Borthwick has it all to play for

Paul Rees considers the head coach's options as he prepares to name his World Cup squad on August 7

England may have struggled in recent seasons to the point where they are regarded as outsiders to lift the World Cup in the autumn, but choice is not among their problems. Head coach Steve Borthwick last week announced a squad of 28 to start preparing for the World Cup and he has at least 28 others to call on with the players involved in the Premiership play-offs from Saracens, Sale, Northampton and Leicester available when their rest periods are up, along with Jack Willis of Toulouse whose side made the Top 14 final against La Rochelle.

Billy Vunipola was not named among the 28 with the Saracens No 8 recovering from a knee injury, but he was present in the camp having been left out of the Six Nations squad. His position is one that is open with Alex Dombrandt not at his most commanding during the Six Nations and Sam Simmonds, who last started at No 8 for England against Japan last November, ruling himself out of the tournament to focus on his new club Montpellier.

Zach Mercer, above, is involved after leaving Montpellier for Gloucester and back row is one of the areas where Borthwick will need the pre-tournament friendlies to help him finalise those who will be in his 33 for France. Ted Hill and Tom Pearson were the flankers called up last week, along with Sam Underhill whose last appearance for England was against Australia in the second Test last summer. He has had injury and concussion problems since then and his return means that every player who started the 2019 World Cup final against South Africa is in contention for France.

A number are now more backup than sure starters: Elliot Daly, Jonny May, George Ford, Ben Youngs, the Vunipola brothers and Underhill among them but after the sacking of Eddie Jones and recruitment of Borthwick, whose place is guaranteed?

Borthwick had to negotiate the Six Nations with little time to prepare. He assessed his options before the home game against France when an expansive gameplan quickly unravelled and it was back to the recourse of the underdog, one-in, all-in, and against grand slam chasing Ireland in the final match, England finally looked comfortable.

England showed spirit and courage in Dublin that day. They will need that and more if they are to make their fifth World Cup final, a total that no one has yet reached with New Zealand and Australia also on four, but given that Borthwick's men are on the side of the draw that does not include any of the teams currently in the top four of the World rankings, the prospect of the semi-finals is far from fanciful.

England are the top ranked team in their pool, sixth. Argentina are eighth and Japan 10th. Samoa, who were last a World Cup threat in 2011, are 12th, the highest placed of the Pacific islands countries, and Chile, making their first appearance in the tournament, are 22nd.

England lost to Argentina last autumn before defeating Japan comfortably. They have never been beaten by any of their rivals in the group in a World Cup with Michael Cheika in charge of the Pumas and Jamie Joseph, who guided Japan to the last eight in 2019, another experienced hand, England will need to show greater consistency in selection and approach than they have since 2020, the last year when Jones and Borthwick were on the coaching roster together.

Joseph reckons that England suffered after getting rid of Jones. He was aiming no slight at Borthwick, who along with Jones was part of Japan's management team in the 2015 World Cup, but pointing out that time will no longer be their enemy with the summer to prepare. “The England team will be better because they suffered,” he said. “I think the fact that they struggled a little bit in the Six Nations was always going to happen because it takes time for teams to build under a new coaching regime. Come the World Cup, they will have learned a lot.

“We know what England are going to bring, we know what Argentina are going to bring. They're going to look to put us under a lot of pressure, but we create pressure in different ways. We have a really attacking-based game using our fitness, the skill, the speed and a little bit unorthodox compared to the teams that we're playing against. It will be different from the last World Cup because we were at home then and the momentum that the people there gave us has gone.”

Japan face a New Zealand XV, Samoa, Tonga, Fiji and Italy before their opening World Cup match against Chile in Toulouse. They have struggled to build on the success of the 2019 World Cup principally because the Covid pandemic meant they went a longer time than most without playing, but they pushed France and New Zealand close last year, losing by five and seven points respectively.

“There is a different level of respect from the opposition now,” said Joseph. “What we do not yet have is the depth to consistently compete with the best teams, but when we get to a level where everyone understands what their roles are and get physically right, we can achieve anything.

“I have a lot of confidence in our coaching group to maximise the potential of our players. Our strength is our work ethic, the way that we can extract the utmost. The Japanese approach to the preparation phase is second to none,”, added Joseph, whose contract with the Brave Blossoms ends after the World Cup.

Borthwick will announce his World Cup squad on August 7. He spoke last week about his options in the back row with Ben Earl, Tom Curry, Nick Isiekwe, Courtney Lawes, Willis and Lewis Ludlam among those who are currently enjoying their mandatory five-week rest period, along with George Martin, who can play in the second and back rows.

“It is exciting to coach players of that quality,” said Borthwick. “We have a group of players who are very competitive and who are vying to be part of the 33 in the World Cup. Billy Vunipola is certainly part of the plans as we move forward. I have been impressed by not only how hard he is working when he is training and rehabbing but everything he is doing away from that as well. I am looking forward to the day when he is back on the grass.”

There were reports during the Six Nations that Vunipola was not in the squad because of a previous falling out with Borthwick. England are not in a strong enough position to discount players of his calibre: his career may have been a series of ups and downs rather than a straight line upwards, but the No 8 has remodelled himself, now offering more than someone who can storm the gainline from a standing start.

But it is that thrust that England need, whatever their style of play. The defeat to France showed that; lacking a bulk ball-carrier, they were overrun at the breakdown and the attacking gameplan they armed themselves with lacked ammunition.

England are unlikely to be gung-ho in France. Borthwick took over from Jones a year earlier than he expected and found himself in charge not at the end of a World Cup cycle but as it was reaching its critical point. He could be considered to have a free pass in France, especially as the RFU, in the end, distanced itself from Jones's belief that the World Cup stood above anything and everything. Poor tournaments cost jobs, and defeats to Argentina and Japan would send the RFU on another fire-fighting mission.

Looking at last week's squad, it should not come to that, but England have to start mak-ing something far more of what they have. The likes of Pearson, Hill, Val Rapava-Ruskin, Cadan Murley and Will Joseph needed to be given exposure in the summer to test their true level with the Premiership an unreliable barometer when it comes to gauging whether a player is ready for the next step. Pearson, Joseph and Henry Arundell have had the awful distraction of having to fmd a new club for next season following the col-lapse of London Irish. Northampton moved quickly for Pearson, a bustling flanker who is strong over the ball and with it in his hands.

He is certainly one for after the World Cup, but England now need the momentum he brings. Marcus Smith was the one outside-half in last week's squad with Owen Farrell, George Ford and Fin Smith unavail-able, but if the Harlequin has a role in France, it looks to be as Plan B from the bench.

A midfield axis of Farrell, Manu Tuilagi and Ollie Lawrence, complemented by power in the back row, would be a front foot option. With Borthwick having more time to work on the set-pieces, England may seek refuge in a familiar harbour: a game which does not pander to those who cry out for entertainment but which is based on getting the basics done.

If England get out of their group, they will likely face Wales or Jones's Australia in the quarter-final, although they both, as was the case four years ago, have to overcome a Fiji side that for once will not be cursing a lack of preparation time. They have a new head coach in Simon Raiwalui after Vern Cotter's departure, and it was in France in 2007 when they defeated Wales to reach the quarter-finals where they gave the eventual winners South Africa a fright in Marseille.

“With the top four teams on the other side of the draw, the prospect of getting to the semis is far from fanciful”

Jones has less time than Borthwick with a truncated Rugby Championship providing the bulk of the Wallabies' warm-up. Jones was hamstrung when he was in charge of England by the terms of the agreement over player release between Premiership Rugby and the RFU. He was not allowed to consider players based overseas, as one example.

Since his return to Australia, he has campaigned to end the rule there governing players who earn their livings outside the country. He sees Toulouse's Richard Arnold and La Rochelle's Will Skelton as his potential second rows, two heavyweights who would make it more difficult to send the Wallabies' scrum into reverse gear.

Such is sport that someone who was considered a route to failure by one country is seen by another as a saviour. England were struggling in Jones's final years, but to put that down solely to the head coach and to ignore other factors was the way of the ostrich: the contrasting form of a number of players for their clubs and for England showed the need for another level below the Test game.

But what are England's problems compared to Wales's? Their head coach Warren Gatland said last week that had he appreciated just how much the game there had deteriorated since he left after the 2019 World Cup, he would probably not have come back.

The Welsh Rugby Union has found itself mired in scandal this year, leading to resignations and reviews, while the match against England in Cardiff earlier his year was threatened by a strike call by players exasperated at the tardiness of the Union in agreeing playing budgets with the four regions.

The uncertainty, together with budget cuts, forced a number of players to look elsewhere. Rhys Webb, Tomas Francis, Ross Moriarty and Will Rowlands are all with French clubs, Joe Hawkins and Dillon Lewis are Premiership-bound while Liam Williams is set to join Cory Hill in Japan.

“When I came into the Six Nations, I didn't realise a lot of the things that were going on and the issues that were behind rugby and the squad and the players,” said Gatland on the BBC last week. “If I had known, I would have made a different decision and probably gone somewhere else. Welsh rugby's going to go through more pain from a financial perspective. These issues were here before, but the success of the national team in the past papered over the cracks. Now, probably for the better, they have come to the fore and there is a chance to focus on the things that needed fixing. There's a great chance for us to have a positive reset on a number of things.” Wales will go to the World Cup without Alun Wyn Jones, who has called time on an international career that started in the 2000s. So has Justin Tipuric and with Webb and Hill also pulling out to give their new clubs extra value, the reset Gatland talked about will not just come off the field.

“They all understood that while they may have been first choice in the past, there was no guarantee they were going to make the World Cup squad,” said Gatland. “There's a lot of competition. “It reminds me of 2011 when we had a group of experienced players and a young generation that came through and were outstanding. However Joe Hawkins is the one that really disappoints me. The others I can cope with because we've got depth in certain positions and people make those personal decisions for their families.

“I was just really surprised that a 20-yearold would throw away the chance to be involved in international rugby, particularly a World Cup, which would have been huge for his development. Joe was a player that we were looking at for the future as a number 10. Neil Jenkins spoke to him and said: ‘I just don't get it. Why are you giving away this chance? You've got a Lions tour in a couple of years that you could potentially be a part of'.”

It was more the timing of when Hawkins signed for Exeter rather than the decision itself. Players who had signed a contract outside before March 31 this year were not snared by the rule that stipulates only a player who has won 25 caps or more will be considered for selection if they are based outside Wales. The Chiefs announced his arrival on April 3.

Hawkins said part of the reason he made the move was the job losses stacking up in Wales where, despite his international status, he was on an academy contract. Security at a time when the game has been shown to be a risk to long-term health matters. So just as the RFU disagreed with Jones that the World Cup came before everything, so the likes of Hawkins, Sam Simmonds, Jack Nowell, Webb and Hill are giving it a miss. These are volatile times. With the old order crumbling, players have to look out for themselves.

England training squad

FORWARDS: Jamie Blamire, Alex Dombrandt, Tom Dunn, Charlie Ewels, Ellis Genge, Ted Hill, Joe Marler, Zach Mercer, Beno Obano, Tom Pearson, Val Rapava-Ruskin, Kyle Sinckler, Will Stuart, Sam Underhill, Jack Walker

BACKS: Henry Arundell, Danny Care, Joe Cokanasiga, Ollie Hassell-Collins, Will Joseph, Ollie Lawrence, Joe Marchant, Jonny May, Cadan Murley, Harry Randall, Henry Slade, Marcus Smith, Ben Spencer