Lewies: Don’t rule out England shock
STEPHAN Lewies expects England to be a contender for this year’s World Cup despite a third successive Six Nations which yielded more defeats than victories.
England are sixth in the world rankings, below Scotland and a long way behind the top four of Ireland, France, New Zealand and South Africa, but Harlequins captain Lewies said he would not be surprised if they made the final for the second successive tournament.
“They have a new coaching team and change takes time,” said Lewies, who was capped in the second row by South Africa before moving to England. “Steve Borthwick came in and just had a few weeks to prepare for the Six Nations and mould players from Premiership clubs who play in a variety of ways.
“Leicester and Sale play in a certain style, Sarries are more expansive than in previous years and clubs like us, London Irish and Bristol like to throw the ball around.
“But no matter how you play you need to have key fundamentals in place, such as the set-pieces and a kicking game. Without them, you will not get a result and I expect England to get those areas right. I would not be surprised if they made the final.
“The top five in the world rankings are on the other side of the draw meaning England cannot meet any of them until the semi-finals. It is a golden opportunity for them and if they get the mix in their game right, able to be conservative or play with tempo, they will be hard to beat.
“England have some very good players and if they get the small things right they will be dangerous. The Premiership is good preparation because the league is competitive and makes demands on you mentally and physically.”
Marcus Smith returned to Harlequins last week after a frustrating Six Nations for the outside-half. He started the home defeats to Scotland and France and was on the bench for the other three games, seeing just nine minutes of action.
“He will have learned a lot from the last few weeks,” said Lewies. “I think you will see a more rounded Marcus Smith. He likes to play attacking rugby and he is really good at it, but if the plan is to put the ball in the corner he can do that.
“He is one of the hardest working players I have ever played with. He wants to learn, no matter who from, and he is like a sponge in the way he takes things in. I have no doubt he will get better and better as the years go by.
“He will be one of those players who will be able do it all when he peaks. He is not the finished product and he will tell your that himself but one day he will be. He wants to be best in the world and I have no doubt that he will be.” Also returning to Quins last week was attack coach Nick Evans, left, who was part of Borthwick’s management team for the Six Nations. There have been suggestions that the role could become permanent even though Richard Wigglesworth is rejoining Borthwick in the summer.
Quins head of rugby Tabai Matson said he had not heard anything about Evans rejoining England, adding: “I knew he would develop with England and that is why we wanted him to have the experience. His energy in the last couple of days has been phenomenal and he has a different perspective. It is fantastic to have him back in the room.”