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A record of just five wins from 12 games in 2024 reflects a year of missed opportunities for England. From Lyon in the spring to Auckland in the summer to three defeats in November, Steve Borthwick’s side have repeatedly put themselves in winning position this year and, at the crucial moment, faltered or faltered.
After a third place at last year’s World Cup, the team has undergone a relatively significant regeneration. Nine new caps made their international debuts, while other relatively inexperienced figures like Tommy Freeman and George Furbank gained new prominence within the organization.
Although their final quarter failures undermined much of the progress made, Borthwick is confident he has the elements in place to build a winning team. The head coach has regularly spoken about the young age profile of his team while maintaining a management group in whom he has full confidence. He is confident the upheaval caused by the shock departures of defense coach Felix Jones and strength and conditioning guru Aled Walters will not happen. be repeated.
But the start of the Six Nations is very demanding: a trip to Ireland on the opening weekend is followed by a first home clash against France since a record defeat at Twickenham in 2023. The Rugby Football Union (RFU) has set an ambitious demand of four wins from five in the spring campaign, something England have not achieved since the 2020 edition.
Here are five key questions Borthwick must address to set England up for success.
1. Stay or change the defensive system?
England will have limited access to their players over the coming months, although the new and improved EPS contracts give Borthwick greater control over a group of 17 members of his squad. The players are expected to take part in a one-day roster camp in January before assembling later in the month for a training camp in Girona ahead of the Six Nations.
Their coaches, meanwhile, will conduct a thorough debriefing of November’s international matches and the year as a whole – although one of Borthwick’s staff will be expected to play a more limited role. Defense coach Joe El-Abd returns to Oyonnax where he continues his work as director of rugby at the French club until the end of the season. This seems far from ideal after a first campaign in which El-Abd’s modified system showed some flaws.
Where the departed Jones seemed to garner complete embrace of his ‘blitz’ system, a structure England now call ‘the hammer’ has had plenty of problems in recent Tests. From marginal frailties to outside channel dislocation, many refinements are needed – or perhaps a complete return to the high-risk, high-reward fast line speed strategy. If this is to persist, England simply need to get better after the line breaks, as they were beginning to do under former Springboks coach Jones.
2. Does the coaching team need to be strengthened?
Borthwick has spoken in the past about benefiting from a relatively small coaching staff, but it is possible additions could be made. Walters has yet to be directly replaced, with Saracens’ attempt to sign Phil Morrow on a part-time basis blocked by other Premiership clubs over fears of a conflict of interest. It appears that any potential Morrow arrival is more likely to happen this summer than in the coming weeks, with Borthwick citing the excellent work done by strength and conditioning coach Dan Tobin while lamenting the lack of test preparation for its players. that they had when they arrived at the camp.
Could an additional senior voice elsewhere also be beneficial? Borthwick, an exceptionally hard worker, takes on a significant load at camp, also overseeing the roster and forwards alongside his duties as head coach. Could Graham Rowntree, out of work after leaving Munster, be persuaded to return to the England squad to assist scrum coach Tom Harrison and add both a fresh voice and veteran know-how to the staff? Recruiting the former Leicester prop, or a figure of similar profile, is an option that should be explored – if the Rugby Football Union’s financial situation allows.
3. Is it time to look to the future at the forefront?
One of the big steps forward this year for England has been the problematic prop position. Will Stuart has been quietly impressive all autumn, while Asher Opoku-Fordjour’s debut in the Japan game was the first indication of the arrival of a group of young props described as a ‘golden generation’ by the Rugby Football Union (RFU). It may not be long before Gloucester’s Afolabi Fasogbon and Bath’s Vilikesa Sela join the versatile Opoku-Fordjour in the senior team after the trio were instrumental in England’s Championship triumph. world under-20s last summer.
Although Fin Baxter is clearly a work in progress, he provides a young, high-potential option at free-head following the retirement of Harlequins teammate Joe Marler. On the other hand, it won’t be long before Dan Cole takes some well-deserved time off, although Borthwick spoke of his positive influence last week.
“I want to make sure Dan Cole can continue to be an England player for a long time,” the head coach said. “I think he enjoys being a part of the program. His role on the team over the past few years to help other players has been extremely valuable. But I’m looking at what the next accessories will be. One thing that is clear from there is athleticism. When you start looking at the players that I have selected over the last 12 months and this next period, with this England team, they are athletic players.
4. Can England get the most out of their bench?
Opta data ahead of the Japan match suggests England have had the least impactful bench among the top nations this year, making this an area for improvement ahead of 2025. There have been a few mitigating factors to this regard: Ollie Chessum’s injury has forced Chandler Cunningham -South, to start really and energetically as a substitute, in a starting role for which he may not yet be ready, while the flight talents towards France last year damaged England’s pool of experienced players.
An attempt to lure Stade Français center Joe Marchant to the Premiership is expected to be made, but England’s recent ‘A’ match provided an intriguing view of some of who Borthwick might consider adding depth to his team. Saracens number eight Tom Willis is a ball carrier who surely deserves a longer look, while Gloucester lock Arthur Clark follows well.
5. How do England continue to get the best out of Marcus Smith?
Marcus Smith appeared to have a firm grip on the starting ten shirt for England in November, but some questions remain over his ability to establish himself and excel within a set-up at international level. There is no doubt that a role must be retained in the team for a gifted playmaker – but could he be deployed as a second distributor from full-back alongside George Ford or Fin Smith? The sample size is small and, given the opposition, perhaps insignificant, but the Smith/Smith creative axis worked very well in the final moments against Japan.
Furbank would be extremely unhappy if he found himself forced into a reduced role. No final decision needs to be made: flexibility in attack can be a great strength. Regardless of how they accomplish it, November showed that giving Marcus Smith as many opportunities as possible to create in space is only a good thing.
