England going in the right direction

IF WE measure England from the time Steve Borthwick took over as head coach to where we are now there has been an improvement in performance.

- JEREMY GUSCOTT

The most marked aspect is in the way they are playing, especially when you consider where they were when Eddie Jones left Twickenham almost two years ago.

The limbo then, with players coming and going, was reminiscent of the England low points in the 1980s and the mid-late 2000s – and I hated the way that England were playing, and wasn’t all that interested in watching them.

Following that, the 2023 World Cup was a holding operation, and getting to the semi-finals was a job well done considering how badly the team played in the World Cup warm-ups.

The progress since then has not all been smooth, especially the early games in this year’s Six Nations, but the win over Ireland and narrow loss to France was a watershed in England’s approach – and it continued in New Zealand.

The overall level of England’s performance in the two Tests against the All Blacks was for me a 7.5 or 8/10. They were competitive, and good to watch, and I enjoyed a lot of what I saw, and was not overly annoyed that they didn’t take all their chances. These tours provide an opportunity to learn, and to grow, and this England squad should bank the experience and be better for it despite the disappointment of losing both Tests by small margins.

If England had played New Zealand in the 2023 World Cup there would only have been one winner, with the All Blacks probably 20 points or more better, especially in good conditions. Almost a year later England have played well and been competitive against New Zealand in an away summer series, and now they know that if they improve further they have a good chance of beating the All Blacks at Twickenham in the first of the autumn Tests.

It is now about Borthwick’s team evolving and growing, and getting on with it rather than thinking that it might be better if the NZ match was at the end of the autumn series.