England rugby is stuck in a loop of "almost" and "not quite." You've seen the games. You've felt that familiar frustration when a ten-point lead evaporates in the final fifteen minutes because the bench lacks impact or the tactics turn timid. Steve Borthwick is a meticulous coach, a man who lives and breathes data, but data doesn't win Test matches when the momentum shifts and the Twickenham crowd starts getting restless.
The recent run of results against top-tier Southern Hemisphere sides exposed a glaring reality. Being competitive isn't enough for a nation with England's resources. To revive this team, Borthwick has to move past the "stabilization" phase of his tenure. He needs to make calls that might feel uncomfortable or even risky. It's about shifting the identity of the squad from a team that tries not to lose into a team that knows how to kill off a game.
Moving on from the veteran safety net
Trust is a double-edged sword in international rugby. Borthwick naturally leans on players he knows can execute a game plan under pressure, but that loyalty is starting to look like a ceiling. Take the fly-half situation. George Ford is a tactical genius, a master of the kick-space game. But at 31, and with a recurring hamstring issue, he represents the game England used to play.
Marcus Smith is clearly the future, yet there’s still a sense that the coaching staff wants to "manage" him rather than letting him own the team. To truly revive England, Smith needs the keys to the car without a backseat driver. That means picking a backup who mirrors his attacking intent rather than reverting to a pragmatic territorial boot the moment things get tight. Fin Smith has shown at Northampton that he can balance both. The transition needs to happen now, not six months before the next World Cup.
The same logic applies to the front row. Dan Cole and Joe Marler have been incredible servants, but the modern game demands props who can do more than just scrummage for fifty minutes. They need to be destructive in the loose and mobile enough to cover the field. Bringing in the likes of Asher Opoku-Fordjour isn't just about "giving youth a chance." It's about injecting a level of athleticism that the current aging stalwarts simply can't provide anymore.
Fixing the final quarter collapse
If you look at the statistics from England’s recent losses, a haunting pattern emerges. They are leading or within a score at the 60-minute mark, only to fall apart when the "finishers" come on. The concept of the 23-man squad is meant to maintain intensity, but for England, it’s often where the wheels come off.
This isn't just a fitness issue; it's a leadership vacuum. When Jamie George or Ben Earl leaves the field, the emotional temperature of the team drops. Borthwick needs to rethink his bench strategy. Instead of scripted substitutions at a specific minute, he needs to react to the flow of the game. If a player is dominating his opposite number, leave him on.
More importantly, the tactical shift that happens when the subs come on is too drastic. England often switches to a "protect the lead" mentality, which is the fastest way to lose against teams like New Zealand or South Africa. You can't invite those teams onto you. The bench players need to be picked specifically for their ability to keep the foot on the throat of the opposition, not just to tackle and hope for the best.
Developing a ruthless breakdown identity
England’s breakdown work is currently "fine," which is a death sentence in modern rugby. They aren't as clinical as the Irish or as destructive as the Springboks. Ben Earl is a world-class ball carrier, but he can't be the only person over the ball.
Borthwick needs to decide what his back row actually does. Right now, it feels like a collection of great individuals who don't always complement each other's skill sets. Tom Curry and Sam Underhill—the "under-curry" duo—offered a specific identity in 2019 that teams feared. Injuries have hampered that, but the principle remains.
England needs a specialist openside who lives for the turnover. Whether that’s a fully fit Tom Curry or someone like Chandler Cunningham-South being given the license to be a pure enforcer, the breakdown needs to become a zone of aggression. At the moment, England allows opposition scrum-halves too much clean ball. If you don't slow the ruck, you can't set the defense. It's that simple.
Ending the obsession with the kick-chase
Kicking is essential. No one is saying England should play like a Barbarians side and run it from their own try line every time. But the current obsession with the "box kick and chase" has become predictable. It’s a low-percentage play that relies on the opposition making a mistake rather than England creating an opportunity.
The best teams in the world use the kick to manipulate the backfield so they can run into the gaps later. England seems to use the kick as an end in itself. When you have finishers like Immanuel Feyi-Waboso and Tommy Freeman, kicking the ball away constantly feels like a waste of elite talent.
Borthwick needs to empower his playmakers to recognize when the "on" is there to spread the ball. This requires a shift in coaching philosophy. It means moving away from a rigid "if-then" playbook and allowing for more intuition on the field. You can see the players want to do it. You see flashes of it in the Premiership every weekend. The disconnect between club form and international restriction is where England’s spark is being smothered.
Redefining the captaincy and on-field voice
Jamie George is a brilliant leader and a pillar of the squad, but the demands on a modern hooker are immense. Between the scrummaging, the lineout throwing, and the heavy carrying, expecting him to also manage the referee and the tactical pulse of the game for 80 minutes is a huge ask—especially when he’s often substituted late in the game.
England needs a leadership group that stays on the pitch. If the captain is a front-rower, the vice-captain must be a tactical leader in the backs who can take over seamlessly. Maro Itoje has matured significantly, and his communication with officials has improved, but there’s a vacuum in the backline.
Without a clear, commanding voice at 10 or 12 who stays on for the full duration, England looks leaderless during those critical final ten minutes. Borthwick has to identify who his "closers" are—the players who will stay on the pitch no matter what and dictate the terms of the engagement when the pressure is highest.
The revival of England rugby isn't going to come from a new set of drills or a better gym program. It’s going to come from a head coach who is willing to stop playing the percentages and start playing to win. That means making the big calls on personnel, changing the tactical restrictive jacket, and trusting that this group of players has the talent to beat anyone if they’re actually allowed to play.
Start by looking at the selection for the next training camp. If it’s the same faces in the same roles, expect the same results. To change the output, you have to change the input. It’s time to move on from the safety of the known and embrace the potential of the new.
