Despite a tortuous losing run, an upturn in attacking ambition has Matt Sherratt's men dreaming of an unlikely win in Cardiff
England A will host Ireland A at Ashton Gate Stadium on Sunday at 1pm, and the match is live and free to watch on RugbyPass TV.
Leicester Tigers scrum-half Jack van Poortvliet will captain the England A side that will take on Ireland A on Sunday at Bristol's Ashton Gate Stadium.
As Callum Chick led the Newcastle Falcons in a raucous rendition of Blaydon Races, the song they belt out in the changing rooms after a win, he realised that half the players didn’t know the words. That was hardly surprising as the victory over Exeter Chiefs ended a debilitating 25-game losing run in the Gallagher Premiership for a squad that is undergoing yet another rebuild, this time under the direction of Steve Diamond, the new director of rugby.
Borthwick's chutzpah was difficult to digest given how this was an Italy, pulverized at the Rugby World Cup by New Zealand and France, coming up against that tournament’s bronze medal winners.
The Six Nations is a very different beast to the World Cup and England fans will demand not just wins, but wins with style.
Joe Marler arrived upstairs on Wednesday afternoon at England base camp in Le Touquet-Paris-Plage with an ice pack curiously wrapped around his left knee.
Like a gambler clutching his last dime at a one-arm bandit in Reno, Steve Borthwick is firmly clinging to his coin – the September 9 Rugby World Cup opener with Argentina – as if it will be the saving grace that will change his life.
The England openside collapsed to his knees, fists clinched, momentarily overwhelmed by delight over a mis-executed lineout by Ireland in the first half.
Steve Borthwick's selections have heaped pressure on Owen Farrell and straitjacketed the England attack.