Northern Edition
Select Edition
Northern Northern
Southern Southern
Global Global
New Zealand New Zealand
France France

The giddy prediction England have made about Henry Arundell

(Photo by Dan Mullan/The RFU Collection via Getty Images)

Steve Borthwick has insisted he is right to hand Henry Arundell his first England Test start at the age of just 20 in Saturday’s massive Grand Slam decider versus Ireland. The unbeaten Irish are raging hot favourites to complete a championship clean sweep for just the fourth time in their history against an English team that has limped into Dublin on the back of their humiliating 53-10 home defeat to France.

ADVERTISEMENT

Borthwick reacted by making four changes to his starting team and he claimed he has no qualms over including the rookie Arundell at the expense of Max Malins. The London Irish youngster burst onto the international scene when scoring a try with his first touch when debuting off the bench versus Australia last July.

He was capped twice more as a sub on that tour and having since recovered from a serious foot injury that required an operation, he has now been backed for his first England start after three more appearances off the bench, cameos that included a try versus Italy in Six Nations round two and that bizarre, token 80th-minute introduction in the following round in Wales.

Video Spacer

Video Spacer

While his match minutes have been restricted, Borthwick claimed that what he had seen on the training ground in Pennyhill was the reason why England have now handed Arundell his maiden Test start. “He is a young player with an enormous future in front of him,” he reckoned.

“It is really important that we think he is the right player to play in this game. We have seen glimpses of him. Unfortunately for the first half of this season, he has not played an awful lot of rugby due to injury but seeing what he has been producing in training, he is an incredibly exciting player.

Related

“You see a number of young players that are experiencing substantial game time in the Six Nations for the first time. It’s Henry’s first Six Nations, JVP (Jack van Poortvliet), Alex Mitchell, Ollie Lawrence, Alex (Dombrandt), Lewis (Ludlam), Ben Curry and these guys – this is enormous for us to really understand where we are and what we need to prioritise.

“Henry is a very composed, calm young man and he has got the capability to excel in international rugby.”

ADVERTISEMENT

Handing Arundell just his seventh cap in preference of giving Malins what would have been his 18th underlined the element of inexperience existing in some areas of Borthwick’s England XV against a more experienced Ireland. However, the coach insisted his England team will be up for the challenge after last week’s harrowing loss to France.

“We know what a good side they [Ireland] are and you can see that, I think it is over 1,000 caps they have got in their 23. The experience they have got is enormous. We know we are going to have to be much improved from last week and I know the players are determined to put in that much-improved performance. Their attitude has been excellent.”

ADVERTISEMENT
LIVE

{{item.title}}

Trending on RugbyPass

Comments

1 Comment
l
lot 850 days ago

feel sorry for this kid. bw thinks he will win the game for england. andy farrell and his ireland on other hand will be salivating at exposing his nerves and inexperience. lets hope for his good future, kid will hold up.

Join free and tell us what you really think!

Sign up for free
ADVERTISEMENT

Latest Features

Comments on RugbyPass

H
Hellhound 1 hour ago
Bok rule-benders are changing the game. They deserve respect

You want a lot of things that will never happen. You describe rugby League. You should go and watch that then. Rugby is supposed to be competitive. It's the opposition team that should figure out how to defend and turn it into an attack on the fly. The Boks play within the rules. Everyone says that kick off should have been a penalty. The law state that from a kick off it's a scrum. It's confusing as with mauls and rucks, the player has to be behind the kicker. The same does not hold true for kick offs. That law they can change, because the same rule should apply across the board for players to be behind the kicker. It's not the first time that the infield lineout has been used, only the first time in an international match. If I remember correctly, the Barbarians used it against England in 2021 or 2022 (under correction). It's also been used in SR during the 2000’s. There is just this big hoo haw because the Boks did it. If it was another team like the Irish or England or the French or someone, it would be innovative, genius and brilliant. The dummy the AB's did where a player broke to the right, acting like he had the ball, meanwhile the scrumhalfs ran down the sideline and scored. I don't hear you cry about that. That can be seen as cynical play and there is even a case for unsportsmanlike behaviour and at a minimum a yellow card. Yet there is silence from you about that. I on the other hand thought that was a great tactic. It's also not a new invention, but an old one. You only love rugby when it suits you. I don't care what new tactics teams use, or whoever the team is that is doing it. Every new invention or tactic or play that the coaches comes up with is great for rugby. It keeps it interesting. There is no law that prevents other coaches using the same tactics or create their own. It's up to coaches to come up with defense strategies to cut that down, and even retaliate against it. The game is never boring. It keeps evolving. People keep talking about rugby and all these things is what draw new fans. They don't want boring. They want innovative and fun. They want to hear the crash of bodies. They want to see the strength of the scrums. They want to see the speed, agility and flair of the players. The amazing passes and jukes or side steps. The only reason you are so up in arms is because the Boks did it and now you want it banned. The same rhyme over and over. Matt Williams wannabe. Nah, you don't love rugby or else you would enjoy the most exciting era yet in this lovely sport. Stars in so many national teams has never been more abundant nor was there so many teams that could beat each other on any given day. Not to even mention watching an era of the most controversial but most innovative and clever coach ever. A dynasty that's to last for a very long time even after he retires. Like him or hate him, his genius is undeniable and he is recognised world wide as the best coach in most countries by fans and pundits alike, even if they don't like him. Stop the hate and rather enjoy what's to come.

39 Go to comments
LONG READ
LONG READ Iconic Lions moments of the professional era: 25-21 Iconic Lions moments of the professional era: 25-21