The South African mindset England lack and how Borthwick can change that

Two weeks ago, as the wheels fell off at England’s home of rugby, Steve Borthwick hauled off his starting hooker before the half hour and then his full-back ten minutes later. This week the England coach, with a perpetual scowl stitched across his face, has responded by making nine personnel changes and three positional switches to the side that spluttered against Ireland. No England team in the Six Nations era has undergone such a dramatic overhaul. Like a mushroom cloud stretching across the land, panic has emanated from south west London.

Then again, that is just one framing of a narrative that has many truths. There is no doubt England were poor against Scotland and Ireland, and that they have failed to deliver on the realistic hope of a Grand Slam challenge. They have, in no uncertain terms, underperformed.

But that’s the cut and thrust of elite rugby. Sometimes it comes down to the bounce of a ball, a referee’s interpretation, or a moment where a player is operating at 75 per cent in a contest that punishes anything less than perfection.

As has been pointed out, this is still a team that claimed 12 victories on the bounce in a run that included wins over France, Ireland and New Zealand. This hard bump back to earth does not have to spell disaster. In fact, it could prove to be a launchpad.

What England need most right now is not wholesale reinvention but a reframing of the narrative around them. And for that, they could do worse than look towards the reigning world champions.

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South Africa’s success is often attributed to obvious factors: a vast playing pool, extraordinary athletes, and the tactical brain of Rassie Erasmus guiding the system. But another ingredient is often overlooked and that is the story they collectively tell themselves.

The Springboks have constructed a narrative that allows for setbacks within a larger journey. When they have lost games during the Erasmus dynasty which started in 2018, it is rarely framed as catastrophe. It is a step in a longer process, a piece of learning that sharpens the machine. Players are rotated ruthlessly, combinations are tested, individuals are dropped and restored without the sense that careers are being quietly buried. That trust runs through the ecosystem.

Take the 2023 World Cup semi-final against England. Erasmus hauled off Manie Libbok in the first half. Eben Etzebeth followed him shortly afterwards. In England’s rugby culture such moves would likely have triggered a week-long inquest about humiliation, selection blunders and dressing-room fractures.

Instead both players remained central figures in the Bok environment. Being hooked early did not define them. It was simply a decision made in pursuit of victory. The question worth asking is whether England has cultivated that same sense of trust. Because right now, every change feels existential.

England’s journalists, fans and former players often see themselves as watchdogs of the national team, which is healthy in moderation. But the Springboks have something England currently lack which is a broad alignment between team, media and supporters around the idea that a bigger picture exists.

Occasionally this relationship can warp and those paid to be impartial can at times work as propagandists. But only on occasion. South African journalists can be just as critical as their colleagues in England. But there is a shared understanding that squad evolution and experimentation are necessary parts of building a champion side. England could use a dose of that perspective.

And then there is the rugby itself. For all the talk of systems and culture, England’s tactical issues are more tangible. The balance of their loose trio remains a glaring one. Modern international rugby still rewards teams who can punch holes through heavy traffic, and South Africa are masters of that brutal efficiency.

Which brings us to the sort of player Borthwick knows the value of better than most. At Leicester, the engine room of his title-winning side was Jasper Wiese, a No.8 who made a living carrying into brick walls and still finding a way over the gain line. The 120kg slab of South African beef was the blunt object that kept the Tigers machine moving and a player of that profile remains one of the most valuable commodities in Test rugby. There’s a case to be made that Wiese is currently the most valuable Springbok going.

England might be a little short of that ballast, but they are not devoid of it. In Ollie Chessum they have a lumbering athlete who, by his sheer preserves alone, offers go-forward. Why is Borthwick not playing him? With his size, work rate and ability to carry through contact, he looks tailor-made for the kind of abrasive role England have lacked. Borthwick knows the template. He built it before. But he’s seemingly forgotten what he’s already learned.

More than strategies and buy-in, what Borthwick really needs is patience. Systems only function when the environment around them allows for patience; among players, journalists and supporters alike. Because the alternative is a cycle English rugby knows all too well. A defeat sparks panic, panic sparks selection roulette, and selection roulette prevents the kind of cohesion needed to compete with the world’s best.

South Africa broke that cycle by committing fully to a story about where they were going. Borthwick does not need to copy the Springboks wholesale. Even if he wanted to, he couldn’t. He lacks the same number of meaty ball carriers and he lacks a midfield that routinely punches holes. What he needs to do is take inspiration from the team that has set the standard for the past seven years.

First, he needs to stem the bleeding. Italy perhaps are the perfect opponents as they will provide a stiff challenge but are certainly beatable. A victory would earn Borthwick some much needed credit and inject confidence in the playing group. Win well and the mushroom cloud handing over Twickenham might dissipate and in fresh air, a change in the narrative might be possible.