Category: England Rugby

• Coach praises ‘great leader’ who is ‘calm under pressure’
• Radical decision comes before make-or-break Six Nations

Maro Itoje will lead England into the Six Nations after Steve Borthwick made the radical decision to ditch Jamie George as captain and promote the second row before a campaign that promises to make or break the head coach’s tenure.

Borthwick said George was “disappointed” to lose the captaincy after only 12 months in what he described as a challenging conversation with the hooker but explained the decision to appoint Itoje was made on the basis that he is a “world‑class player who has the respect of everybody”.

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With Alex Mitchell back at scrum-half, England could turn opener in Dublin into start of successful campaign

Maybe Elon Musk is the man to revive English rugby union. He already believes he has the solutions to most of the universe’s biggest problems so reforming a mere sports team should be a piece of futuristic cake. Throw £40bn at it, take over the comms department and stick the Rugby Football Union’s finest on a rocket ship to Mars? It’s an easy game, megalomania.

Back in the real world, of course, nothing is ever quite that straightforward. Even AI cannot identify why England keep struggling to maximise their resources because there is no one simple explanation. As Steve Borthwick prepares to unveil his Six Nations squad on Tuesday, it is again less about the individuals per se than finding the right blend to enable the collective to flourish.

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• Recovery delayed by new England deal, says Rob Baxter
• Operation would rule him out of Six Nations

England’s Immanuel Feyi-Waboso is still in two minds about whether to undergo a shoulder operation that could affect his chances of representing the British & Irish Lions this summer. The Exeter wing is scheduled to have surgery next week, which would rule him out of the Six Nations and complicate his dream of touring Australia with the Lions.

Rob Baxter, Exeter’s director of rugby, says the 22-year-old has not yet ruled out postponing the operation and can avoid recurring shoulder issues for the remainder of this season. A decision will need to be taken imminently, however, with Baxter suggesting extensive discussions between club and country are already delaying the process.

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• Shoulder problem could rule wing out of tournament
• Furbank also likely to miss opening match in Ireland

Steve Borthwick has mounting headaches over his back-three contingent before the Six Nations with Immanuel Feyi-Waboso, George Furbank and Ollie Sleightholme all sidelined with injuries

Feyi-Waboso has a dislocated shoulder and with surgery beckoning, he is facing a spell on the sidelines that would rule him out of the Six Nations, dealing Borthwick what would be a major setback before a crucial campaign that begins away to Ireland on 1 February.

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• Former teammate says search echoes own family tragedy
• Voyce believed to have been swept away crossing river

Lawrence Dallaglio has expressed his sorrow after his former England teammate Tom Voyce was apparently swept away while crossing a flooded river, with the Rugby World Cup winner saying it has echoes of his own family tragedy.

Voyce was believed to have died after trying to flee his car when he got into difficulty crossing a ford on the River Aln, near Alnwick, ­Northumberland, during Storm ­Darragh. The 43-year-old was last seen on ­Saturday and a major search involving the emergency services and volunteers continued on Wednesday.

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Tom Voyce, 43, is believed to have died after going into the River Aln in his car, Northumbria police have said

The former England rugby union international Tom Voyce, 43, is believed to have died after going into the River Aln in his car, Northumbria police have said.

The force said officers received a report on Sunday morning that Voyce, who played for clubs including Bath and Wasps, had not returned home after an evening with friends. Northumbria police said it is believed he attempted to cross Abberwick Ford in his car, which was then pulled along with the current of the river. The car has since been recovered but officers did not find Voyce and it is believed he was swept away while attempting to escape and has died.

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Footage from documentary on World Cup heroes shows why they have launched campaign to aid retired players

Rugby can be a tough game to play and, occasionally, a desperately tough subject to write about. Particularly when painful truths are being starkly outlined by the most honest, respected and outwardly resilient of men. And by individuals who, having lifted the 2003 Rugby Rugby World Cup, have enjoyed the ultimate professional high the sport has to offer.

There was precious little to celebrate, sadly, when Phil Vickery popped around for a sitdown chat with his old England front-row pal Steve Thompson as part of a new documentary, Unbreakable: England 2003, released on TNT Sport this week. In a perfect world it would have been an excuse for warm reminiscences and fond memories, a reunion as sweet as the old chariot itself.

Unbreakable: England 2003 premieres on TNT Sports on 11 December.

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Beneath headline figures of the chief executive’s bumper income, what does the RFU stand for and want to achieve?

There have been suggestions in recent years, little more than rumours – though plenty of them – that the Rugby Football Union’s chief executive, Bill Sweeney, might have been preparing his exit strategy. That finding a replacement for Eddie Jones could be his parting gift, that negotiating the new eight-year agreement with the Premiership could be his intended legacy. Eventually the whispers grew loud enough that Sweeney publicly denied it and, after it emerged on Monday he was paid £1.1m thanks to the maturation of a bonus three years in the making, we appear to have a pretty good idea as to why.

The first thing to say about Sweeney’s eye-watering raise – a performance-based payment of £358,000 on top of a base salary of £742,000 – is that you can hardly blame him for taking it. Admittedly, he will have likely negotiated the details of the long-term incentive plan that has so lined his pockets but would you really expect him to turn it down? The blame lies with the RFU’s board and remuneration committee for signing off on a scheme that has made Sweeney the best-paid chief executive of a UK sports governing body – excluding payouts – at a time when 42 redundancies have just been made and a loss to reserves of £42m has just been announced.

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Morale-boosting win over Japan cannot conceal issues facing a coach who could be running out of time

As is standard practice, after one last night together, perhaps sharing a collective sigh of relief at ending their losing streak against Japan, England’s players have returned to their clubs. Less common is that the coaches do so too but Joe El-Abd’s Oyonnax are currently third bottom of the French second division and needs must.

That El-Abd will spend most of the next two months in the foothills of the Jura mountains as part of his job-share arrangement is, to borrow a favourite phrase of the Rugby Football Union, suboptimal. Not least because, after the nine-try win over Japan, the captain Jamie George acknowledged what has been obvious to most observers – that England’s defence, nicknamed “the Hammer”, is their biggest work-on. George reckons it is 80% of the way there, but there has been a significant step backwards since Felix Jones was consigned to video analysis purgatory, running hard drives of information across the Irish sea according to Steve Borthwick, as he sees out his notice.

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England eased to a win over Japan to end their losing run

9 mins. The first bit of shape from England has Slade firing a kick in the left corner over the head of Osada, the ball is cleared to touch, but it simply invites the home side back at them. Smith calls a pattern off the lineout via an angled Lawrence run who finds Earl to go over under the posts. A very neat and tidy try.

Smith adds two.

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• England face Japan and former head coach on Sunday
• Captain says under-fire Jones ‘did brilliant things’ for side

Jamie George expects England supporters to show Eddie Jones the respect he deserves when he makes his first return to Twickenham as an international coach on Sunday.

Jones, who is now with Japan, won three Six Nations titles as England head coach, including the 2016 grand slam, and guided them to the 2019 World Cup final during his seven-year tenure. He won 59 of his 81 Tests, making him the England coach with the highest winning percentage.

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Eddie Jones’ side present a thankless task but England still have plenty to play for - not least to reboot the regime

Much has happened since England and Eddie Jones last crossed samurai swords in a sweltering Tokyo at the end of June. England have not had another Test match victory in the intervening 155 days and red rose morale has taken a series of hits. Five consecutive losses is in danger of prompting confidence and momentum to drift away among players and fans alike.

Japan, coincidentally, have also endured a lean spell since conceding 52 points to England. Italy and Fiji topped 40 points against them, a reshuffled France side rattled up 52 and New Zealand scored 64 in Yokohama. Last week’s 36-20 win over Uruguay delivered some respite, but Jones’s second coming as Japanese head coach is proving a slow burn.

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After conceding 12 tries in three games, the defence will be under scrutiny and they need to stop the opposition scoring

The message within the England camp should be loud and clear this weekend: we are not conceding any tries against Japan. As much as Eddie Jones will be revelling in coming back to Twickenham, in trying to exploit whatever insecurities England have on the back of five straight defeats, this is not a Japan side that will harbour genuine hopes of an upset. The target for England, then, after an autumn of defensive frailties, should be to tighten up. To make sure that even if the result is not in doubt, they defend their line with all they’ve got.

It can be difficult when the drop-off is so pronounced having faced the back-to-back world champions in South Africa. Japan are historically a side who like to move the ball and I don’t expect that to change but England faced the same team in Tokyo over the summer in their first match of that tour and put 50 points on them despite stifling humidity. More than targeting a similar number of points, or a number of tries, I would challenge England to keep Japan tryless.

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• Tom Curry was stood down for 12 days after Australia loss
• ‘He’s gone through protocols, independent consultations’

The England head coach, Steve ­Borthwick, has defended his ­decision to pick Tom Curry for Sunday’s match against Japan two weeks after he sustained a second head injury inside two months, despite criticism from concussion campaigners.

Curry was knocked ­unconscious during England’s defeat by ­Australia earlier this month after a nasty ­collision with Rob Valetini and ­subjected to the 12-day stand-down period in line with World Rugby’s return-to-play protocols.

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• Forward, 20, likely to start on the bench
• England looking for first win of autumn

The rookie prop Asher Opoku-Fordjour is in line for an England debut against Japan on Sunday, with Steve Borthwick expected to hand the 20-year-old a place on the bench.

Opoku-Fordjour was only called into Borthwick’s squad when Joe Marler announced his international retirement after the defeat by New Zealand earlier this month but caught the eye in last week’s England A victory over Australia at the Stoop. Prior to that match, Borthwick said, “I have been really positive about what I’ve seen from Asher,” and the Guardian understands that Opoku-Fordjour is in the frame for a place among the replacements on Sunday as Eddie Jones locks horns with his former employers at Twickenham for the first time.

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