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Wallaby shirt-wearing son reminded Borthwick of 'power rugby has'

By Liam Heagney
(Photo by Alex Davidson/The RFU Collection via Getty Images )

Steve Borthwick has revealed how a welcome home last week from his Wallaby jersey-wearing son reminded the new England boss about the power he believes the sport of rugby has to inspire. The 43-year-old had finished up work at the Leicester training ground ahead of his final match in charge of the Tigers when he initially thought he was about to get a special hug from one of his two sons when he arrived in the door last week.

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However, instead of embracing, his nine-year-old raced by his father and dived into the far corner of the living room to score a try, all the while wearing an Australia jersey given to him by his mother.

It was a humorous behind-the-scenes moment that Borthwick volunteered for public consumption following his unveiling as the new England boss on Monday on a five-year deal that will expire following the 2027 Rugby World Cup in Australia.

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“I got home a couple of days ago, I stepped in the door,” said Borthwick at his first media briefing after the RFU confirmed him as the successor to Eddie Jones. “I have got two boys and the nine-year-old is Hunter and Hunter is running towards me.

“He is carrying this ball in his hand and I’m thinking to myself it is one of those moments where as a father you go he is going to give me this great hug. It’s a kind of heart-warming moment. He ran straight past me and dived on the floor on the far side of the living room and scored the winning try.

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“He said: ‘That is the winning try, daddy, I just scored the winning try’. Brilliant. Brilliant. So one problem is that I missed out on my hug. The second problem was he was wearing a Wallaby shirt, his mother is to blame for that. His mum is to blame for that. But what it reminds me is the power that rugby has, this incredible sport that we love, it has such power.

“Now what we want to do is make sure that this team is one that uses that power to get kids to fall in love with this game, to get the supporters roaring and keep them roaring. Now we have got a lot of work to do. I’m under no illusions. Everyone can see that.

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“We have got a lot of work to do and that is not going to happen overnight. But we have got a great group of players. We have got experienced players, we have got young players that are emerging that have got such incredible talent and that is really exciting.”

Earlier at his unveiling, Borthwick had spoken about how he was inspired as a young boy watching England play before growing up and winning 57 Test caps between 2001 and 2010. “To be appointed to this role fills me with incredible pride and I’m honoured to take on this job. I know that pride will count for nothing if we don’t deliver.

“I want to shape a team that wins, I was a little boy who fell in love with rugby watching the England team play. I want to shape a team that this nation gets behind, inspires our supporters and inspires lots of young boys and girls to fall in love with rugby as I did all those years ago.”

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Trevor 1 hours ago
Will forgotten Wallabies fit the Joe Schmidt model?

Thanks Brett.. At last a positive article on the potential of Wallaby candidates, great to read. Schmidt’s record as an international rugby coach speaks for itself, I’m somewhat confident he will turn the Wallaby’s fortunes around …. on the field. It will be up to others to steady the ship off the paddock. But is there a flaw in my optimism? We have known all along that Australia has the players to be very competitive with their international rivals. We know that because everyone keeps telling us. So why the poor results? A question that requires a definitive answer before the turn around can occur. Joe Schmidt signed on for 2 years, time to encompass the Lions tour of 2025. By all accounts he puts family first and that’s fair enough, but I would wager that his 2 year contract will be extended if the next 18 months or so shows the statement “Australia has the players” proves to be correct. The new coach does not have a lot of time to meld together an outfit that will be competitive in the Rugby Championship - it will be interesting to see what happens. It will be interesting to see what happens with Giteau law, the new Wallaby coach has already verbalised that he would to prefer to select from those who play their rugby in Australia. His first test in charge is in July just over 3 months away .. not a long time. I for one wish him well .. heaven knows Australia needs some positive vibes.

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Bull Shark 5 hours ago
Jake White: Are modern rugby players actually better?

Of the rugby I’ve born witness to in my lifetime - 1990 to date - I recognize great players throughout those years. But I have no doubt the game and the players are on average better today. So I doubt going back further is going to prove me wrong. The technical components of the game, set pieces, scrums, kicks, kicks at goal. And in general tactics employed are far more efficient, accurate and polished. Professional athletes that have invested countless hours on being accurate. There is one nation though that may be fairly competitive in any era - and that for me is the all blacks. And New Zealand players in general. NZ produces startling athletes who have fantastic ball skills. And then the odd phenomenon like Brooke. Lomu. Mcaw. Carter. Better than comparing players and teams across eras - I’ve often had this thought - that it would be very interesting to have a version of the game that is closer to its original form. What would the game look like today if the rules were rolled back. Not rules that promote safety obviously - but rules like: - a try being worth 1 point and conversion 2 points. Hence the term “try”. Earning a try at goals. Would we see more attacking play? - no lifting in the lineouts. - rucks and break down laws in general. They looked like wrestling matches in bygone eras. I wonder what a game applying 1995 rules would look like with modern players. It may be a daft exercise, but it would make for an interesting spectacle celebrating “purer” forms of the game that roll back the rules dramatically by a few versions. Would we come to learn that some of the rules/combinations of the rules we see today have actually made the game less attractive? I’d love to see an exhibition match like that.

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