‘They embraced that challenge’: Borthwick hails England response

Steve Borthwick has hailed England’s defensive performance against Australia after a week in which that area of their game was inevitably going to be placed under greater scrutiny.

Shaun Edwards revealed last week that he had spoken to Borthwick about potentially joining the England set-up, only for the head coach to stick with his existing staff.

That inevitably brought greater attention to England’s defence, and particularly Richard Wigglesworth, who currently oversees that area of the team.

But England delivered an emphatic response in Sunday’s 45-22 Nations Championship victory over Australia at Twickenham’s Allianz Stadium, missing only three tackles in the first half.

The Wallabies’ only line break before the interval came from the interception which resulted in Max Jorgensen’s try, with England otherwise keeping the visitors largely at arm’s length.

“I spoke last week about breaching the difference between the PREM and Test rugby, particularly in a couple of areas – one is defence, and one is around the ruck,” Borthwick said after the victory.

“They’re going to stretch you with their speed and athleticism, test you at the breakdown. We’re in an era right now where attack is on top.

“I thought that was a very, very good defensive performance. The players have really embraced that challenge, and that difference.”

England led 19-10 at half-time before taking control after the break, eventually recording their highest-ever points total against Australia.

Discipline provided another significant source of encouragement for Borthwick after becoming one of England’s most persistent problems this year.

Across the Six Nations alone, England accumulated nine cards and spent almost 30 per cent of their playing time with fewer than 15 men. The problem did not disappear over the summer either. They were reduced to 13 by the end of their defeat to South Africa before another succession of cards, four, left them perilously close to losing to Argentina in their final Test of July.

It prompted England to confront the issue during one of their recent camps, with Borthwick revealing that the players had agreed among themselves how their behaviour needed to change.

England not only managed to avoid any cards in London, but kept their penalty count to seven, four fewer than their opponents. It is no coincidence that stats like these belong to the winning side.

“They made some clear commitments to each other, to the team, about what we’re going to do going forward, and I thought we made strides in that hour,” he said.

There was similar encouragement in attack despite England having only two sessions to work on that side of their game.

Borthwick highlighted England’s speed into position, their ability to attack both sides of the field and the benefit of operating with two playmakers, although he felt there were still periods where they became too lateral.

Even after scoring six tries, however, he believes there is significantly more to come.

“I think there’s another gear, and I’m requesting and I’m looking,” he said.

“I think there’s another gear in this team, and I think that’s really pleasing and exciting.”