If the old adage goes that you cannot win the World Cup during the warm-ups but you can lose it, Steve Borthwick can console himself that this disappointing defeat need not be terminal. There is no need to overly panic after what goes down as a third loss in a row and a fourth in six under Borthwick. But after insisting his players stick to the script, rather than worrying about Monday’s squad announcement, you have to wonder if it needs rewriting.
For the most worrying aspect – other than the dreadfully misfiring lineout – is that it was not abundantly clear what England were even trying to achieve against an unknown Wales side. If we are being kind to England then we can conclude that this was a waste of time that Borthwick simply does not have, and while there is the obvious caveat that his was nothing like his first-choice side, that opening warm-up matches are often of limited value, it must be remembered that Wales began the summer at a similar ebb. They now have some wind in their sails whereas England’s remain limp.
There is something close to a first-choice XV in the players omitted but as Borthwick keeps reminding us, he does not have time to spend on players he has already decided will not make the cut.
To that end, maybe there was an element of England players competing for the final few spots. At lock, David Ribbans and George Martin are unlikely to both be selected but one probably will. The same could be said of Guy Porter and Joe Marchant in the centres. Equally, if Tom Pearson is picked it is likely to be at the expense of his fellow flanker Lewis Ludlam and if Joe Cokanasiga makes it, Henry Arundell – who may well have started if not for a hamstring problem in camp – probably won’t.
Of all those players it was Marchant who best furthered his claim. He was at the sharp end of the move of the first half after England repeatedly tried and failed to bash down the Wales door with one-out passes. Eventually Alex Dombrandt, taking the ball from Danny Care, pulled it back to Marcus Smith who put Marchant through a gap and almost all the way to the tryline. It was the cohesion from club familiarity Borthwick had talked about in advance but was about as good as it got for England. It should be said that if it took a valuable 80 minutes to try to iron out the last few selections in the 33-man squad, it was not the best use of the precious time England have remaining.
Going forward, Borthwick must start picking his first-choice XV and surely we will see something like it at Twickenham against Wales next weekend. He was, after all, part of the coaching staff when England dismantled Ireland four years ago to establish Eddie Jones’s side as contenders, Joe Schmidt’s as also-rans. Ireland failed to recover from that defeat but as deflating as it was, England can come back from this loss.
These warm-up matches tend to blow off cobwebs, get players back into the swing of things and admittedly the number of knock-ons will diminish the more England play. But what baffles is that these matches are of added importance for both these sides, who are playing catchup having changed coaches at the end of last year. Critical momentum can be built to take into the World Cup.
Borthwick has identified the set piece, defence and attack as key areas of improvement from the Six Nations (other than that England are going swimmingly!). There were, in fairness, brief moments of improvement in the first half but what will concern Borthwick most is the lineout and how badly it malfunctioned, only highlighting the importance of Jamie George’s fitness as the only senior hooker in the squad. Equally, how England threatened to unravel when Wales were seizing the upper hand in the second half and it is no exaggeration to say more polished sides could have capitalised to greater effect.
There were high hopes for Pearson but he was lifted in the tackle and driven backwards by his opposite number Jac Morgan and though he was his tireless self, it was not the debut he would have dreamed about. Until he had won his first cap, Pearson always used to leave his England kit at their training base. He can take it home now, though he will hope to do anything but on Monday. Ludlam, for his part, was solid and is one of few players to start every match under Borthwick. But the biggest worry is that this was again a collective back row that came off second best with Morgan and Aaron Wainwright in particular catching the eye.
It was a problem – to devastating effect – against France in the Six Nations and though Borthwick does have competition for places, he is yet to find the right balance in that department. To that end, maybe the most significant outcome of this match is that Billy Vunipola’s fitness has taken on even more importance.
Like plenty of others, his is a reputation enhanced by not taking part on Saturday. If it had been an audition, the vast majority of England’s side fluffed their lines.
