by The smell of freshly cut Twickenham grass wafts from Dan Cole as he sits down, wearing sports training kit and kicking on a pair of boots, in a windowless room below England’s rugby town. Having ticked off the first session of another challenging week in the international camp, the prop moves easily from the training pitch to fielding questions from the gaggle of writers surrounding him.
Throwing on the black leather boots under his chair, Cole proceeds to bat away the ensuing inquiries with the confidence and humor of a player who has been, seen it and done it in elite rugby. The 36-year-old England tour is a well-told story; especially the narrative from a difficult 2019 Rugby World Cup final against South Africa, to a standout individual display in the Boks’ one-point victory in last year’s semi-final.
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Four months ago at the Stade de France, the Leicester tighthead’s rock-solid scrummaging was a crucial factor in England’s dominance of the eventual world champions for much of the last-four encounter. However, it was easy to assume that a player who will turn 37 in May would join the likes of Ben Youngs, Jonny May and Courtney Lawes in hanging up his international boots after the tournament.
Cole reveals that a conversation in Paris with head coach Steve Borthwick two days after England’s departure prompted the decision to go ahead. Personal loyalty was a significant factor for Borthwick, whose tutelage at Welford Road revived the forward’s career.
“I had a conversation with Steve,” says Cole. “After Courtney announced his retirement at a press conference Steve pulled me aside and said: ‘Are you planning any press conferences or announcements?’ I said: ‘I’ve got to talk to my wife … and you, Steve, because if you’re not going to pick me, then I will [retire].’” Cole laughs at the memory. “He said: ‘I want you to have the choice.’ I was like, fair enough, because I owe Steve a lot. And here I am.”
If he lives up to his expectations in next Saturday’s Calcutta Cup at Murrayfield, Cole will have collected 109 international caps. Only three men from England have more: his close friend (and now co-podcast host) Youngs tops the chart with 127, Jason Leonard has 114, Owen Farrell 112.
Since starting 14 years ago, Cole has seen a number of transformations at the foundation – and was left after the 2019 World Cup, when “New England” was being built into the oft-cited mission statement of Eddie Jones’ squad. But with Borthwick, and time to plan and build towards the 2027 World Cup in Australia, things are really changing.
Felix Jones is on board as assistant coach and there are some new faces in the squad including Chandler Cunningham-South, Immanuel Feyi-Waboso and Ethan Roots.
“Intentionally Steve was quite direct about this being a new team,” says Cole. “There are some old guys, but it’s a new squad, new direction. There is a core of young players who will carry it forward for the next four, eight or more years. There are many young guys, new faces, and he wants to make sure that everyone is connected and feels part of a team. Once it was: ‘This is how we do it, I like it or I hate it’. It’s much more attractive to the players, the younger generation who can’t focus for two minutes.”
Meetings need to be kept “short sharp and to the point for the social media generation,” says Cole, as music blares from an adjacent room as the England squad continue their work. Cole doesn’t know who’s DJing but says “there’s a music committee – I’m not going to name them”.
Jones won two World Cups with the Boks and Cole says he is bringing his own character to training. As the Irish deploy a new blitz defense England will aim to make it three Six Nations wins out of three against Scotland. “He has a different personality to Kev [Sinfield],” says Cole. “Different intensity. Kev is probably a lot calmer and Felix is more frenetic.”
As a senior player Cole’s own training intensity has changed with age – increasing rather than decreasing. “It’s better to get the adrenaline going, get into the session as fast as possible and then finish. As you get older, it’s all about stopping and starting,” he says. Although the second grand slam of his career can be achieved, ideas of retirement occasionally pass, even if one possible avenue has already been closed.
Cole’s wife runs a florist, and although he doesn’t get involved – “I don’t have any creativity” – he offered to help in the future. “I told her: ‘When I retire I’ll be the delivery boy’, but she was like: ‘I don’t want you meeting the customers’.”
Is this his last international campaign? Cole isn’t sure. “I didn’t think about it until now.” When the time finally arrives, Borthwick and England will surely feel his absence keenly.
