Rugby Sports

How Steve Borthwick’s new-look England can hurt Scotland and deny them a Calcutta Cup hat-trick

A new dawn has arrived for England as the Steve Borthwick reign begins with England taking on Scotland in their opening match of the Six Nations.

For the past two seasons Scotland have opened up their tournaments with stunning victories over the old rivals, but as a new tenure begins at Twickenham a hat-trick of Calcutta Cup’s for the Scots may not be an easy task.

Line ups

Steve Borthwick’s first team was always going to be interesting, his press announcement had some clear digs about Jones’ reign – “some of these guys have been performing well and have been fighting for an England opportunity and now they have got just that.”

With that in mind, form winger Ollie Hassel-Collins has been given a chance to shine as he becomes the first London Irish player to receive an England start since 2014.

Other notable inclusions in the backline, such as Joe Marchant and Max Malins, come into the starting XV, after being briefly used in previous years.

With Tom Curry out injured, Borthwick has displayed bravery with his team selection and picked someone who can do an almost identical job –  his twin brother Ben Curry. While other form back-rower Ben Earl will be used off the bench.

The front row is one area that reflects a similarity to Jones’ selections, Ellis Genge, Jaime George and Kyle Sinkler all once again bringing the power game.

Despite going into his sixth edition of the tournament, Gregor Townsend has chosen a new style and flavour in his team selection.

Gone are the tried and tested Lions players of; Ali Price, Hamish Watson and Chris Harris – instead form from domestic and European action are at the forefront of the starting line-up.

In lieu, the likes of Jaime Ritchie, Luke Crosbie, Ben White and Sione Tuipulotu all come into the side after some stunning performances with Glasgow, Edinburgh and London Irish respectively.

Yet, there remain some key men of Townsend’s time at Scotland with Finn Russell, Stuart Hogg and Darcy Graham all starting in a backline made to attack.

Key Areas

Lineout

One area that will be very intriguing, yet, crucial to the match is the battle in the skies. England will want to show they can attack from set-piece, something that wasn’t always apparent last year. To do so though, you have to win it, especially the lineout which looks like it can be an area Scotland can target. Townsend has selected Grant Gilchrist and Richie Gray, two of the best in the air and that can put England under some serious pressure. Maro Itoje is a world-class player but with no Courtney Lawes or Jonny Hill alongside him at the lineout for only the fourth time since 2021, the lock will be under strong scrutiny for the English. Ollie Chessum is a physical player, his performances for Leicester have shown that those will have been a key factor in his selection but does he have the technical ability in the air to hold off the threats of the Scots? Only time will tell.

Attack

In the latter stages under Jones, the attack felt non-existent with rare flashes of brilliance the only exciting moments for fans to cheer about. In a year when England won just 5/12 tests, one of the main flaws was scoring tries. The Six Nations was a major concern in that area, with eight in the entire tournament five of which against Italy, Nick Evans & co. have a lot to work on.

Evans’ introduction into the coaching set-up should add some clarity and direction, with his methods paving the way for Harlequins’ glorious free-flowing Premiership Title in 2021. One of those key elements is the pace of play ‘Speed over Shape’ is what makes Quins attack so special.

This season, Quins have an average ruck speed of 3.8 seconds, the third-best in the Premiership behind only Northampton and London Irish. Thus the inclusion of physical but athletic Alex Dombrant should provide the strength to secure the ball but also the endurance to speed up as many breakdowns as possible. While Marcus Smith, Joe Marchant and the finisher Hassell-Collins should be able to convert that speed into breaks and points.

With the prioritisation of Ruck speed and taking those small moments in matches Quins have averaged 4.5 tries per game and 7.4 line breaks, a complete contrast to England. The level of the Premiership is clearly not the same as international rugby but with that mentality and quality of players that Borthwick has selected England should be able to improve the attack and cause Scotland problems.

Defence

When playing Scotland, the defence needs to be up there with the world’s best – insert Kevin Sinfield. Since his introduction at Leicester, the Tigers have become one of the most physical sides around. Inject that into England and progress will be made.

In 24 league matches the Tigers conceded 58 tries – an average of 2.16 per game which in today’s style of rugby is mightily impressive all of this led by Sinfield.

Injuries to Dan Kelly and Henry Slade will have hurt England’s midfield wall but as Borthwick has made clear in all his speeches it’s about who you have available not who isn’t. Therefore the work of Marchant and Farrell will be crucial to Sinfield’s style of pressure on any opposition attack.  Staying connected whilst forcing mistakes from the ball carrier is harder than it looks but the defence coach has shown his methods have worked.

Targeting the duo Sione Tuipulotu and Huw Jones will be crucial for the host’s chances on Saturday. Keep them out of the game and force Finn Russel to force things and England will dominate their opponents, yes the Racing fly-half can create magic from anywhere but if you harass him enough the pressure might just be enough to stifle Scotland. However, with a combo of Farrell and Marchant, Townsend’s men might have a chance to crack the centre and release Duhan van der Merwe with Ben White of course floating around as he does with great effect.

Predictions

England’s last game at HQ vs South Africa was accompanied by a chorus of ‘Boos!’. Borthwick’s first game should provide fans with a sense of optimism; a fast start is needed to keep that. If Scotland can stun the crowd early on with some sizzling attack, that crowd might just become restless, a familiar sound could come flooding back.

That is the worst-case scenario, in all likelihood, England will lay down their challenge with a fast start with potential waves of attack and forward power paving the way for victory. Scotland need a fast start and to attack the set-piece otherwise a third successive Calcutta cup seems unlikely.

England 24-16 Scotland

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *