilutes both competitions.
2 Go to comments“While Sotutu should start at No.8 for the All Blacks against England, but it’s only in that arena that he can prove just how good he really is.” And that my friends is where simply hasnt shone despite multiple opportunities. Even in this performance you can see what did him in in the test arena..he almost always still runs at the opposition almost ramrod upright making him easier to stop than it should be.
6 Go to commentsShould have been 0-0 and a message from SR CEO to both teams - “don’t worry about turning up next year”.
4 Go to commentsGreat work Owen Franks. A great of this team, scoring his first try for the Crusaders since 2010.He was beaming, justifiably. A fine win, he and the rest did the job up front.
1 Go to commentsDanny Care. Lang in die tand.
1 Go to commentsBig empty stadium does nothing for atmosphere but munster are playing well with solid performance
1 Go to commentsYes, Fiji can win the World Cup! With that belief plus their christian faith🙏 and hard work it is achievable. Great article. Ian Duncan Fiji resident 1981-84
2 Go to commentsInteresting comments about Touch. England’s hosting the Touch World Cup this year and the numbers have exploded since their last World Cup in 2019, something like 70% more teams and 40 nations taking part. And England Touch have made a big thing about how many universities are in their BUCS University Touch Championship as well as Sport England membership. Can only see this growing even more domestically as more people become aware of it
10 Go to comments“Cortez Ratima is light years ahead of anyone on current form, while TJ Perenara has also skyrocketed into contention following the unfortunate injury to the talented Cam Roigard.” At last some sanity. Hitherto so many pundits have been wittering on about Finlay Christie to the point one wondered if they were observing a FC in a parallel universe where the FC they saw wasnt just the mediocre Shayne Philpott project of Fosters hapless AB reign in the real world. Ratima, Perenara and Fakatava are the ONLY logical 9s for Razor now Roigard is crocked.
4 Go to commentsThis game was just as painful as the Hurricanes game. It was real fork-in-the-eye stuff.
4 Go to comments