'He wants us to be dangerous': How Lee Blackett, the yin to Steve Borthwick's yang, has transformed England into an attacking force

Lee Blackett has never been afraid of long hours. When coaching at Bath and Scarlets, he would often begin his commute from his Leicestershire home at 4am.

But England’s new attacking supremo has far, far more in his locker than just pure hard work.

Ask anyone in English or indeed British rugby about Blackett and his reputation is the same. He is widely seen as one of the brightest coaching minds in the game and his permanent addition to Steve Borthwick’s national side for this autumn and beyond is a real coup. Borthwick has, unfairly at times, been seen as a conservative coach.

But in England’s current eight-game winning streak, he and his backroom team have shown impressive signs of progressing and Blackett’s signing will only add to that.

Blackett might not be a total maverick, but he is the yin to Borthwick’s yang.

‘A couple of years ago I did a podcast with James Haskell,’ Blackett said recently. ‘Hask spoke about me and said, “You always gave us confidence at Wasps”. Him telling me that made me go, “you know what, that is me”. I want players running out confident.’

A talented back who played for Rotherham and Leeds, Blackett cut his coaching teeth at Wasps, where he played a key role in delivering an enterprising game plan.

He was initially an assistant before stepping up to be the main man when Dai Young departed the club. Now, at only 42, he has reached Test level and deservedly so.

‘He came in and added unbelievably well to our attack,’ says England fly-half George Ford of Blackett's first involvement with Borthwick’s men, in the Americas in July.

‘He has got a very positive mindset. He wants us to be dangerous and go and score some tries. It was great, my first proper time working with him. I had heard brilliant things from the Bath lads. The best thing I can say about Lee is he is so authentic. He is completely himself around the environment. Everyone loved his company. I am looking forward to working with him in the future.’

At Wasps, Blackett got the best out of flair players such as jet-heeled winger Christian Wade and South Africa star Willie le Roux. But when the Coventry-based club entered administration, he was left without a job.

The Scarlets, in Llanelli, offered him a lifeline. So instant was his impact in west Wales that one of the country’s star former internationals urged the Welsh Rugby Union to sign him up for national duty immediately.   

Scarlets boss Dwayne Peel says of his former backs coach: ‘He had a great impact with us. Lee is obviously very knowledgeable. But he’s got a very good way with a playing group. His character is infectious. That was the big thing I found with him. The level of detail in his coaching was very, very high. But people took to him. The emotion he brings rubs off on other people.

‘He’s good fun, very humorous. I enjoyed working with him and I’m delighted for him he’s got the opportunity with England. 

'He used to stay down a couple of nights a week with us. When he came, it was under difficult circumstances. He was looking for work and we had an opening. It worked well for him. He used to do a lot of commuting to us and it was the same with Bath.

‘We used to give him the captain’s run off on a Friday. But you’d often get a phone call from him when he was driving. His monthly bill must be pretty high! His sense of humour was very Welsh in a way. There were lots of jokes, quite specific. Welsh players like taking the mick out of each other and he seemed to enjoy that!’

As a proud Chester-born Englishman, it was always the lure of the rose that drove Blackett and there was never any real danger of him being lost to Wales. His talent saw him snapped up by Bath head of rugby Johann van Graan and he helped the team to three trophies last season, while also working with England A. 

England’s pathway team is a breeding ground not only for players, but also coaches. And Blackett, who worked with England on an interim basis in the summer before joining full-time, is a fine example. 

So, what is Blackett’s philosophy? What will he bring to England?

‘I’m just a fan watching the game and I don’t want to be bored,’ he told The Telegraph while still at Bath.

Such a statement will be music to the ears of England fans, many of whom have seen some turgid displays at Twickenham over the years despite paying top dollar.

But England aren’t all of a sudden going to start playing Barbarians-style rugby now Blackett has joined. He is well aware the high speed and intensity at international level does not permit that. But he has undoubtedly already delivered a mindset shift to England’s players.

In the 2-0 series win in Argentina in July when England’s top stars were on Lions duty, the team attacked superbly in what was Blackett’s first campaign with them. There was a greater emphasis placed on strike plays from set-piece and an increased willingness to go to the wide channels early.

In the 25-7 defeat of Australia on Saturday, England weren’t ruthless enough. The wet weather and kick-heavy game plan meant the backs didn’t have much ball. Electric wing Immanuel Feyi-Waboso had just six touches. England know that has to improve and it surely will do. 

Blackett's mantra is to play the ball to space when it’s on and be brave in possession. Such a mantra is backed up by Borthwick at the top of tree. England have told their players not to be afraid to make a mistake. It has been emphasised they will not be dropped for doing so. The key thing is taking the right option at the right time.

‘Lee wants us to attack, run, move the ball and score tries,’ Ford says. ‘But, at the same time, he says it is not realistic to do that every time we get the ball. It is about decision making and the bit that sets him apart is detail. It’s little details to break that defence down. We would then practise it in the week.’

Attack can take many forms. And it was noticeable that against Australia, England used kicking to score. Such a tactic is often maligned. But deployed well, it can be very effective. Tries for Ben Earl and Henry Pollock in the Wallabies win both came from pinpoint kicks won back brilliantly by Tom Roebuck. England can now attack in a variety of ways.

It must be noted that before Blackett’s arrival, England had shown promising signs of expansion in the Six Nations when Richard Wigglesworth headed up the attack. Wigglesworth is perhaps undervalued outside the camp, but he and Borthwick have done a superb job in progressing England’s development both in terms of style and squad depth.

It is hoped Blackett, who still lives in Leicestershire for family reasons, with his daughter a very talented swimmer, will add to that with two years to go until the 2027 World Cup. It is a tournament Borthwick has set his sights on. Blackett is a key part of his project.    

Blackett’s age also means he understands the modern game and crucially, is also able to connect with the ‘Gen Z’ players of today on a personal level. Gone are the days of older, statesmanlike coaches barking orders from afar. Now, coaches must be hands-on, but also build personal relationships with their players. Blackett can do both. 

For Fiji on Saturday, Borthwick has surprisingly ripped up his starting team, making seven changes from the one which beat the Wallabies. With Marcus Smith coming in at full back and Fin Smith replacing Ford at No10, Borthwick and Blackett have a different dynamic to work with. One wonders if a total of nine changes across the matchday 23 will impact cohesion. England, of course, will hope it doesn't.

‘Lee brings some really good clarity to the attack,’ says England centre Fraser Dingwall, a vice-captain this weekend and a key figure in the attack as a midfielder.

‘He's got a great attacking mind and so the opportunities he sees will be slightly different at times to other people. I still think the attack was progressing really nicely before he came in and so having him come in has doubled down and excelled it even more. When you bring in a coach of his stature, it just pushes things even further forward.

‘He's really keen to keep expanding our attack and keep elevating our power game because it's something that he's obviously done with all the teams he's worked with.’