Steve Borthwick is considering playing his fast-rising back-row Henry Pollock on the wing at some stage this autumn as he seeks fresh impetus in all areas before the looming November Tests.
The England head coach says he wants his side to hit the ground running against Australia on Saturday and may also start Ben Earl at centre this season.
England’s team to face the Wallabies has already had a significant makeover with Tommy Freeman starting in midfield and no place for either Marcus Smith or Ollie Lawrence in the matchday 23.
Six British & Irish Lions players, including Pollock, have been named on the bench with Bath’s 22-year-old flanker Guy Pepper, the Leicester prop Joe Heyes and the Sale wing Tom Roebuck all starting.
Part of Borthwick’s rationale is his desire to stick with combinations which went well on tour in Argentina but he is also looking for different ways to maximise the skill sets of dynamic, hybrid players such as Pollock, Pepper and Earl.
“Guy Pepper’s been training in the back line and we’ve been looking at Henry Pollock on the wing,” Borthwick said. “His pace is the match of a lot of wingers. That kind of versatility is really important to us. I’m not saying we’re training all those combinations for this Saturday but these are the things we have which allow us to go 6-2 [on the bench].
“We’re training [our] readiness to adapt to things. Henry Pollock is a back-row forward, but it’s one of the combinations I’m looking at for the future. I think there will be a time where I’ll consider starting Ben Earl at centre, especially with all the quality back‑row forwards we’ve got.”
It reflects further Borthwick’s desire to uncork England’s full attacking potential, glimpsed in patches this year but not always consistently realised against top‑level opposition despite a seven‑game unbeaten run for his side. It may well be, with George Ford picked at fly-half, that England will also aim to kick high and often but the head coach also insists he wants his side to create problems with ball in hand.
England (v Australia): Freddie Steward (Leicester, 38 caps); Tom Roebuck (Sale, 6 caps), Tommy Freeman (Northampton, 20 caps), Fraser Dingwall (Northampton, 4 caps), Immanuel Feyi-Waboso (Exeter, 9 caps); George Ford (Sale, 102 caps), Alex Mitchell (Northampton, 23 caps); Fin Baxter (Harlequins, 14 caps), Jamie George (Saracens, 102 caps), Joe Heyes (Leicester, 14 caps), Maro Itoje (Saracens, 93 caps, captain), Ollie Chessum (Leicester, 28 caps), Guy Pepper (Bath, 3 caps), Sam Underhill (Bath, 42 caps), Ben Earl (Saracens, 42 caps)
Replacements: Luke Cowan-Dickie (Sale, 49 caps), Ellis Genge (Bristol, 71 caps), Will Stuart (Bath, 50 caps), Alex Coles (Northampton, 10 caps), Tom Curry (Sale, 61 caps), Henry Pollock (Northampton, 1 cap), Ben Spencer (Bath, 10 caps), Fin Smith (Northampton , 11 caps).
“I want them to play in a way that is fast and aggressive with the ball,” Borthwick said.
“It suits the strengths we have. The second challenge is how hard this team runs and the physical intensity it brings. That is really important to us. It’s not a team that has huge size, it’s a team that can run. I’m now seeing a team that is better conditioned and a team that can run harder.”
Borthwick did concede that there were “some disappointed players” and several “really narrow calls”, not least at No 10 where Ford has leapfrogged two Lions fly-halves. Lawrence has just returned from long-term injury while prominent Lions such as Tom Curry have only recently returned to full fitness and may also be being managed with the All Blacks Test in mind.
There is also the reality that England do not want to fade in the final stages of games, as happened when Australia stole a dramatic last-gasp win in London a year ago. With limited training time available – “They have had four months together, we’ve got four sessions,” Borthwick said – it also makes some sense to pick an all-Northampton midfield pairing and not to overcomplicate the England gameplan.
The head coach is also hoping some of the work done in tougher times last year will come to fruition this autumn. “Somebody talked to me about coaching the other day, and said: ‘Sometimes you’re like the gardener. What you’ve got to do is plant the seeds, and then you’ve got to take care of them.’ Sometimes it can take a long time for things to really come through and reap all the rewards.”
Australia will clearly have other ideas and in training England have employed the aerial skills of their young prodigy Noah Caluori to replicate the challenge of the high-flying Wallaby Joseph Suaalii. “Suaalii’s kick-off work last year was very good and it has been a focus for us,” Borthwick said.
“Stopping him winning the ball is a challenging thing to do and Noah has been challenging the team in the air. Australia have a contestable kicking game and will send up lots of box-kicks. We will be expecting that this weekend.”
Borthwick, though, sounds as upbeat about his own team’s development as at any point in his tenure. “I think the expectations of each other have now risen. We can’t wait for this autumn series, to be back in front of our supporters and back together as a group. We can’t wait to rip into it.”
