Category: Rugby Union

Two years on from landmark investment no one would describe Borthwick’s side as world-leading but the Prem is thriving

This month marks two years since the power brokers of the English game held court at Twickenham, sat in the kind of room where old money swills on Saturdays, and told us they were spending £264m to “reshape the rugby landscape”. The professional game partnership (PGP) between the Rugby Football Union and the Prem clubs was trumpeted as “historic” and would bring “world-leading English teams and thriving professional leagues”. Two years on and with a World Cup 12 months away, would anyone argue we are on the right path to achieving both aims?

Steve Borthwick was absent from Twickenham that day. It felt odd at the time because the most significant aspect of the PGP allows him to award 25 enhanced contracts and assume more control over the selected players. Precisely how much control is a question answered in shades of grey. At the time, an increase at all felt significant, a win for the head coach, but with hindsight, with the clubs still financially weakened by the pandemic, the RFU could have seized far more autonomy.

• ‘I’m happy. It’s an exciting place to be right now’

• Prem champions have moved to tie down huge asset

England back row Henry Pollock has signed a bumper new contract with Northampton. The 21-year-old has agreed a “multi-year” deal, the Prem champions announced on Tuesday morning.

“I’m massively happy to re-sign with Saints, my boyhood club,” Pollock said. “It’s an exciting place to be right now. We’re in a great spot as a team, but it feels like there’s still so much more growth in us.”

Centre is back in the Prem with Sale after three years in Paris where he says he learned a lot more than the language and is ready to play for England again

Joe Marchant admits he has been a disappointment. Significant developments over the summer gave rise to lofty expectations among his new Sale Sharks teammates but the 30-year-old centre knows he has not lived up to them. “When we’re playing here, people expect me to be good,” he says. “Why would it make me good in any way? I’m not the best.”

Marchant is, of course, referring to his football skills rather than the rugby ones and the added expectation to perform in a pre-training kick-about after former Newcastle and England captain Alan Shearer became his father-in-law over the summer. In every other department, Marchant has done nothing but impress in his new surroundings.

Full-back missed out for England when he had appendix out but could be key for Steve Borthwick if his luck changes

George Furbank must have cracked a few mirrors in his time. A second Prem winners’ medal was some way to bring the curtain down on his Northampton career but when it comes to England, he cannot catch a break. Indeed, it is staggering to consider the 29-year-old full-back has just 14 caps to his name, only one more than his former Saints teammate Henry Pollock, who is only 21.

It was supposed to be No 15 against South Africa in July – more than 18 months since his previous England appearance – but Furbank woke up feeling off colour the day before the match and was sent for a scan by the team doctor. The results arrived at 7pm on the Friday night – Furbank would need to stay in hospital and have his appendix out on the Saturday. The wait would go on.

• Governing body floating staging Ireland v Italy in US

• World Rugby eyes commercial value in American fixtures

World Rugby wants a Six Nations match to be staged in the US and has offered financial incentives to the unions to do so – but England have effectively ruled themselves out on the grounds that fixtures at Twickenham are too lucrative.

The US will stage the 2031 World Cup and World Rugby is seeking to capitalise commercially despite mounting fears over the parlous state of rugby union in the host country. As a result, the governing body is desperate to raise interest in the sport’s profile by staging high-profile matches Stateside, with Baltimore hosting the fourth Test between South Africa and New Zealand on Saturday.

• RFU eager to avoid uncertainty heading into World Cup

• Lloyds Bank to pay £5m a year for logo on back of jerseys

Steve Borthwick will be handed a contract extension until after the 2028 Six Nations, giving the Rugby Football Union time to identify his successor if England flop at the World Cup next year.

The RFU’s move is designed to avoid uncertainty heading into the tournament but stops short of backing Borthwick in the long term.

• Pair have joined Sale after spells in France

• Duo last played for England at 2023 World Cup

Courtney Lawes and Joe Marchant have been warned they must go “over and above” the performances of their rivals in the first five weeks of the new season to earn England recalls this autumn.

Lawes, 37, and the 30-year-old Marchant have both joined Sale this summer after spells in France and stated their ambition to resurrect their international careers, having last represented England at the 2023 World Cup.

Lawes is back in the Prem after two years in France and has unfinished business at international level

Courtney Lawes was not expecting to be named in Steve Borthwick’s pre‑season England squad over the weekend. While the 37-year-old has made clear that his return to the Prem with Sale Sharks is in no small part down to his ambition to feature in a fifth World Cup next year, much like the national head coach Lawes favours action rather than words.

Borthwick has explained to players such as Lawes, his fellow Sale arrival Joe Marchant and Newcastle’s new No 8 Hoskins Sotutu that in order to achieve England selection they must prove themselves against the players they are now competing with in the Prem.