LONG READ ‘Selection is everything. Borthwick’s England needs to reflect the character of the league the players are drawn from’

As the game clock ticked down slowly to zero at the old Boston Garden and the fans stamped in the aisles and chanted the countdown, a curl of blue smoke would inevitably begin to rise in a widening gyre above the wooden parquet floor. When his beloved Boston Celtics were marching towards yet another NBA championship, ‘Red’ Auerbach was famous for lighting up his victory cigar before proceedings had even finished.

It was not so much a sign of arrogance as a statement of vision, because ‘Red’ was always one step ahead of the game, as a coach or a general manager. He won 16 titles in a 29-year span and was one of the game’s great pioneers. He first developed the idea of the ‘fast break’ offence and the importance of ‘the sixth man’ as a game-changer off the bench. He picked the first all African-American starting five in 1964 and appointed Bill Russell as the first black coach in the NBA two years later.

Red Auerbach insisted that most of the important work was done before the opening whistle: ‘Selection is nine-tenths of coaching success…some people believe you win with the five best players, but I found out that you win with the five who fit together best’.

It’s not about shoe-horning players into a rigid system, nor a matter of picking the best player in every position and hoping they will somehow gel as a unit.

The key ingredient in all of his teams was balance in selection, and a unique ability to approach each of his players in a way they, not he, would understand best. As Russell later observed in his autobiography Second Wind: ‘Red used to brag that he could dream up a thousand different reasons for winning, but his real trick was that he could apply each one of those reasons to the right player at the right time.’

There could be no clearer clarion call to arms, no better mission statement pinned to the dressing room wall at England’s base camp in Bagshot right now. It’s not about shoe-horning players into a rigid system, nor is it a matter of picking the best player in every position and hoping they will somehow gel as a unit.

Steve Borthwick’s job as selector-in-chief is twofold: to find a team which reflects the way things are being done in the league from which he draws his players; and to pick people who fit together the best and work well in combination with one another, ahead of the inaugural Nations Championship fixture against world champions South Africa on 4 July at Ellis Park. For now at least, the more intricate tactical X’s and O’s can wait.

It was a litmus test the man himself would admit that he failed at the Six Nations. Take a look at the following table, illustrating the play-balance changes throughout the tournament:

In the first-round game versus Wales, Sale’s master of the airwaves George Ford kicked 26 times from No.10, 17 times more than any other game in the championship. Fast forward two games later, and the 33-year-old pivot was only kicking 10% of the ball he received against Ireland. Instead, he was passing or running for his life on 51 occasions.

When Fin Smith, the playmaker-in-chief for the best running and passing attack in the Prem was selected for the final two matches, he was initially required to kick the ball more than Ford in the previous two rounds. England kicked the ball away on 38 occasions against the Azzurri, only four less than their total of 42 versus Wales. A semblance of balance was only restored in the last game of the tournament versus France.

Both Ford and Smith could be forgiven for not knowing whether they were coming or going. The shifting set of demands imposed on the two number 10s created a ripple effect outside them, with ‘Borthers’ juggling two different inside centres and Tommy Freeman bouncing from 13 out to wing and back again. It was largely a wasted international season for Freeman at the spot where he will probably end up playing his best footy.

With the last two spots in the back row, Borthwick could do a lot, lot worse than combine the unique twin talents of Henry Pollock and Ben Earl at number 8 and number 7 respectively.

England are no closer to knowing their best midfield combination at 10, 12 and 13 now than they were at the start of 2026. If their performance in Paris is the best yardstick for the future, then Fin Smith stays at outside-half, ‘Gorgeous George’ Furbank comes into full-back as the best foil for Fin, and Borthwick rows back to either an established mix at Saints [Smith-Dingwall-Freeman] or the duo of Ollie Lawrence and a resurgent Henry Slade.

If either Gloucester’s Seb Atkinson or West Country convert Benhard Janse van Rensburg are good enough to inject themselves into that mix, so be it – but Atkinson for one will need to improve on his ratio of tackle success at the Six Nations [68%], while Van Rensburg will need to be more active in wide cover than he was against Saints in one infamous recent fixture.

The other area of selection which will cause Borthwick the biggest headache is in the back five forwards. Northampton Saints carry or pass the ball more than 300 times per game, more any other club in the Prem – yes, even including the Bristol Bears – so you need an extra ball-carrier or two in the second row and/or loose forwards.

If Maro Itoje is not in the mix, a combination of George Martin, Alex Coles and Ollie Chessum can do the business at 4, 5 and 6. With the last two spots in the back row, Borthwick could do a lot, lot worse than combine the unique twin talents of Henry Pollock and Ben Earl at number 8 and number 7 respectively. According to his club coach Phil Dowson, Pollock’s time to start important games of rugby has most definitely arrived:

“I’m not going to use the word ‘vilified’ [but] a lot of flak came his way after the game at Welford Road [against Leicester Tigers].

“You can talk about loads of things that Henry does really well, but [primarily it’s] his ability to learn from experience and apply that very quickly and effectively – how he talks to referees has changed in probably about three weeks.

“How he deals with confrontations has changed a little bit as well. I hope that gets noticed, as well as how quickly he matures and makes those decisions. I’m really pleased that he’s a bright lad.

“His power per kilogramme is nuts, as are his ability to beat players with his speed and his ability to understand when to pass the ball and when not to.

“He’s never looked for controversy. I don’t think he’s gone out there and gone, ‘I’m going to wind up Ollie Chessum and see what happens here’.

“He’s under more scrutiny than probably anybody else potentially in the league and I think he’s dealt with it really well.”

Pollock’s chance to redeem his reactiveness in the Welford Road fiasco came in last Friday’s Prem semi-final against the same opponents, and the response was emphatic. He enjoyed the moments of mini-success when they came, but above all he demonstrated a matchless volume of work and recovery rate, which had to be seen to be fully believed:

That’s one involvement for almost every minute the game lasted, and in just one area of the game he had 10 more carries and 87 more metres run than the next best man on either side. The profile of his involvements was also significant – eight tackle busts, two line-break assists and a pair of defensive breakdown pilfer penalties to boot.

Pollock’s carrying style follows the Northampton template. He is not a blockbuster like Tom Willis or Jasper Wiese, the man who could be staring him down from the opposite end of the field at Ellis Park, but he is nimble and offers a greater variety of threat than either in the jaws of the defence. Not for nothing are the Saints the club with the best gain-line efficiency in Europe [67%], and the team which converts the highest proportion of clean breaks into tries in the Prem [48%].

The secret of the HP sauce is that he can carry the ball effectively inside or out:

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— William Bishop (@RPvids1994) June 14, 2026

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— William Bishop (@RPvids1994) June 14, 2026

In the second clip, Pollock survives not one, but two head-high clashes with George Martin in the space of 20 seconds; in the first he enjoys three repeat involvements on the carry in less than half a minute. The carries are impactful but it is the final pull-back ball which does the damage and creates an opportunity down the left sideline.

There is no other number eight in England who can play as effectively to space as Pollock:

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— William Bishop (@RPvids1994) June 14, 2026

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— William Bishop (@RPvids1994) June 14, 2026

Pollock has the speed and elusiveness to beat backs on the outside and he knows when to keep ball and when to pass. In that final clip, he is always available in support at the finish of the play, and he has the instincts of a No.9 timing his lines of running on to the ball-carrier:

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— William Bishop (@RPvids1994) June 14, 2026

Borthwick may lack the sheer chutzpah of a Red Auerbach, and there will almost certainly not be any kindling of the pre-victory cigar at Ellis Park. But if he can pick the right 15 players to start, and the matchday 23 which fits together best, then the red rose is more than capable of giving the springbok all the trouble it can handle on the day.

Selection is everything and that is where England fell down so badly at the Six Nations. Cohesion trumps talent, and Borthwick’s selections in July need to reflect the character and momentum of the domestic league from which all the players are drawn, approaching each one of them in a way they, not he, will understand the best. Oh, and add a little taste of spicy HP sauce to the Bokke braai in Jo’burg, just for good measure.