Every day is a selection day, I don’t wait until the matches...
BORTHWICK WANTS COMPETITION FOR PLACES
LEICESTER Tigers head coach Steve Borthwick has shared an insight into his selection philosophy when naming matchday squads, writes Harry Lyons.
Across the 16 games Tigers have played this season, the former England lock has used 46 players, the equivalent of two entirely different matchday squads.
Only three members of the starting XV that defeated Newcastle Falcons in round 15 of the Gallagher Premiership survived the selection cull to line up a week later against Connacht in European Challenge Cup action – Harry Potter, Matias Moroni and Jasper Wiese.
Borthwick even gave Tigers debuts in the knock-out match to 21-year-old front rows Nic Dolly and Will Hurd and still delivered a 48-32 victory at Mattioli Woods Welford Road.
“Every day is a selection day. I don’t wait until games to say it’s a selection day,” he said.
“Turn up, train hard, prepare well, show you’re a great team man, show you want to get better, show you want to help this team get better.”
Increased competition for places has been a key driving force behind the club’s upturn in fortunes.
In recent years, Tigers have struggled during the international windows, particularly at half-back with Ben Youngs and George Ford answering England’s call.
Borthwick, right, now has three credible options for the number 10 shirt in the form of Zack Henry, Johnny McPhillips and Argentina international Joaquin Diaz Bonilla – with ex-Tigers player Freddie Burns due to arrive in the summer too.
The competition is even hotter at scrum-half where veteran Richard Wigglesworth is competing with teenager Jack van Poortvliet and another Tigers academy product, Ben White.
“We want a competitive squad throughout, we want a squad that’s the right size that means we’ve got enough cover for injuries, international callups,” said Borthwick.
“But we want competition in the squad.”
The pain endured at the end of last season’s campaign has arguably been vindicated with the emergence of a number of young stars, who have quickly developed into key first team players.
The condensed schedule led to challenging turnarounds, which forced the hand of directors of rugby across the Premiership to hand opportunities to youngsters to impress at an accelerated rate.
George Martin, Freddie Steward, Joe Heyes and Dan Kelly all demonstrated enough to Borthwick for him to involve them heavily this season, and they haven’t disappointed.
The head coach was also keen to make it clear that age was certainly not a key factor for him when considering his selection – after pointing out only Harry Wells and Jasper Wiese were the only forwards aged over 21 to finish the game against Connacht.
“Some of the older players in the squad are the most eager to learn,” said Borthwick.
“Age is not a determinant of whether you want to learn or not.
“The very, very best players are the ones that come every single day to train and learn and set an example.
“When I mentioned the age, I mentioned the age in the context of the potential for the future.
“I think I’ve proven that if a player shows his worth and shows his quality then that player will be selected, regardless of their age.”
Reflecting on the victory over Connacht, ahead of this weekend’s European Challenge Cup quarter-final against Newcastle Falcons, Borthwick reaffirmed his intention of putting out a strong side.
He said: “There’s different things that come into it when I am picking combinations and picking the personnel. “But ultimately I picked a team to win that weekend. “I’m not smart enough to think too much more than that, to be honest.
“That will be the message this weekend as well.”