England’s head coach, Steve Borthwick, has confirmed he may rest some senior players including his captain, Maro Itoje, for all or part of his squad’s summer Nations Championship games. A final decision will not be taken until next month but, barring an injury crisis, it seems probable England will be under fresh leadership on the field for at least one of their July Tests.
Rather than a traditional tour to a single country, the new tournament will require Borthwick and his squad to play internationals on three different continents on successive weekends, starting against South Africa in Johannesburg on 4 July and finishing in Santiago del Estero in Argentina on 18 July.
Sandwiched in between is a fixture against Fiji at Everton’s Hill Dickinson Stadium on 11 July and Borthwick acknowledges he has been having discussions with several players, Itoje included, about how best to manage their schedule to the satisfaction of all parties.
For now, according to Borthwick, the conversation with Itoje is still ongoing with no firm decision to be taken until the summer squad is finalised on 22 June. “Myself and Phil Morrow [England’s head of performance] met with Maro and had a discussion about what’s right for him,” said Borthwick. “This last year has been a big year and a challenging year for a number of different reasons.
“I’ll make decisions when [the time] comes to announce the squad. Maro was in camp yesterday, and, as agreed, went home last night. Ben Spencer also came in yesterday and went home last night. We treat players individually and that’s what was right for those players.”
The best-laid plans could yet need tweaking if second-row injuries start piling up over the season’s closing weeks but it does not require a massive crystal ball to foresee Leicester’s Ollie Chessum leading England in at least one of their July Tests. Back in 2002 England chose to rest most of their key men and went on to win the World Cup the following year; it could easily be that history is partly repeated.
Borthwick, meanwhile, has defended his decision to pick the former South Africa Under-20 centre Benhard Janse van Rensburg, not yet technically available to represent England, to train with the national squad in Bagshot this week. The Rugby Football Union had to seek special dispensation from World Rugby to pick the 29-year-old, who played 21 minutes as a replacement for South Africa’s Under-20 side back in 2016. Borthwick, however, believes there is nothing wrong with omitting English-reared players like Ollie Lawrence and Max Ojomoh in favour of someone still serving his residency qualification period.
“The players welcomed him and all the new guys into the squad really warmly,” said Borthwick. “The World Rugby eligibility rules are really clear. I think he’s a very good player who has committed to playing his rugby here. He’s been brilliant around the squad and I’m delighted to be able to select him in the squad this week.”
Regardless of who makes the final tour party there is pressure on Borthwick and his squad to bounce back from a below-par Six Nations campaign in which they lost four of their five games. The management have highlighted the need for improved discipline and a better conversion rate in the opposing 22 but otherwise the full findings of the RFU’s post-tournament review have not been divulged.
Borthwick is also looking forward to Courtney Lawes and Joe Marchant being back in the selection frame, with both players set to be available again having opted to return from France. One player who will definitely not be on the field this summer, however, is the Harlequins prop Fin Baxter who has undergone another foot operation and will miss the July Tests.
