Steve Borthwick says England supporters “deserve better” than the national team have delivered in the Six Nations in recent years and he is challenging his squad to make a faster start to the tournament this year when they kick off their latest campaign against Italy in Rome on Saturday week.
England have managed only a 50% win ratio across the past six Six Nations championship seasons, including two fifth-place finishes, and Borthwick wants his reshuffled squad to show more early vigour, starting at their scheduled warm‑weather training camp in Spain this week.
“We want to make sure this England team is competing in every single game which is not something you can say about recent years,” Borthwick said, speaking at the tournament launch at Dublin’s Guinness Storehouse.
“The expectations of supporters are a lot higher than the team have actually achieved – and quite rightly. The team is really well aware we haven’t performed in the Six Nations for a period of time. Our intent is to hit the ground running in Rome the way we want with the intensity that we want which again is something that England have not done in recent years.
“At times we have not jumped into this tournament and have been caught in that first game. We’re often talked about being favourites and England’s performance has not been anywhere near that level. The team knows that, the team wants to deliver better and the supporters deserve better.
“We want this to be a different mindset for England, a different way of approaching the game and the tournament. We’re taking a different approach because we need different results. I want the players desperate to get on the grass and throw themselves into this. How hard they run and tackle in that first game is going to be really important.”
England will head out to their temporary base near Girona optimistic that a clutch of players will be available after a bruising run of club games. Leicester’s Ollie Chessum failed a head injury assessment on Saturday, the flankers Ben Curry and Sam Underhill have ankle problems while the hooker Luke Cowan-Dickie, the centre Oscar Beard and the wing Immanuel Feyi-Waboso are also receiving treatment.
Dangerously strong winds and cancelled flights also prevented the team’s newly appointed captain, Jamie George, along with the Six Nations chief executive, Tom Harrison, and France’s representatives, from attending the official launch but George, via a video link, made clear his delight at being handed the chance to lead his country in succession to Owen Farrell.
George, who likened it to a marriage “proposal” when Borthwick offered him the role, is planning to draw on the expertise of, among others, Sir Alex Ferguson, Roy Keane, Gareth Southgate and Sir Alastair Cook who have all visited the England camp to talk about leadership at various times. “It’s absolutely fascinating how each one has had success in their own way. The main lesson I’ve learned is that they’ve doubled down on what they believe in. In that respect people know what they are going to get out of you as a person.”
The Saracens hooker also revealed he has been in contact with the former Ireland captain Rory Best for captaincy tips. “Rory Best is someone I loved working with on the 2017 Lions tour. I think we see the game in very similar ways. He was one person that has reached out … I’ll certainly be picking his brains soon.”
