‘Borthwick’s England squad prolongs status quo, but that’s no bad thing’
When I looked at Steve Borthwick’s 36-man England World Cup training squad, which will be finalised next month, my first feeling was that it represented the status quo.
There’s no huge shock inclusion; no Sam Burgess or Willi Heinz to throw fans into a frenzy.
And while there are some shocking omissions – Alex Mitchell and Zach Mercer – England have alternatives that are quality and able to make an impact.
Borthwick playing it safe?
But World Cup squads don’t really need a bolter; why shock the England camp with an unknown outsider who will offer little but quotes for fans to over-analyse?
The 2015 World Cup, when England crashed out in the group stages, saw a fallout which cost Stuart Lancaster his job. But everyone was talking about the choice to pick Sam Burgess and the less-than-ideal World Cup he ended up having.
In 2019 there was a bolter in Heinz at scrum-half who, as part of a disastrous policy to take just two No9s, got injured and led to a player – Ben Spencer – being thrown in at the deep end in the World Cup final.
So this year let the other teams try and fail with bolters and just go with what you know, Steve.
Borthwick’s World Cup stars?
His five uncapped players are of a good quality and have a realistic shot of displacing a more experienced name when the final squad is announced on 7 August.
Harlequins winger Cadan Murley has been in squads before and offers the kind of strength that Jack Nowell or Jonny May do.
Tom Willis has been brilliant at Bordeaux since his move following the collapse of Wasps, while Theo Dan has been one of the standout hookers – and almost guaranteed a spot following the injury to stalwart Luke Cowan-Dickie.
But the interest for me lies with back-row Tom Pearson, formerly of London Irish and now with Northampton Saints, and Val Rapava-Ruskin of Gloucester.
These are boys who have been genuinely outstanding for their clubs in the last 12 months. Georgian-qualified Rapava-Ruskin has been, by far, the best loosehead in the Premiership, injuries aside.
And Pearson is explosive, a proper Lewis Moody-style flanker. He is a real workhorse who can carry and step well.
So while there’s no Burgess or Heinz, the fringe players Borthwick has picked reinforce the feeling of status quo, but with the ability to add to the squad without causing too much of a stir.
Irish on the move
It is always sad when players don’t get new contracts, and it’s even worse when a whole club goes bust.
So it is great to see so many London Irish lads picking up deals at other Premiership clubs.
Will Joseph’s move to Harlequins is a solid one, as is Pearson’s move to Northampton. There were a lot of talented players at London Irish so I am just happy to see players finding futures.
All Black fever
The Rugby Championship – the southern hemisphere’s version of the Six Nations – kicks off this weekend and while the reigning world champions South Africa will fancy their chances and Australia will be aiming to cause a fuss under Eddie Jones, you just cannot write off New Zealand.
No matter how good or bad the All Blacks are at any given time in the World Cup cycle, they’re always there or thereabouts when it matters.
They’ll be tough to beat but I would like to see Argentina win a game or two. It will make their World Cup pool with England and Japan even more exciting if they do.
Former England Sevens captain Ollie Phillips is the founder of Optimist Performance, experts in leadership development and behavioural change. Follow Ollie on Twitter and on LinkedIn.