Steve Borthwick will fly to New Zealand on Monday on a scouting mission to begin planning England’s summer All Blacks attack just 48 hours after the end of the Six Nations campaign.
Borthwick highlighted how England finished the tournament despite defeat against France on Saturday night after his players came close to backing up a thrilling victory over Ireland in Lyon. Invigorated by this, I set out for New Zealand.
After a sluggish start to the tournament, England rediscovered their attacking identity in the last two rounds and regained their feel-good factor ahead of back-to-back Tests against Japan in June and the All Blacks in July.
Borthwick has vowed to have a full squad for the summer tour rather than resting senior players as England seek their first tour win against the All Blacks since 2003. England were whitewashed under manager Stuart Lancaster on their previous visit to New Zealand in 2014, but Borthwick, who had scouted Japan before the Six Nations, will look to build on the team’s recent promise. I intend to take every possible measure.
“Every time the England team gets together, we’re going to improve and get better,” the head coach said.
“I’m on a plane to New Zealand on Monday. I have to plan where I’m going and how I’m going to do it, so I’m really preparing.
“Within a week, you’ll be able to understand exactly where you’re going with your training program, location, venue, etc., giving your team the best chance of getting the results you want. I plan to hire him.”
On the eve of the Six Nations, Borthwick was frustrated by the slow pace of information being provided by Premiership clubs regarding injuries to some players, but said he was unsure who would be “strengthened” once they returned from their summer tour. I will make a final decision on whether I will be offered rugby. His contract with the Football Union will give him a greater say in the conditioning of his squad throughout the year. However, the details are still unclear, but Jamie George, one of just two players to be offered a strengthened contract, said last week: “In what capacity, at what value, who can be acquired?” I don’t know,” he admitted.
Borthwick said: “All the details haven’t been confirmed. I’m waiting to get them and figure it out. In terms of understanding what situation our players are in, it’s going to be difficult for the tournament. There are no surprises at the start of the game. So the night the team was decided, [we are not] Verify that the player is unavailable. This situation will not exist in the future.
After newsletter promotion
“The partnership with Premiership clubs is a step forward and will definitely help our players better prepare for the international environment and I hope that continues. The relationship with all the head coaches, directors at the club is very important. We all want our best players to play to the best of their abilities, so we want to ensure that the best Premier We have a ship product and a ready England team.
“We started the tournament with some players not available for selection, so we need to get our players out. You can see the development going on in the Premiership. The standard of the Premiership has improved. This shows that the players are better prepared for Test rugby.In future tests, we will ensure that those players are available and fit from the start of the tournament. We need to make sure.”
