Avoid being robots, England

Paul Rees says discipline will be key to success in France and urges Borthwick's men to think for themselves

The conversation in the sauna turned to the England squad for the World Cup, which had been announced the previous day. Steve Borthwick’s 33 did not spark an outbreak of excitement or surprise, apart from the telegraphed omission of Henry Slade.
One remark stood out. “Borthwick likes to talk about data and statistics when it comes to selection. Does he not trust what he sees, or players able to react to what is in front of them?”
Slade was once viewed as someone different, an eleg...

Continue reading...

Access all our premium content from as little as 14p per day!

Already a subscriber to our website? Login