England host Six Nations champions Ireland at Twickenham in Round 4 on Saturday (4.45pm kick-off); does Steve Borthwick send England out to play defensively, in a kick-heavy/set-piece dominated game, or throw caution to the wind with ball in hand in front of their own fans?
Saturday 9 March 2024 09:52, UK
Play defensively and look to frustrate and contain, or throw caution to the wind with nothing to lose? Those appear the two main options staring Steve Borthwick in the face as England prepare to host Ireland at Twickenham...
Borthwick's time in charge of England to date has proven curious, more than anything else.
He took on the job in December 2022, just nine months out from the start of a Rugby World Cup - hardly enough time to rip up the Eddie Jones blueprint.
Yet, as something of a Jones disciple in his coaching career - Borthwick worked alongside the Aussie for eight years as forwards coach (Japan 2012-2015, England 2015-2020) - England were never likely to edge towards a more open, expansive brand of rugby under the former lock.
Indeed, Borthwick's only head coach role before leading England was two and a half seasons in charge at Leicester Tigers, winning the Premiership title in 2022 with a game-plan virtually exclusively focused on open play kicking, set-piece and defence.
The 2023 Six Nations saw England fare no better under Borthwick than they had done previously with Jones, losing to Scotland, France and Ireland with wins over Italy and Wales, while their World Cup displays were largely disappointing, save for one performance in their most important game.
When England hung on to beat Fiji and make the World Cup semi-finals, almost nobody expected them to trouble defending world champions South Africa for a place in the final.
And yet, in the pouring Paris rain, and amid a massively brave performance filled with lots of kicking, intense defence and set-piece battling, England should have won. And but for a series of late scrum penalties, they would have done.
Into the 2024 Six Nations and England are looking to implement a new defensive system under Felix Jones modelled on South Africa, and also have a stated ambition to improve their attack.
In the latter facet, there has been very little evidence as yet. Flashes were shown in Rome in a scrappy 27-24 win, while England reverted to type to see off Wales 16-14 at Twickenham, kicking possession away and harrying.
England started brightly up against Scotland at Murrayfield last time out, scoring a superb first-phase try through George Furbank, but an immense amount of handling errors rendered their attack almost invisible for much of the contest, while lapses in defence saw them lose 30-21 from a position of 10-0 ahead.
So, facing an extremely strong Ireland side - who have won 20 of their last 21 Tests, and 32 of their last 35 dating back to 2021 - does Borthwick employ the same game plan as England did against South Africa for perhaps the best chance of victory?
Or do England go out and really give it a go at Twickenham, in a pass and offload game-plan in which they are perhaps more likely to lose, but may gain some of their fans back?
Team selection will tell us a lot...
Injuries to fly-half Marcus Smith (calf) and scrum-half Alex Mitchell (knee) had seemed to rule the talented duo out for the remainder of the championship, but they have both made quicker-than-expected recoveries and are in the frame to return against Ireland.
Harlequins playmaker Smith hasn't played a minute of the Six Nations so far, and if there is a 10 you want starting within a running game centred on attack, it's the 25-year-old. And yet, Borthwick is a major George Ford fan, and would be shifting from the sort of fly-half his experience knows best were he to make a change.
Northampton's Mitchell started against Italy and Wales, providing noticeable spark, before missing the loss to Scotland, and if there is any chance he is fully fit, he will come back in to start ahead of Danny Care.
A half-back pairing of Smith and Mitchell is one which would excite Twickenham, and cause all manner of threats to Ireland too. But will Borthwick go there?
What of the backline? Immanuel Feyi-Waboso looks a tremendously exciting wing option, but will Borthwick deviate from the reliability of Elliot Daly? Therein lies another key question for the England head coach.
Henry Slade has proven for Exeter this year he is more than capable of flourishing in an attacking system, while Northampton duo Tommy Freeman and Furbank have been in stunning form at club level.
The selection or non-selection of Leicester full-back Freddie Steward, perhaps more than any other, will tell us Borthwick's thinking ahead of kick-off.
Steward was surprisingly dropped in favour of the more attacking option of Furbank for Edinburgh, but after a damaging defeat, might Borthwick revert to his more trusted and solid option? If England are going to look to a kick-heavy approach, Steward will be in.
At inside centre, Manu Tuilagi is a live option, but seems to lack the thrust and power he once had. Ollie Lawrence had far from his best outing at Murrayfield after his return from a hip injury, but he will be better again for the minutes played, and has been sensational for Bath this season.
England have caused Ireland difficulties at the scrum in recent years, meaning experienced props Joe Marler and Dan Cole will again be involved in some capacity, while Ellis Genge and Will Stuart are more ball-playing options - expect a mix-and-match approach to the front-row.
Leicester lock George Martin has the power to trouble Ireland, and depending on Borthwick's plans, could be brought into the second row in place of Ollie Chessum, or even at blindside flanker for increased muscle in tight exchanges.
Ben Earl can hardly be dropped from the back row, such is his impact, while Sam Underhill has been performing brilliantly at the breakdown. Ethan Roots could be the man to miss out if Martin is shifted into the back row.
Another factor is the Ireland lineout. South Africa and New Zealand successfully disrupted it at the World Cup, while it faltered again at times against Wales in Dublin in Round 3.
Starting Maro Itoje, Martin and Chessum would give England plenty of defensive lineout threats. Stop Ireland at source, and they aren't half the imposing threat they are with clean set-piece delivery.
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