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England will look back on their June and July matches with a high degree of satisfaction after returning three wins from four.
With 13 players initially called up for the British and Irish Lions tour to Australia, and Jamie George sent for midway through the tour, there was plenty of chance for Steve Borthwick to test out the mettle of those who have impressed in the Gallagher Premiership or faded from the international picture after their initial call-up.
On that score, Borthwick can be pleased.
The oddity when it comes to wins and losses, was that the only defeat came at home, 26-24 against France in a non-cap match at Allianz Stadium in June.
After that, though it was three from three on the road.
Two wins from two in Argentina – 22-17 and 35-12 - is highly impressive, even if Argentina, like England, weren’t at full strength.
The 40-5 victory over USA Eagles was expected, but the hour delay and two stops during the match due to lighting will stand the young players in good stead for future challenges.
OPTIONS AT TEN
George Ford was at the heart of tour. With Fin Smith and Marcus Smith away, and Owen Farrell settling back into life in England, his experience and match control was paramount to the tour’s success.
He didn’t disappoint.
As captain he led the team well, initially sharing the job with George, and ensured the new players settled in and understood what was expected, but made sure they celebrated debut caps and the wins.
On the pitch he produced balanced displays, finding players with passes, but knowing when to kick to space, and crucially in the first test in Argentina, when to ping over a drop goal.
It means in the last year, Borthwick has had three different first choice flyhalves. Marcus Smith impressed in November 2024 but lost out to Fin Smith by the end of the Six Nations. Now it’s Ford’s jersey to lose.
Oh, and now Farrell is back in contention. It will be fascinating to see how Borthwick squares this circle, and who he plumps for as his first choice this coming season.
BACK ROWS EVERYWHERE
Is it possible to put out an entire team of back rowers? Borthwick seems to be edging closer to seeing if that’s possible.
He has already used Alex Dombrandt and Chandler Cunningham-South in the second row, and Alex Coles has switched between back and second row.
Considering three back rowers – Ben Earls, Tom Curry, and Henry Pollock – are away with the Lions, Guy Pepper, Ben Curry, Sam Underhill, and Tom Willis showed that England can perform just as well without them.
It adds up well that Borthwick has options galore, because South Africa and France are ramping up their forward base, and if England want to topple them in the World Cup and Six Nations, the pack’s intensity cannot drop one iota.
COMEBACK FRIENDS
Freddie Steward and Jack van Poortvliet are good pals, this we know.
Two Norfolk boys reared in the Leicester Tigers Academy, who won the Premiership together, and made their England breakthrough around the same time.
Now, they are forcing their way back into the England reckoning, after injury and a change of philosophy about what type of fullback Borthwick wanted.
Both benefitted from Michael Cheika’s coaching at Leicester, which gave them a little bit more freedom to attack, and they carried that form onto tour.
Steward started both tests in Argentina and scored in the first test. Van Poortvliet came off the bench in both tests and scored the late winner in the second test. He then started against USA and scored another try.
Alex Mitchell is likely to be England’s first choice nine once he’s back from the Lions, but JVP appears set to continue as his deputy.
As for Steward, with Marcus Smith not overly comfortable at fullback, he has made a strong case for his recall in the November tests.
DITRY DOZEN
A little while back, the inside centre position was a problem, and no-one seemed to be the solution.
Then Borthwick turned to Fraser Dingwall, and all seemed to be right again. Until this tour which he missed.
Now Seb Atkinson has put his hand firmly in the air for consideration. The Gloucester man played both tests against Los Pumas and scored a try in the second test.
The numbers back up his claims and it will be a big tussle between him and Dingwall come the autumn.
In the first test, Atkinson made three passes, carried nine times for 20 metres, and made all 15 of his tackles.
They changed in the second, 10 passes, 16 metres from seven carries, and eight tackles, and he added a try.
Like with the flyhalf options, there is also the name Farrell edging back into contention now that he has returned to Saracens.
Steve Borthwick has big decisions all over the pitch but do them right and he and England could have big rewards.
Oh, and he’s already brought this guy back into the fold….