It was only a year ago that dark clouds were forming over Twickenham and the pressure was on England to deliver.
Steve Borthwick’s side went into the Autumn Nations Series having won just four of their previous eight Tests and it felt like the knives were sharpening.
What a difference 12 months makes. Fast forward to now and the mood music has completely changed.
England host Australia this weekend with a spring in their step as they look to make it eight wins on the bounce.
After that, Borthwick’s men face Fiji before playing New Zealand and then Argentina.
There is a genuine belief England could achieve a clean sweep, something they have managed just once when playing four matches in an autumn programme.
“You look at this group of players, and I think there is a lot of exciting talent,” said Borthwick. “I think there is a lot of speed and dynamism.
“You start looking at those outside backs and I think we have a depth of talent there. You look at the back row and the dynamism we have there, the talented rugby players we have there. And then we have got some great half-backs.
“When you start picking a team and you’re picking good players, you’re leaving good players out as well.
“There’s a lot of depth developing across many positions, which gives me the kind of problems you really want to have as a head coach.”
Attacking style
Much of the excitement around this England team comes from the sense that they have an attack that is ready to entertain.
During their seven-match winning streak, Borthwick’s side have racked up more than 250 points - an average of 36 per game. England have, at times, had a revolving door of backroom staff under Borthwick, but things now appear more settled.
That is certainly the case in attack, with Lee Blackett joining full-time after being snapped up from Bath for the summer tour of Argentina and the USA. England scored 13 tries in three Tests during that unbeaten tour, as the team were encouraged to play what was in front of them.
It is a philosophy that proved fruitful for Premiership champions Bath, who scored a remarkable 96 tries in 18 regular-season games last season.
“My biggest fear as a coach is becoming a dinosaur,” said Blackett. “If someone calls me a dinosaur and says: ‘He’s past it’, that’s my big fear. So, I’m constantly looking at the game and seeing where it’s going and seeing if I’m missing something.
“I would like to see us stay in the moment for every opportunity, and take them. If our execution breaks down, that is an execution problem. I don’t want us to miss opportunities when they are there for us.”
Games against Australia and Fiji, in particular, should give England’s attack the chance to let loose and showcase their growing confidence.
Blackett relished working with Scotland fly-half Finn Russell at Bath, and with England he now has three quality No10s to choose from.
George Ford excelled in the summer wins over Argentina and the USA, taking full advantage while Fin and Marcus Smith were away with the British and Irish Lions in Australia.
Borthwick and Blackett have a big call to make when deciding who gets the keys to the attack, although a possible solution could be to start Ford or Fin Smith at fly-half and shift Marcus Smith to full-back. Marcus Smith has been used in the back three before, and that set-up would allow England to have two playmakers on the pitch.
“I think he’s a player who can play both positions,” said Borthwick. “I see him being a world-class player in both.”
The competition is fierce out wide, too, particularly with Immanuel Feyi-Waboso’s return from injury. Fellow wing Tommy Freeman is in electric form, and England will experiment with using him at centre this autumn.
Freeman shone there during the 68–14 win over Wales in March, a match that increasingly feels like a turning point for this side.
Future stars
Borthwick has stressed that he is focusing on the here and now this autumn, but he will inevitably have one eye on the World Cup in 2027. This autumn feels like a pivotal point on England’s road to that tournament, and there is a sense that this side is finally taking shape after nearly three years with Borthwick at the helm.
The England head coach has made a concerted effort to build relationships within the squad and allow partnerships to grow. At the same time, young and emerging talent are knocking on the door.
The summer tour to Argentina and the USA showed that, with Borthwick taking 10 uncapped players as part of his 36-man squad.
Many of those have put their hands up for minutes this autumn, such as flanker Guy Pepper. It is a shame that centre Seb Atkinson is sidelined with a knee injury, as he is another who deserved to keep his place in the team.
“I think what impressed me so much in the summer was the spirit of the players, the
fight that the players had,” said Borthwick. “Particularly in that first Test, we had some tough times in Argentina, and the spirit and fight of these young men was incredible.
“We had an arm wrestle in the second Test, but we found a way to get over the line. We showed composure at the end of it. They were real strengths of that group.”
It says much about flanker Henry Pollock’s meteoric rise that he was not on the tour to Argentina and the USA because, despite being just 20, he was away with the British and Irish Lions. Pollock has taken the game by storm over the past year but he is already in danger of being upstaged by teen sensation Noah Caluori.
The 19-year-old wing marked his full Premiership debut for Saracens this month with five tries and has been swiftly called up by England. Former Wales captain Sam Warburton has described Caluori as a “special talent”, and there is a huge buzz around him. “How brilliant is it that we’ve got exciting players like that around?” said Borthwick. “You’ve got young kids talking about them and wanting to be them. I think that’s absolutely wonderful.”
Caluori has been on Borthwick’s radar for a year, with coaches sending him clips and reports. His huge leap and aerial ability make him stand out, and it is why Warburton has labelled the wing “undefendable”.
“I haven’t seen a player this good in the air, ever, and he’s a teenager,” he said.
Questions still to answer
Borthwick has solved many problems over the past year, but there are still questions to answer. Chief among them is how England’s defence will fare following more change.
The departure of defence coach Felix Jones last year rocked them, and their blitz approach looked uncertain in the autumn.
Richard Wigglesworth has moved from working with the attack to overseeing the defence for this Autumn Nations Series, and he will be joined by Byron McGuigan on a temporary basis.
McGuigan, who works with Sale Sharks, was part of England’s summer tour to Argentina and the USA, with the hope being that he can build on the foundations laid there.
England need stability — in three years in the job, Borthwick has had 11 different assistant coaches. McGuigan, a former wing, will spend time working with the back three, and full-back remains a problem position.
George Furbank is still sidelined, leaving Borthwick with a dilemma. Freddie Steward impressed in the summer and will suit games where there’s an aerial battle.
Marcus Smith is another option and the chance to have him playmaking alongside his namesake Fin is an exciting possibility.
“I think it is important, when you look at the make-up of a World Cup squad, to have players that can play multiple positions,” said Borthwick. “I think positional versatility is really important.”
There are further selection dilemmas at scrum-half. Alex Mitchell is the favourite there, but England still have not found a No9 who can change the game from the bench. Ben Spencer impressed in the summer, but he is historically more suited to starting games than finishing them.
Borthwick has also been dealt a blow after No8 Tom Willis announced he will leave Saracens for French club Bordeaux at the end of the season. Willis will become ineligible for England and Borthwick has left him out of his plans now, wary of the limited time before the World Cup.
It leaves England with a hole at the base of their scrum, with Ben Earl and Pollock the main contenders to fill it.
New Zealand provide the perfect litmus test of just how much progress England have made over the past 12 months.
England have not beaten the All Blacks since the 2019 World Cup semi-final in Japan, losing a tight game 24-22 at Twickenham last year.
On that occasion, Ford missed a drop-goal to win it in the dying seconds, and England were left heartbroken as they fell to the turf.
This time, if England can turn promise into precision, this autumn could mark the moment Borthwick’s rebuild truly takes flight.
