T FOR BATH’S BEN SPENCER TO RETURN AHEAD OF THE WORLD CUP
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It has left England scrambling to make up ground before the World Cup starts. They are some way behind the top four, but are fortunate that they will not meet any of them before the semi-final stage. That gives Borthwick a measure of time with all England’s opponents up to the last four all involved in reassembly.
When Leicester reached the Premiership final last season, Borthwick went for Wigglesworth at scrum-half, not Youngs, who had started the semi-final against Northampton and four of the five league matches he had been available for after the end of the Six Nations. Van Poortvliet was left out of the match-day 23.
Wigglesworth stayed on the field for 63 minutes, longer than he had in his previous eight starts that campaign other than the away victory at Northampton when he gave way after 64 minutes, although he had been sent to the sin-bin a few minutes into the second-half.
Wigglesworth exerted the control that kept Saracens at a distance and laid the foundation for Freddie Burns’s late winning drop-goal. He will join Borthwick’s management team after the end of the season and will know all about Spencer after their years together at Saracens.
And so the England coaches
PICTURES: Getty Images are likely to pay some attention to what goes on at The Rec next weekend although, already assured of finishing at the top of the Premiership and drawing Northampton rather than Leicester in the semi-finals, Sarries may field a team some way short of full strength, as they did at Franklin’s Gardens a couple of weeks ago.
“Another outstanding showing (by Spencer) against a strong Saracens side may give the England selectors a nudge before the World Cup,” said Barnes. “As far as
England are concerned, Spencer has been erased from memory: it’s not as if there is much to forget. Yet there are so many reasons to think that he is worthy of a recall.
Bath supporters will tell you that he deserves another run-out when England face Wales in a World Cup warm-up in August.”
It says it all about where England are that there is uncertainty over a key position. Borthwick concluded that Youngs, who will turn 34 in the month the World Cup starts later this year, was not the future, but does he stick with van Poortvliet, who is still learning his craft, or go for someone more seasoned?
Eddie Jones overlooked Spencer because he felt he did not communicate well, an opinion Bath do not share because Johann van Graan, who took over as head coach last summer, has made him captain and said: “Ben is an excellent communicator with the ability to run a game from scrum-half.”
And that is something the top four nations all have, a controller at scrum-half. They may differ from Spencer, who like de Klerk has the added asset of being a goal-kicker, but successful sides draw not just inspiration from their scrum-half but leadership.
England are not there yet. Borthwick was earmarked to take over after the World Cup, but the RFU sacked Eddie Jones last December and the succession was brought forward. Does he use the rest of this year to prepare for the next four or focus purely on the World Cup and look to the future afterwards?
Van Poortvliet is a player for the future, a scrum-half with multiple skills, but if England leave the frills for another day and take the pragmatic road – Borthwick picked a team to run at France and instead it was run over – knowing that, because the top four ranked teams are on the other side of the World Cup draw, the prospect of making the semi-finals is not fanciful for a side which has lost more matches than it has won in each of the last three Six Nations campaigns.
South Africa won the 2019 World Cup despite being in turmoil less than two years before the start of the tournament. Rassie Erasmus took charge and stripped everything back to basics. A strong front five and complementary back row was supplemented by controlling half-backs and finishers on the wings.
Borthwick has the coming months to give England’s pack a thorough service. He could do with Tom Curry and Courtney Lawes staying fit and Luke Cowan-Dickie getting back on the field, but he has already gone for pace on the wings with Anthony Watson, Ollie Hassell-Collins, Max Malins and Henry Arundell all given a run.
He overlooked more physical wings such as Jack Nowell, who earlier this month was fined £10,000 for an angry Tweet in reaction to the second yellow card Olly Woodburn received playing for Exeter at Leicester. Referee Karl Dickson acted after the wing came in from the side and off his feet to try to prevent Chris Ashton, who had been tackled, from scoring a try.
Nowell’s frustration was understandable, although it was the law that needed to be the target rather than a referee who carried it out. It raised the question how a player could legally attempt to prevent a try being scored when someone had dived for the line. A bit like stopping a driving maul when it is in full rumble.
The former Irish referee Owen Doyle came up with a solution last week. “The problem with a law change is that in permitting Woodburn’s action when it’s close to the goal-line, you automatically allow it in any part of the field.
“It is not legal to tackle an opponent who is in the air. But if that opponent is off his feet, diving to score, the exception allows him to be tackled, in the air or not. Common sense.
“So why not apply the same rationale to the Woodburn defence and permit it, but only when the player is on the ground and attempting to score, at which point he has no intention of regaining his feet. It is a lot better than preventing defenders from defending.”
That is not Borthwick’s problem, but England’s starting wings scored three tries in the Six Nations, compared to one the previous year, scored by Freddie Steward when he was playing out of position in Paris. Borthwick has followed Jones in looking for wings who have experience of playing at full-back.
They are comfortable receiving kicks and hungry in the chase. They require a pinpoint kicker and, at scrum-half, there appears to be no better option now than Spencer whose time, after years in the shadows, may be coming.
“South Africa won the 2019 World Cup despite being in turmoil less than two years before”