LONG READ Mick Cleary: 'Ford still has the legs and lungs. And he certainly has the game. Pick him.'

England, after a tub-thumping Series win out in Argentina, are looking to build on their progress, with their British & Irish Lions back in the mix. With Australia, Fiji, Argentina and New Zealand descending on the Allianz Stadium in South-West London, Steve Borthwick knows there are a multitude of pitfalls that could stymie that progress. Here’s what he need to do to stay in the black…

The Mood Music

The Rugby Championship has set the tone, so too the Women’s World Cup –   compelling competitions with stacks of drama and good rugby. What constitutes good rugby is a round-the-houses sort of question. One person’s meat is another’s poison. The Rugby Championship gave us smart, vivid passages of play with intent, imagination and cleverness at every turn, brought to life by a cast of star turns, from the multi-trick pony that is New Zealand’s Ardie Savea and the clever, bothersome bundle that is scrum-half Cam Roigard through to the likes of dazzling Springbok duo, Damian Willemse and Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu. Up in the bright lights too is the Pumas’ man-who-never-ages, hooker, Julian Montoya with centre, Joseph Suaalii, representing the born-again Wallabies.

How many of Borthwick’s Englishmen have claimed such rave reviews over the last couple of years in the manner that Ellie Kildunne did for England Women? England have shown glimmers of decent form, firstly in the Six Nations and then impressively in Argentina but it’s time for players such as Ollie Lawrence or Tommy Freeman or, maybe, a Henry Arundell or Adam Radwan to make the November sporting audience sit up and take notice. Maro Itoje has public recognition and it’s time for others to earn the sort of status that a Jerry Guscott or Jason Robinson or Lawrence Dallaglio did down the years. Kildunne now has a higher profile than any of the men. And rightly so. The England full-back has shown the way. It’s time for the men to get their act together.

Who To Pick at No 10 ? (Ans: George Ford)

A surfeit of riches? In some ways, yes. The fact that there are three prime contenders for one spot can cloud judgement, however, an equation complicated by bench replacement needs. Well, Steve Borthwick, forget about all the jiggery-pokery strategies for your bench, stacking it with six or seven forwards and forcing you to consider Marcus as a utility full-back. No, no and no again. Smith is not a full-back. To consider him as one – even though, to be fair, he has done okay (at best) in that role – has done no one any favours and certainly not Smith. The Harlequin should only be regarded as a fly-half, capable of adapting his game as he showed so tellingly in the much-relished victory over Saracens last weekend. And yes, surprise, surprise he can kick a ball (of course he can, only he has been pigeon-holed as a maverick hitch-kicking runner at the line and nothing else).

Fin Smith, meanwhile, is at one of those awkward points in his career where he appears to have stalled on an upward trajectory. In truth, he hasn’t. It only appears that way after an underwhelming Lions tour in terms of the opportunities that came his way. Smith lost out on the versatility front and so had to play third fiddle behind Marcus and Finn Russell, the out-and-out front-runner for the Lions starting shirt. And that brings us to the man who did thrive across the summer months, George Ford, the lynchpin of an assured England showing in Argentina. Ford took his chance and showed that he is as keen as ever to claim that No 10 England shirt. Forget any nonsense about his age and England’s supposed need to build for the future. The future is here, in the present, the pressing obligation being the need to win all four tests in November. The Rugby World Cup will look after itself if England keep on winning. And Ford is only 32. Dan Carter was 33 when New Zealand won the World Cup in 2015. Ford has the legs and the lungs, still. And he certainly has the game. Pick him.

Attacking Shape

Rugby doesn’t do ‘signings’ in the way that football does where Sven and El Tel and now Thomas Tuchel acquire (unwarranted) Messiah status no sooner than they have put pen to paper on a contract. Well, if there is anything that should excite such interest it is the bringing into the fold of Lee Blackett. In much the way that Top 14 Man of the Moment, Jack Willis (just recently celebrated at a gala Parisian event as France’s best player) hit the heights through cock-up rather than design so too has Blackett’s star risen also through the unfortunate circumstances of Wasps going out of business. Willis had to get on his Norman Tebbit bike and find work, so too Blackett.

Both have got stuck into new ventures and both have thrived. Blackett’s arrival into the England camp on a long-term basis is the best signing of the summer, Borthwick being quick to move to secure his services from Bath after Blackett did such a good number for England as they scored 13 tries in three matches (two tests against Los Pumas and one against the USA) showing a willingness to use all facets of their game to attack the opposition. He brought much more sharpness and clarity to Bath’s attack as they became Premiership championship and he has been tasked with doing the same with England. November has to be show time.

The Centre Partnership

England have been through more centre partnerships than the Conservatives have managed leaders over the last decade, chopping and changing on a whim. Injury, to be fair, has played into that conundrum too and every finger has to be crossed that the travails of Ollie Lawrence are behind him and that he can go on over the next two years towards RWC 2027 to establish himself in that England midfield in the manner that a Damian de Allende has done for South Africa or Jordie Barrett for New Zealand. They are all very different players but they are the bedrock of their back lines: forceful, dependable and potent.

Lawrence can fill that role for England. As a 12 or as a 13? His preference probably lies in the outside channel where has been so productive for his club. He’s got pace and he’s got footwork. But he’s also got size and in the England context my own preference would be to see him line up at 12 with Tommy Freeman in the outside channel. England have candidates lining up who might well be able to do a job for England – the likes of Seb Atkinson or Max Ojomoh or Fraser Dingwall. Henry Slade, too, is also still there. For me, though, Lawrence’s all-round power allied to Freeman’s arcing runs present the best option. Will Carling and Jeremy Guscott, Will Greenwood and Mike Tindall – it’s high time England had another established centre duo.

Final Word – Don’t Give Up On Jack Willis

Just a thought after seeing those Paris podium pics recently with Jack Willis celebrated by his peers. Is he really not going to feature in the build-up towards the World Cup in Australia? What a shame that would be. Willis was forced overseas. That factor alone should be enough to make him a special case in the eyes of the RFU.

Of course, England do have a host of terrific No 7s in their ranks,  be it Sam Underhill or the Curry brothers or Henry Pollock. Willis would have a rare old scrap on his hands to get that shirt. But how riveting that would be to see. Think again, RFU.