England head coach Steve Borthwick had an interesting time in New Zealand, as his side underwent a two week tour across the North and South Islands. England were situated in Auckland and Dunedin for the two Test matches, with Borthwick experiencing first hand the passion that New Zealanders have for the All Blacks.
England took two defeats in the Test match series, yet there is no faulting the display that Borthwick’s young squad showcased at the Forsyth Barr Stadium and at Eden Park. England lost by just one point (16-15) at the home of the Highlanders, and were leading into the last 20 minutes at Eden Park, before succumbing to a 24-17 defeat in Auckland.
After the second Test, Steve Borthwick spoke to the reporting English and New Zealand media about the many run-ins he had with All Blacks fans. From chance interactions in the street to being stuck in a lift with enthusiastic Kiwi rugby fans, the England head coach certainly learned what the New Zealand public thought of the touring team. Speaking in the post match media centre at Eden Park last Saturday, Borthwick said;
“A lot of people were saying after the first Test that New Zealand were going to get so much better. I was being told by people in the street about 10 times a day how much we were going to get blown away at Eden Park. I was stopped on the street yesterday by a gentleman who told me that they had unpicked our rush defence, they knew how they were going to beat it, and were going to deliver that. I said ‘thank you for that’.
“I was told in the lift today that it was a privilege for us to play at Eden Park and we would be lucky if we were to get away with less than 50 points conceded. The team kept on coming at New Zealand today, kept fighting, and when the team went down 24-17, some teams wouldn’t have come back.
“What these guys did was get back to the New Zealand line, going hard to get the seven points to try and get that draw. That’s a great credit to them and I’m very proud to work with them. A lot of people were writing us off. We were very well led by this man (Jamie George).”
Borthwick sat up proud alongside his England captain, as the duo faced the New Zealand TV cameras after a gruling campaign. The second Test against the All Blacks did not just bring England’s Summer tour of Japan and New Zealand to a close, but the Eden Park battle also marked the end of an exhaustive 13 month season for the England players and coaches.
Stretching back to the Rugby World Cup warm-up Tests in June 2023, Borthwick’s side have been on the road for over a year without a break for club and country. The side has been worn down by the hectic schedule, with the likes of George Furbank withdrawing for England ahead of the match, with George Ford and Ellis Genge unavailable for the tour.
Borthwick expressed how his side are in need of a break after such an exhaustive campaign, and how a lack of fresh legs was a factor against a side that boasts the calibre of the All Blacks. England lost Theo Dan and Freddie Steward to head injury assessments against New Zealand, with Borthwick also addressing the post-match injury updates.
“It’s been a big 13 months or so, for everyone, especially the players. They need their regeneration time now, the coaches, the management team have been going for a good while now.”
“A number of those changes meant we didn’t necessarily have the fresh legs we thought we were going to have. You need that against a team as good as New Zealand.”
“Both HIA protocols, Theo (Dan) seems pretty well but Fred (Freddie Steward) has left to go back to the hotel early to help his recovery.”
Borthwick had his hand forced following the removal of Freddie Steward, as the Leicester Tigers fullback was left on the deck following a heavy clattering by Ethan de Groot. Steward was seen to have vomited on the pitch after the impact, and his lack of balance rang the alarm bells for a head injury assessment.
With Steward off the pitch, and George Furbank unavailable for the Test with a back injury, Borthwick swapped Marcus Smith to fullback for the first time since the Rugby World Cup. The Harlequin held his own upon his return to the back-three, as Northampton Saints halfback Fin Smith had previously come off the bench to take up the duties at 10.
“We’ve got 10s with great strengths and we felt at the time that change was important to us, with what Fin can bring, a different problem for New Zealand to face. As it turned out, Marcus was back on very quickly at 15 which was one of the permutations we were considering at the time. Clearly the man next to me (Jamie George) had to do a lot of work. He went off for about 30 seconds.”
The short-lived replacement that Borthwick alluded to, saw Jamie George substituted out for his Saracens teammate Theo Dan. However, the hooker was swiftly removed form play after putting his head the wrong side of Reiko Ioane’s knee, with his head also ricocheting off a trailing boot on the way to the deck. The front rower left the pitch in a daze, yet he was able to walk under his own two feet.
Handing over the media duties to his England captain, Borthwick allowed George to answer a question about how England will get ready for the All Blacks this Autumn. New Zealand and England will clash once more this November 2nd, with Twickenham set to host a blockbuster encounter towards the end of the year. Speaking on how his side are not starting from zero, as they had to after the post-Rugby World Cup re-set, George said;
“The big message from me is that we will never start from zero again. I spoke in the week about the journey that the team has been on, where we’ve come from throughout this pretty long season to where we are now, I’m pretty proud of all the work that’s gone in across the board.
“I said it outside to the boys, we’ve got a great opportunity. It’s important we need to rest, but at the back of our minds we’ve got a great opportunity when we next come together, the All Blacks at Twickenham, and that’s a hugely exciting prospect.”