SIR CLIVE WOODWARD: Eddie Jones and Warren Gatland loved a pre-match mind game. They weren't my style but there's one point I WOULD be making if I were Steve Borthwick

In my coaching career, I only really remember getting involved in a pre-match war of words with another opposition coach once. I always thought doing so was a bit childish.

But in Melbourne in 2003, I did get into a spat with the then Australia boss Eddie Jones over whether the roof would be open or closed for the match.

Jones wanted the roof closed to suit Australia’s brand of attacking rugby. As England coach, I wanted to play a fast game myself, but at the time I believed the roof should be open. It wasn’t a big deal to me either way, even if Jones tried to poke the bear.

‘England have been developing a style of play which is very expansive, but they have a tendency under pressure to go back to a safety-first game,’ Jones said pre-match. ‘I'll be very interested to see if in Australia on a hard, fast track, when the side is under pressure, they continue to play that style of rugby or revert to their cultural game.’

In the end, the roof was shut but it mattered little. England scored three tries to win 25-14 and we would repeat the trick a few months later to lift that year’s World Cup.

Many coaches use media mind games to try and gain their team an advantage before kick-off. Jones and Warren Gatland were masters of the art in their pomp. These days, South Africa’s Rassie Erasmus isn’t afraid to drop a pre-match bomb or two. 

I was never really a fan of that approach. On occasion, I’d walk into a press conference and tell a journalist or two to ask me a specific question which I would then answer with the points I wanted to get across. 

But that was as far as I went, albeit I would always answer questions honestly and fully. I’d never shirk giving my opinion and felt like it was important to do so.

I wouldn’t say Steve Borthwick and Scott Robertson have engaged in a war of words ahead of England’s crunch clash with New Zealand on Saturday. That would be an exaggeration. 

But both coaches have suggested their opposition kicks more than the other. And both men seem to want to position themselves as underdog.

To me, the first of those points is irrelevant. Who cares who kicks more? Against Australia, England used a kick-dominated strategy to win and win well. If that’s what it takes to emerge victorious, then so be it. 

Kicking is often framed in a negative context. But don’t forget that used well, it can be a very effective attacking threat. England have done that well so far this autumn.

Ben Earl and Henry Pollock’s tries against the Wallabies came from kicks reclaimed by Tom Roebuck. Against Fiji, Fin Smith cross-kicked well to Immanuel Feyi-Waboso, identifying the space out wide.

New Zealand, for all their attacking strengths, also put boot to ball regularly. That’s international rugby. All the best teams do it. 

At Test level, you can’t just run the ball and play Harlem Globetrotters rugby. More importantly, if I was in Borthwick or Robertson’s shoes, I’d be plotting an element of surprise.

The art to coaching at the highest level is doing what your opposition least expects. If New Zealand are expecting England to kick everything, then on occasion I’d be looking to catch them napping with a running game, so long as it’s done in the right areas of the field of course.

It would be stupid to say the least for England not to have a trick up their sleeve. If they just do as the All Blacks are expecting, they’ll be ready.

As I’ve made clear, I do believe England are favourites for this game and it would show a champion mindset if Borthwick as coach embraced that position. That does go against his nature.

I don’t think he’s the sort of coach who is going to come out swinging in a press conference. But there is nothing wrong with embracing being in the position of favourites, so long as it’s done with full respect for the opposition in mind. 

I always wanted to be a favourite, purely because favourites tend to win.

I remember when we arrived in Australia ahead of the 2003 World Cup, an Australian journalist asked me who I thought were the favourites for the tournament. He pointed out his view it was either the Wallabies or New Zealand. I was surprised by this and responded that based on our recent record, I thought England had to be considered the best bet. His response remains with me to this day. ‘Good point,’ he said.

Players do read the media, so as a head coach what you say is very, very important. Your messaging is vital. It wouldn’t be arrogant or over the top for England to be open and say they believe they can and should win this weekend. That’s very much the case.

The best players react to and play well under the utmost pressure. It’s a huge, huge game. 

But regardless of kicking and any pre-match rhetoric, if England’s players perform to the best of their ability and all carry out their jobs to the letter, then the nation should have plenty to celebrate.