sport news SIR CLIVE WOODWARD: Steve Borthwick's first game will finally put the Eddie ... trends now
When I took over the England job, one of the first things I did was stress to the players the importance of getting the fans behind the team. That meant bringing 85,000 people to their feet at Twickenham by the way we were playing.
This side have to take that message on when they begin a new era under Steve Borthwick against Scotland in the Calcutta Cup on Saturday.
International rugby is about winning. But it is also about excitement and getting your supporters to back you by embracing the style of rugby the team deliver on the field. This England outfit can do that.
I’m hugely excited by the Six Nations opener. Borthwick’s first game as head coach will finally put the Eddie Jones tenure to bed.
Jones’s last game in charge against South Africa saw the team booed off. That was so sad to hear and showed just how far the team had fallen in the eyes of the English rugby public. Borthwick and his players have the chance to turn that all around.
England can now put Eddie Jones tenure to bed when they take on Scotland
The England squad were booed off after a heavy loss to South Africa in November
I think this could be the best Calcutta Cup ever. I’m very pleased with England’s selection, particularly Ollie Hassell-Collins on the wing. Scotland have a fine team too. It all points to a potential classic.
England need to put the last dire three years firmly behind them. They have been sleepwalking since their no-show at the 2019 World Cup final. They had been regressing at a worrying rate.
Borthwick has a chance to change the direction of travel. It’s a huge opportunity for him and the team. I was impressed to hear Maro Itoje admit England were in need of a change. It suggests the new coaching dynamic has already made an impact on him.
Itoje is so important. The England players themselves may not have recognised just how flat their camp had become, even if everyone else had.
They now have the opportunity to reinvigorate themselves and make fans truly proud of their team again.
If I was Borthwick, my message to the players would be the same one I delivered all those years ago — to go out there and get the crowd truly excited by the way they play.
England need to play with pace and style and go at Scotland. It won’t be easy because Scotland have excellent players — any team that can leave out Hamish Watson and Chris Harris is a strong one. They should have beaten New Zealand in autumn.
It will be fascinating to see how England play. Borthwick hasn’t had much time in
