Steve Borthwick and the spelling gaffe that keeps inspiring him
Past conversations with Steve Borthwick used to be like getting blood from a stone, but the 43-year-old has undergone a public speaking transformation since becoming the new England coach in December. As the England skipper during his playing days and as a national team assistant coach under Eddie Jones, he constantly came across as a very guarded individual unwilling to shine a light on the insightful rugby personality that he can be.
This ducking and diving continued during his time as the Leicester head coach, his media engagements remaining stilted affairs where information was difficult to mine, but he has now undergone a very noticeable shift in the knowledge he wants to volunteer.
Those shackles came off on his very first day as the England boss last month and his open approach has continued with the countdown now on towards next weekend’s February 4 Guinness Six Nations opener versus Scotland at Twickenham.
For instance, just the other day at the tournament media launch in London, he had a room jam-packed full of reporters heartily laughing when he delivered the punchline about a pep talk he had as a teenager with a school careers advisor.
The October 1979-born Borthwick was a wide-eyed 15-year-old when rugby first turned professional in the summer of 1995 and asked ahead of his first match as England head coach to explain how proud he is to be in that position, the now 43-year-old recalled a gag made at his expense by an old tutor.
"Lashings of Guinness, belting live music from a busker, and of course the stars of the Six Nations now all under the watchful eye of the Netflix crew…"
– A colourful account of 2023 Six Nations media launch, with @heagneyl ???#GuinnessSixNationshttps://t.co/PAnS4viEuj
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) January 23, 2023
“The first thing was I wanted to be an international player,” he said, casting his mind back to his days as a big-dreaming teenager. “Rugby turned professional in ’95 and I remember we did this careers day and the school teacher said, ‘Right, what do you want to be?’ I wrote up that I wanted to be a professional rugby player and I wanted to play for England.
“You had to give it to the teacher, the careers advisor, and I was expecting this incredibly disapproving glance that you are not going to be a professional rugby player, that next to no people make it as a professional rugby player.
“To the career advisor’s great credit, he look at me and said, ‘You want to be a professional rugby player?’ I said, ‘Yes, and I want to play for England’. He said, ’You better learn how to spell professional right!’
“I was privileged that I got to be a professional rugby player and, most importantly, I got to play for England, I got to captain England. There is lots I wish I would have done differently, lots I want to make sure these young men do better than I did. I had the opportunity to be assistant coach, that’s a privilege. And now I have the great honour of coaching these guys as head coach and I can’t wait to get started.”
Quizzed specifically as to what the Six Nations personally means to Borthwick, the England boss added: “I’d be telling my little boy he has got to move away from the TV, your eyes will go square if you sit right in front, if you sit that close to the TV. I was that boy, sat so close to the TV, the anthems, the hairs on the back of your neck would stand up!
“I remember that now and then I was privileged to play at Twickenham against Wales when I was 16 years old for England schoolboys and then played more schoolboy internationals. And then, do you remember when they used to play the U21s and the A team games on a Friday night before a Six Nations game and you’d go to the city wherever it was?
“I remember being in Edinburgh, the U21s had played, the A team had played and this city, because the international was the next day, was just buzzing with the excitement of what was coming with this tournament. Rivalries go back so far. So many people have been involved in these games and we are privileged to be part of it now, Just a small part but we are privileged to be part of it.”
Comments on RugbyPass
I do not really get why put Ollivon at 6 when he’s a 7, while Cros was the best Frenchman of the tournament, playing at…6. His only game replacing Aldritt at 8 doesn’t change much in terms of his impact. Lamaro was also outstanding in that brilliant Italian side, probably better than Reffell. So putting 2 Welsh players from the wooden spoon holders, and none of the 4th nation (Scotland) is also strange. Is it about showing that in this harsh transition Wales is, there were some standouts…?
6 Go to commentsThe events at this year’s six nations should undermine many of the arguments made against promotion and relegation between the six nations and the REC. If Italy had been allowed to yo-yo between divisions it conceivably could have really hurt their development, but if Italy, Wales, and Scotland are all at risk of relegation, with none of them being relegated more often than once every 3 or 4 years, you’d have to back all of them to muddle on through it, especially when you factor in the likelihood they’ll still be guaranteed world league matches against tier 1 opponents. Another way of looking at italys resurgence would be to say that the development model of adding an extra team to the six nations has worked, and now must be done again. Georgia could join to make it a 7 team round robin, and if and when Georgia demonstrate an ability to consistently win games, Portugal can also be added to make it an 8 team 2 conference competition. Frankly at this point I think it falls to world rugby to demand that the 6N act in the interests of the game. If the 6N won’t commit to expansion then the 6N teams should be handicapped in world cup draws (i.e. world cup seedings would not be based on their ranking points, but on their ranking points minus a 5 point penalty).
4 Go to commentsSteve Borthwick deserves credit for releasing the shackles on his England side and letting them play in a manner that somewhat resembles the top sides in the Gallagher Premiership. Will they revert to type in New Zealand in July.?
27 Go to commentsJames Lowe wouldn't get in any other 6N team. He's a great example of Farrell’s brilliance, and the Irish system. He is slow. His footwork is poor. But he fits perfectly in that Irish system, and has a superb impact. But put him in another team, and he'll look bang average.
6 Go to commentsCrusaders reached their heights through recruitment of North Island players, often leaving those NI teams bereft of key players. Example: Scott Barrett and Sam Whitelock robbed the Canes of their lineout and AB locks. For years the Canes have struggled at lock. This rabid recruitment was iniated by rule changes by a Crusader dominated NZR Head Office. Now this aggressive recruitment has back-fired, going after young inside back Hamilton Boys stars. They now have 4 Chiefs region 10s and not one with the requisite experience at Super level. Problems of their own making!
2 Go to commentsOver rated for a long time…exposed at scrum time too.
3 Go to comments“Firing me” should have been Gatland’s answer.
2 Go to commentsFinn Russell logic: “World” = 4 countries. Ireland may be at or near the top. FR’s bigger concern should be he and his fellow Scots (incl. the Bloemfontein ones) sliding back down to below top 10
42 Go to commentsMind games have begun. Ireland learned their lesson after saying they could beat England with 13 players or whatever. Still, if they win at Loftus, that would be impressive - final frontier etc.
58 Go to comments$950k for a Prop that isn’t fit enough to play 10 mins of rugby? Surely there is someone better to replace Big Mike with
3 Go to commentsFour Kiwis in that backline. A solid statement on the lack of invention, risk-taking and joy in the NH game; game of attrition and head- banging tedium. Longterm medical problems aplenty in the future!
6 Go to commentsGood article, I learnt quite a lot. A big sliding door moment was in the mid 00s when they rejected Steve Anderson's long term transformation and he wrote Ireland's strategy instead.
2 Go to commentsHi Dr Nick! I'm worried that I've started to enjoy watching England and have actually wanted them to win their last two games. What would you prescribe? On a more serious note, I've noticed that the standard of play in March is often better than early February. Do you think this is because of the weather or because the players have been together for longer?
27 Go to commentsMy question in all this brett is who is going to wear the consequences of these actions? Surely just getting the sack isn’t sufficient? A teenager working the till at woolies would probably get taken to court if they took $20 out of the till. You mean to tell me that someone can spend $2.6 million and get away with it? Where was it spent? What companies/people were the beneficiaries etc? How is it just being talked about as an ‘oopsie’ and we all just move on and not a matter of the court for gross negligence, fraud, take your pick…
20 Go to commentslove Manu too but England have relied on him coming back from injury for far too long and not sorted the position with someone else long term . It will be a blessing he has gone . Huge shame he was so injury prone . God speed Manu .
3 Go to commentsI agree with Ben Smith about Brett Cameron. The No. 6 position has to be a monster and a genuine lineout option, like Ollivon, Lawes (now Chessum), Du Toit, etc. The only player who fits that bill right now is Scott Barrett. A fit and fizzing Tuipolotu together with one of the young towers, Sam Darry or Josh Lord, would give Razor the freedom to play Barret at 6.
16 Go to commentsOutstanding article, Graham. Agree with all of it. And enjoy the style of writing too (particularly Grand Slap!).
3 Go to commentsI wouldn't pay a cent for that loafer. He just stands around, waiting for play to come his way. He won't make the Wallabies.
3 Go to commentsGood bit of te reo maori Nic. Or is that Niko or Nikora? On the theme of trees the Oaks v Totara. Game plan would be key. I have one but it would cost you.
27 Go to comments> Shaun Edwards’ You should not have to score 30 points to win a game, as exciting as it is. This statement was surprising to me. It is nonsensical .I guess it is a defence coach speaking. But head coach, defence and attacking coaches all work together. They are inseparable. You score more than the opposition to win. It only needs to be one score. You score whatever the game demands, whatever the opposition demand. You defend whatever it takes. The attack coach needs to be able to clock up 30pts if need be.
27 Go to comments