by England fly out to the Costa Brava next week but the winter sun is only a small part of the package. While Steve Borthwick wants his players to spend some time relaxing away from their well-appointed training base of Girona, who are currently top of La Liga, he is also keen to make sure they are fit and ready to for the specific demands of the modern Six Nations Championship.
Borthwick, as he loves to do, digs into the stats and, before a ball is put in a box, reckons he knows where the championship will be won and lost. Spoiler alert: it won’t be all about play back or solo wizards. According to the England head coach, the key areas are the breakdown and the scrum, reflecting the recent World Cup winning stages.
Related: Steve Borthwick says English rugby has turned a corner, but has it really?
England do not meet their two strongest rivals, Ireland and France, until the final two rounds in March but Borthwick will still be preparing his squad for an immediate change of pace from their weekly Premiership diet. While the pace and quality of the domestic league may be rising, test rugby is still a different ball game.
Part of the reason, according to Borthwick, is the way major competitions are officiated. “The breakdown and the scrum are referred to differently in international rugby. When you start looking at the Six Nations there is no competition in world rugby that has a higher turnover rate at the breakdown.
“With English referees in the Premier League, the pace of the ball is high and the players are trying to get the ball out of the breakdown. The distance around the flag is also clean and not heavily penalized. In Test rugby that is different. That area is not so clean. You see so many good centre-backs in the Six Nations and that means the breakdown is a real competition. Look at the backs of Ireland, France and Scotland. They are excellent.”
As South Africa further demonstrated in the World Cup semi-final, the scrum is still different from everything at home. “As we found out to our cost in the World Cup semi-final, the scrum is a competition. It is important that scrum teams have an opportunity for penalties. In the Premiership there is not too much scrum going to a competition. I like a scrum contest, I don’t want that to take away from our game.”
It’s another reason why Borthwick can predict a string of tight Six Nations games, shaped by close quarters and crucial defensive excellence as well. “Once you go up the levels the standard of protection goes up. Across international rugby fewer tackles are being called for and the players are becoming fitter. And you can bring eight employees on the field, which means less space available in the second half. It’s getting harder and harder.”
Hence the reluctance of teams to play too much rugby in midfield and the importance of a good kicking game. Entertainment can be subjective but sport cannot tip the balance too far into risk-free conservatism. Borthwick is among those who would support a reduction in the number of bench replacements allowed from the current eight.
“There is more to be discussed about the nature of the game. But what we see now is less space. To create more of it we must have some level of fatigue in what we do. There are several areas you could change but one is the number of replacements. That will affect the amount of fatigue in the game and will create space.”
Right now, though, England need high work rate players who are also good off the ball. Sam Underhill and Ben Earl both fit that description, as does goalkeeper Luke Cowan-Dickie, who missed the World Cup through injury. Complementary center pairing will also be important. If it is decided not to deploy Ollie Lawrence at 12, Northampton’s uncapped Fraser Dingwall could come into the equation and be invited to show that Premiership form can transfer to the Test arena.
Either way, Borthwick is cautiously optimistic that a reduced 10-team Premier League is producing more of the tight, competitive tournaments that will help prepare players for the highest level. “There is no doubt that the density of talent has increased in some teams. Although maybe we didn’t want it to happen the way it did, I think the standard has improved. As a result the Premiership is more competitive and that is good for our game.
“How close the games are is important. Test rugby is so tight and if we’re playing games where the scoreline is blown out, it’s not preparing players for what we have to do. Teams have to find ways to win these tight games. That creates a mental intensity that wasn’t always there. We all know the mental toughness required in the Six Nations is incredible.”
When England relocates to Spain on Tuesday it will be for business rather than pleasure.
