Itoje hails England 'Bomb Squad' as 'difficult decisions' lie ahead

Steve Borthwick and Maro Itoje have both hailed England’s bench, with Australia head coach Joe Schmidt saying it “made a difference” in the hosts’ 25-7 win at Twickenham’s Allianz Stadium on Saturday.

With the match poised at 10-7 at the 50-minute mark against the Wallabies, Borthwick deployed five of his six 2025 British & Irish Lions from the bench – Luke Cowan-Dickie, Ellis Genge, Will Stuart, Tom Curry and Henry Pollock – with both Pollock and Cowan-Dickie going on to score tries as England ran away with the match.

In the wake of the victory, the impact that England’s substitutes made has been likened to that of South Africa’s ‘Bomb Squad,’ who are famed for changing the course of a match.

While England captain Itoje confessed that there is no such name for England’s squad yet, he praised his team-mates for upping the intensity.

Borthwick agreed with his captain, saying he is left with some “difficult decisions,” with many of his substitutes making strong cases to start.

“I think the bench certainly had a positive impact, I think it’s a sign that you can see the squad is building in depth,” Borthwick said. “It was an important summer for English rugby with a number of players down with the Lions, being successful in Australia and another number being away in Argentina and America. It’s enabled the squad to grow and that’s pleasing.

“It means I have some difficult decisions to make and it’s the exact decisions you want as a head coach.

Itoje said: “The guys who came off the bench were fantastic today. You always want the guys to come off the bench to add and pick up the energy and pick up the intensity of the team and they definitely did that. I thought they all, to a man, were fantastic.

Schmidt shared a similar stance on England’s bench, saying: “The bench made a difference from England. They really did step up the level of intensity and the physical combat that they brought. Until that time, I thought the game was really well-balanced.

“The bench they brought on, six British and Irish Lions off the bench. That strength in depth, that’s something we’re trying to build in Australia, but that’s something that takes a bit of time.