STEVE BORTHWICK meets SIR CLIVE WOODWARD: England's battle plan to win the World Cup, the two things head coach wants from his team this autumn and the letter that stunned Sir Clive

Almost a quarter of a century ago, following a 2001 Six Nations defeat by Ireland, I wrote to all my players as the then head coach of England.

That heartbreaking Dublin loss, in a game delayed until October by a foot and mouth outbreak, meant the team missed out on a Grand Slam for the second straight year. In response, I wanted to reinforce some key and forthright messages.

Never in a million years, did I think I would be reminded of them 24 years later when I arrived at Pennyhill Park to sit down with Steve Borthwick – a former squad member of mine and the current England boss. ‘There is a lot of wisdom in this letter,’ Borthwick said with a big grin, handing over the note he received from me. ‘I love your first couple of paragraphs.’

Its title was ‘absolutely no turning back’ and at the bottom, I’d added a hand-written message to Borthwick. It read: ‘Well done. Great attitude all week. Close to starting in game versus Australia. Watching closely next two weeks.’

My initial reaction to receiving the letter from Borthwick told you everything. I was stunned. I couldn’t believe Borthwick had not only kept it for so long but also brought it along to our interview.

It was just a brilliant way to start the conversation – one I had really looked forward to for such a long time. When he took on the England job in 2022, Borthwick phoned me and asked to meet. I was more than happy to share any help or advice I could give to a man I worked closely with in the past as a player and who I really wanted to succeed.

Since then, we have met a number of times in private and stayed in regular contact.

But this was our first public sit down together.

‘I keep everything I think can be helpful – any stuff that can’t be shared easily or read in a handbook,’ Borthwick said. ‘I was on the bench that day in Ireland. And Clive, you didn’t even put me on! As a player, I tried to be knowledgeable. But you can never know as much as when you’re a coach. That letter sticks out to me. I kept it amongst a lot of other things.

‘Through the period I played under you, I remember making notes and thinking at the time it was a special environment. I wasn’t in the 2003 World Cup-winning squad.

‘But I was involved in the preparation and observed the work you did to create an England team that was the best in the world. It was wonderful to be a part of that.

‘Success leaves clues. You’re the only coach who has led the England men’s team to win the World Cup, so you are the most successful coach in English rugby history. It makes sense to me to talk to people like that.’

These were, of course, very kind words for me to hear.

But I hope Borthwick knows he has all the tools and the opportunity to emulate my team’s success. Indeed, he can go so much further. Seeking advice and being a sponge for knowledge is crucial. But as a coach, believing in yourself and your approach is what matters most. That is what your players respond to.

That said, it says much about Borthwick that he picked up the phone to me. It would have been far easier not to. I remember doing the same when I took on the role, speaking with my predecessor Jack Rowell.

Borthwick is the only England coach to have called me since I left. I do not say that to sound glib, but rather to emphasise the humility and confidence I believe it shows Borthwick has. I’ve been hugely impressed by England’s development under Borthwick to the point where the first and most important thing to do when we met this time was to congratulate him on the job he’s done. I’m very excited about what his team can achieve in their four crunch November fixtures, starting against Australia on Saturday. It’s a huge autumn for England.

In the summer, while their best players were on Lions duty, the team’s performances in Argentina really stood out. These matches were far more interesting to me and a far bigger story than the events in Australia. England played with a pace I haven’t seen from the national side for a long time. Borthwick clearly had every player chomping at the bit and delighted to be playing for England despite the fact some might have been disappointed to miss out on the Lions. Borthwick’s England side can make a significant statement, with Fiji, New Zealand and Argentina following the Wallabies at Twickenham.

‘I’m proudly English. This is my country. I care about this team,’ Borthwick told me, his passion for the top job in English rugby radiating out of him.

‘As a young boy, I grew up dreaming of playing for this team and then I had the opportunity to captain it. I’ll still care about this team in 20 or 30 years, as you do now. I want our team to be the best in the world.

‘I am proudly patriotic and proud to be coaching my country. I’ll give it everything I have to make us successful. It’s what you did. You’re still invested now.

‘You’ve supported me and been willing to give up your time to share your knowledge and experiences because you want this team to win. That’s an immense credit to you, but I think it also shows once English rugby is inside you, it’s always with you.’

So, what is the goal of Borthwick’s England? His response is unequivocal and entirely the right one.

‘To win the World Cup in 2027,’ he said. ‘We want to win the next World Cup, but we also want to win this week as well. How I describe it to the players and coaches is how are we going to put ourselves in the best position to win in 2027?

‘The job in hand is to win this Saturday. If we have too many people thinking two years ahead, then you’re not concentrating on the here and now. But we’re open about our long-term goal.’

My coaching experience tells me that to win a World Cup, you need to have a world-class player in every position in your team. And I think Borthwick is close to getting to that stage now, even if he is not quite there yet.

His squad is the best, I believe since 2003. He has enviable strength in depth to choose from across the board and England have won their last seven Tests. But to me, the team’s success in the past year has been about more than just results and names on a chart. Borthwick has his team playing in a way that I believe really is capable of making them World Cup contenders. I’ve always maintained that in Test rugby, speed is key. For too long, England have been too slow. Not now.

Borthwick has brought an all-court game back to English rugby. Not only has it been successful, it has been good to watch too. That’s vital. But it can still go up a notch and that is where selection comes in. I cannot help but feel there is a big selection brewing that can take this team to the next level, just like Jason Robinson took my team to new heights.

Ahead of the Australia match, the focus will be on who Borthwick will pick at No 10. Will George Ford retain his shirt from the summer? Or will Fin or Marcus Smith return after both made the Lions tour? But for me, regardless of who is at fly-half, England do still have one big question to answer and that is the midfield. The 12 and 13 positions are far from locked down. And they are nothing short of vital at the highest level, especially the 12 shirt which for me has always been the absolute key to success at the very top level. ‘I think the core of the team is there. The consistency is there,’ Borthwick said.

‘Players can’t be looking over their shoulders all the time. They do need to feel competition for places, but they can’t be fearing that if they make one mistake, they’ll get dropped.

‘In the letter you wrote to me, you talked about how you wanted your England team to play and the message was to play fast and be brave. The familiarity players have with their team-mates gets stronger the more games they play together.

‘And they have to feel backed. But at the end of the day – and you know this better than anyone – you’re accountable for your decisions as coach. Lots of people want to have a say on big issues but have no accountability. We need to move from learning how to win tight Test matches to going into matches with absolute belief we are going to win.

‘Secondly, I want the team to have a belief in how we play. This team has great pace and great playmakers. I want the team to play fast and aggressive. I want to see that against Australia.’

In conversation with Borthwick, it quickly becomes abundantly clear he places significant importance on his team being made up of tried and tested combinations. He wants his players to know what the man next to them is going to do.

In many ways, it is commonsense.

Chopping and changing a team does not help with success in international rugby.

Consistency in selection seems set to define England under Borthwick. Hallelujah.

Gone are the days of Eddie Jones’ merry-go-round.

‘A player from outside the group has to play very, very well to usurp someone who’s already in the room,’ said Borthwick.

My opinion is Borthwick must play Tommy Freeman at outside centre.

He has been a try machine on the wing for Northampton, England and the Lions. Freeman scored four times for Saints against Saracens and to me is a natural fit for the 13 jersey.

Borthwick continued: ‘There are a couple of positions where we’re still waiting for someone to come and own the shirt.

‘I think everyone can see centre is one of those areas. We’ve got a number of good players in that area, but we’ve got to ensure the right combination is there.

‘That’s one of the things we’re working on. Fraser Dingwall is a real glue player. A lot of the stuff he does you don’t see, but he makes other players around him better.

‘Ollie Lawrence has the potential to be a different sort of 12 – a power runner. Max Ojomoh is playing well and there’s Seb Atkinson too who is unfortunately now injured.

‘He was great in the summer. I was hugely impressed by him. His fitness is incredible. He’s one of the fittest in the world.’

Looking forward, I would love to see Atkinson at 12 and Freeman at 13. For me, those two are the final part of the jigsaw.

In 1999, I made Pennyhill Park in Bagshot our permanent training base. Returning brought back a rush of emotions and a whole range of different memories. Some good. Some sad.

Most importantly, I was happy to see my picture still on the wall in the hotel reception!

Pennyhill is, however, now almost unrecognisable from when I was coach. It has all the facilities a Test team could ask for. England don’t lack for anything. There can be no excuses, and Borthwick again should take huge credit for the environment he’s created as it does make a difference.

A defining campaign awaits. England can win all four of their November matches and that includes beating the All Blacks. To be taken seriously as genuine World Cup contenders, they must have such lofty ambitions. Borthwick is undoubtedly happy.

He is enjoying the role. Indeed, I can see greater confidence and swagger in him since our first meeting in January 2023 which is fantastic. I found him to be open and engaging which he has always been with me – the exact opposite of how he is often characterised.

I was also pleased to hear his side has planned for all number of different scenarios when on the field, something I was big on. As a coach, I’d write various different match situations on the board while in meetings. We wouldn’t leave the room until we’d agreed on the right response. I wanted the players to have a ‘T-CUP’ mantra – thinking correctly under pressure.

I don’t think other England teams have been successful in doing this.

Borthwick’s England are ticking all the right boxes. They have a team full of young, talented players and an excellent squad culture. Borthwick’s attitude will rub off on those around him. It was also interesting for me to hear that he does still send the odd letter as coach, even in the modern world where WhatsApp and other forms of communication are more common. The sky is the limit for this England team. I wish Borthwick and his players all the best in the next month and beyond.

I loved playing for and coaching England. Time moves on, but one thing I do know is I will always be an England fan. And now is a great time to be a supporter of the country’s rugby sides – both male and female.

‘You know there are always tough times in this job,’ Borthwick said as our hour-long conversation came to an end. ‘But I love it. We can win and I still get a lot of feedback! A lot of people want to give their opinion and I’ve seen other coaches stop trusting their instincts as a result. There are two or three people I listen to who I know I can have a good conversation with and it won’t go any further. They’re willing to challenge my thoughts.

‘I work with a group of players who really care and want to do brilliantly well for their country. There is incredible expectation on the England rugby team and with that comes huge scrutiny. We’ve got millions of supporters and eyes on us.

‘But would you rather be involved in something that doesn’t have great expectations and a great following? I wouldn’t.’