3 hours ago
12
I’ve loved the approach Steve Borthwick has brought to England. He’s set a long-term goal of winning the 2027 World Cup, but not at the expense of immediate success.
That is how it should be. As an international coach, there is nothing more important than your next game. That applies very much to England with Fiji in mind on Saturday.
My message to Borthwick would be to treat this autumn campaign like the latter stages of a World Cup. The four matches with Australia, Fiji, New Zealand and Argentina should be used, in theory, to mimic the last-16 match, quarter-final, semi-final and final of a global showpiece. All being well, those are the stages England will hope to reach in Australia in 2027.
If England were facing Pacific Island opposition in a World Cup last-16 game on Saturday, would they make wholesale changes? The answer, unequivocally, is no. So, if that’s the case, why should this weekend be any different? The reality is it shouldn’t be.
Previous regimes may well have taken the decision to make significant changes to the side for this weekend. But at this stage of England’s development, that is not the right move.
I might be wrong, but it is also one I don’t expect Borthwick to make. He is right to place a lot of value in cohesion and key on-field relationships - and to that end it would be totally counterproductive to rip up the spine of the team.
I have really enjoyed how Steve Borthwick has approached this England team - set the goal of winning the World Cup, but don't lose focus on the game in front of you
England cannot underestimate Fiji, who ran them close in the World Cup quarter-final in 2023 and beat them at Twickenham in a tournament warm-up
Previous regimes may well have taken the decision to make significant changes to the side for this weekend. But at this stage of England’s development, that is not the right move
The message for Fiji has to be simple – more of the same, but a bit better please. England were good without being great to beat the Wallabies. But they still scored four tries and impressed with their physicality and defence.
As I wrote after the game, one area for significant improvement was the accuracy of the breakdown. The other is improving the attack - and the two are strongly linked.
Tommy Freeman has to continue at No 13. There is no point picking him at outside centre for one game and then ditching the experiment. England would have liked to have seen Freeman with more ball in hand last week. But he did not have a bad game by any stretch of the imagination.
Even if Freddie Steward and Tom Roebuck are not fit to start at full back and on the wing respectively due to hand and ankle knocks, Freeman must not be moved back to a wide berth. He must remain the centre of attention.
And I mean must. The temptation if Steward and Roebuck don’t make Fiji would be to switch Freeman again. But that would be a total waste of time. It won’t help the player one bit.
It's not like England are short of back-three options. Even if Steward isn’t fit, Henry Arundell is a great full back. For me, Marcus Smith is not and never will be an international No 15. Arundell can play wing too, as can Cadan Murley.
However, if a wing spot opens up, I would pick Adam Radwan, who is currently in the England A squad preparing to face an All Blacks XV in Bath on Saturday.
Radwan trained with Borthwick’s England ahead of the Australia game. But I thought he was unfortunate to be left out of the squad for the series opener. I think he’s been very, very good for Leicester.
Tommy Freeman wasn't at his fluid best against Australia but he must retain the No 13 shirt
If there's any opening in England's back three, I'd love to see Leicester's Adam Radwan drafted in from the A squad
I think Ellis Genge will probably start on the bench again, but then come back in to start against the All Blacks next week
Radwan’s pace has never been in doubt. But he’s improved his finishing significantly and made strides in his all-round game. I’d like to see him make an England debut if not this week, then in the very near future.
The other thing to consider with Freeman is that 13 is the most difficult position on the pitch to play. You need to have top-end pace, great awareness and passing and be a strong defender. There is no doubt in my mind Freeman has all those attributes and more. But he will only improve them and settle into the position the longer he plays there.
The other area for Borthwick to consider is up front. England’s forward replacements made a big impact against Australia, playing a significant role as Borthwick's side cruised clear late on in the 25-7 win. I’m sure the likes of Ellis Genge would have been disappointed not to start. It’s a gamble for England to go with some of their best players on the bench. I think the status quo will be maintained for Fiji - but then the likes of Genge will come in and start against New Zealand next week.
What has got Borthwick to this point, with eight wins in a row, has been a clear and coherent selection plan, teamed up with a suitable game strategy. Borthwick combined both brilliantly against Australia.
To keep the momentum going, I’d like England to stick rather than twist. And that means Freeman at centre, even if Steward and Roebuck are lame.
