Category: England Rugby

Defeat of Argentina in 2000 was important stepping stone for Clive Woodward’s side on way to winning ultimate prize

It is exactly 25 years since the most fraught pre-match buildup in the history of English international rugby union. In this same week in November 2000 a pay row led to the entire national side walking out on strike, prompting Clive Woodward to threaten that an alternative team of lower-league amateurs would be chosen if his players did not return to training by 11am the following morning.

After a tense standoff they duly did so, a grudging truce was agreed and the weekend game against Argentina went ahead with England winning 19-0. Three years later all but two of that matchday squad (the exceptions were David Flatman and Matt Perry) were lifting the Rugby World Cup in Australia. The moral of the “strike” story? The darkest hour can be the springboard to a spectacular golden dawn.

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• Bath centre replaces Fraser Dingwall

• Itoje: ‘He has a bit of a swagger the way he plays’

Max Ojomoh has been backed to bring his swagger to England’s pursuit of an autumn internationals clean sweep after he was a late call-up following more disruption to Steve Borthwick’s side. Ojomoh has been thrust into the No 12 jersey for a first Twickenham start in place of the injured Fraser Dingwall but Maro Itoje believes the Bath centre will flourish against Argentina.

Dingwall’s withdrawal with a side strain sustained last weekend is further upheaval for Borthwick, who has already lost Ollie Lawrence, Jamie George and Tom Roebuck since the 33-19 triumph over the All Blacks. With Tommy Freeman and Ollie Chessum also injury casualties of the autumn, Borthwick’s ranks have been depleted but Ojomoh has been in fine fettle for Bath this season and impressed on his debut against the USA last summer.

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The Springboks are the standard-bearers in world rugby and will look to underline that position with a first win in Dublin in the Rassie Erasmus era

Be careful what you wish for. That would be my message to England supporters getting a little bit ahead of themselves and wishing that South Africa were due at Twickenham on Sunday. By all means get a little carried away – that’s the beauty of following a team on a winning run and it’s a demonstration of the confidence surrounding this England team at the moment – but the Springboks can wait until next summer.

South Africa remain the standard-bearers in world rugby. They are perfectly placed to achieve their goal of finishing the year as the No 1 team in the world and, given South Africa have never won in Dublin under Rassie Erasmus, there will be plenty of motivation to create another slice of history against Ireland on Saturday. The question is, have England closed the gap this autumn? And if so, by how much.

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Beating the All Blacks shows how far Steve Borthwick’s men have come – but there remains yet more room for improvement

After finally scaling Mount Everest with Tenzing Norgay on 29 May 1953 the first person Edmund Hillary encountered on his descent was his longtime climbing friend, George Lowe. “Well, George,” Hillary said, “we knocked the bastard off.” Which is basically how England’s captain, Maro Itoje, and his team felt on Saturday having lifted the Hillary Shield, named in honour of the indomitable New Zealander who conquered the world’s most famous summit.

English rugby’s ultimate Everest is still up ahead of them, of course, in the form of the 2027 World Cup, but this was their South Col moment. And while a first home win against the All Blacks since 2012 and their second‑highest margin of victory in this 120-year-old fixture will both be sources of satisfaction there was also a powerful sense that their upwardly mobile trek is far from complete.

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George Ford inspired England to their first win over the All Blacks in six years

Beauden Barrett sends the ball into England territory and we’re underway.

We’ve had the anthems and now it’s Haka time. England let slip that they have a very special response planned…

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Maro Itoje and company have talked the talk and are hungry to follow through with a first win at home over New Zealand since 2012

For better or worse it has been lashing down in south-west London. Good news for restocking the reservoirs but rather less so for dry-ball rugby. Had England played New Zealand 24 hours earlier it would have resembled a game of outdoor water polo and, although the matchday forecast is less biblical, a decidedly damp, grey afternoon awaits.

Is it some kind of celestial clue that England’s on-field drought against the All Blacks might be about to break? It is now 13 years since the last men’s victory over New Zealand at what was once called Twickenham, so long ago that Maro Itoje was still at school. Troublemaker by Olly Murs (featuring Flo Rida) topped the UK charts and the nation was basking in a warm, fuzzy post-London Olympics glow that was supposed to last indefinitely.

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• England’s 2012 Twickenham win frequently referenced

• Jamie George: ‘Why can’t we be next team talked about?’

Maro Itoje’s England have been urged to cement their place in sporting legend by becoming only the nation’s ninth ever side to defeat the All Blacks.

England head into Saturday’s crunch clash as marginal favourites, with meaning a first Twickenham win over New Zealand for 13 years, and George Ford has revealed that the former captain Jamie George has issued a call to arms, imploring his teammates to carve themselves a slice of history.

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• Borthwick’s side chasing 10th straight victory

• ‘The quality of the playing squad has improved’

England have endured plenty of agonising near misses against New Zealand in recent years but there is no shortage of belief this time around.

The home captain, Maro Itoje, says he believes his side are “ready” to secure a first victory over the All Blacks since 2019 and suggests they now have the rising confidence and mental clarity to extend their winning run to 10 games.

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• Barrett missed win against Scotland due to cut

• Scott Robertson preparing for aerial contest

Scott Barrett has come back to ­captain the All Blacks against England at Twickenham this weekend

Barrett had 12 stitches threaded in his leg after he suffered a cut beneath his knee playing against ­Ireland a fortnight ago, and missed his team’s 25-17 victory against ­Scotland at ­Murrayfield last week, but Scott ­Robertson, the New ­Zealand head coach, confirmed that he had played a full part in training and will be ready for the England game.

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• Tennis star visits training camp to share experiences

• Steve Borthwick’s side take on New Zealand on Saturday

England’s preparations for their clash with the All Blacks on Saturday have been boosted by some words of wisdom from the former US Open tennis champion Emma Raducanu, who visited their Bagshot training base on Tuesday.

Raducanu took to the training field with Steve Borthwick’s squad, taking part in lineout practice and kicking drills with Marcus Smith before sharing insights with the captain, Maro Itoje. Borthwick also invited the Brighton manager, Fabian Hürzeler, to address the squad this week.

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• ‘We need a clear gameplan to put them under pressure’

• All Blacks have not lost at Twickenham for 13 years

Jamie George has warned that England must not be seduced by the All Blacks’ mystique if they are to clinch a first Twickenham victory over New Zealand in 13 years on Saturday.

Steve Borthwick has been boosted before the toughest assignment of England’s autumn campaign with the return to fitness of Elliot Daly, who could make his first appearance since fracturing an arm on British & Irish Lions duty, while Freddie Steward and Tom Roebuck were also named in Sunday night’s 37-man squad.

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England survived a tricky first half to deliver a comfortable win at Allianz Twickenham

6 mins. Fiji exit with little fuss, but Muntz’s kick to touch simply invites another attack from and English lineout. A nice pattern is run in midfield that nearly puts Freeman into space, and a few phases later Cowan-Dickie powers over from short.

Smith converts.

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Harlequins man will have a new role against Fiji in a side likely to deploy a similar gameplan to that which felled Australia

Opportunity knocks for Chandler Cunningham-South against Fiji on Saturday. He has 18 caps to his name but this will be the first time he has worn the No 8 jersey for his country and he has the chance to demonstrate to Steve Borthwick that he can offer something different in a back row brimming with talent.

Borthwick’s decision to omit Tom Willis from his squad on the grounds he is heading to France has meant there is an opening because, for all the quality options England have in the back row, there is a concentration of openside flankers and far fewer players who offer genuine size and power. Cunningham-South offers both in abundance.

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With Marcus Smith at full-back and a highly mobile back five in the pack, Steve Borthwick could play with the handbrake fully off

Much has happened in the 27 months since Fiji were last at Twickenham and beat England. You would certainly have had decent odds back then on the home side’s reserve prop Joe Marler becoming a national TV treasure, a fever dream roughly on a par with Claudia Winkleman shaving off her hair and packing down at loosehead. Who knew?

But here we are in an increasingly parallel universe. Big Joe now has Alan Carr and Sir Stephen Fry on speed dial while England, since the 30-22 defeat in August 2023, have also undergone their own extreme makeover. Having been a team who, by the admission of their own coach early in his tenure, “weren’t good at anything” they are now hoping to extend an eight-match winning run after defeating Australia comfortably last week.

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• Genge to captain side as Borthwick makes seven changes

• Itoje on the bench after missing training due to injury

Steve Borthwick has ­acknowledged the challenges presented by ­managing Marcus Smith’s ­diminished role for England but has urged the recalled playmaker to kickstart his side’s attack against Fiji on Saturday.

Borthwick revealed that he met with Smith before England’s autumn campaign to offer support to the ­Harlequins No 10, who was ­first-choice fly-half 12 months ago before being moved to full-back and then to the role of super sub.

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