Just as Steve Borthwick was reaching for his coat, he finally has something to hang his hat on. The ledger records an agonising defeat but a performance brimming with positives, carried out with a swagger that must signpost the way forward if this is to be the turning point in Borthwick’s tenure. Moments of naivety, too, plenty of mistakes and a maddening feeling that leaves you questioning why they do not always play like this.
Around half an hour before kick-off of this bonkers Six Nations finale, as part of an equally mind-boggling, gloriously French, pre-match show, there was a moment when two white horses cantered down the middle of the pitch, hitched up on their hind legs before galloping away in different directions down the touchline to take up residence behind each goal. The two horsemen facing each other down. It was then that you sensed something might be in the air.
Picking the bones out of this contest is no easy task but there are some conclusions we can draw. Borthwick is not getting sacked in the morning. Thomas Ramos will probably not have been to bed by the time you wake up and, despite a defeat in such crushing circumstances, England have finally stirred from their slumber. There has been a fair bit of talk about “the England way” this week. Players referenced it without precisely defining what it is, but if this is it, bottle it. Never let it go.
The concern is that Borthwick and his army of analysts pore over the mistakes, that the data tells them that narrowing their horizons is the safest way forward. If that is the case then the laptops must be thrown in the bin. For this was some rope-a-dope from Borthwick after his players had insisted they would double-down on the kicking game and the sense of opportunity, if Borthwick sticks by a gameplan with such ambition, gives rise to optimism. It remains a big if.
A statement away win still eludes Borthwick but he has arguably something more significant, provided he continues in this vein. He has a group of players who are evidently still playing for him, and doing so in a remarkable manner when he lets them. The shackles are off. Cast them into the sea and never speak of them again.
It is desperately harsh that Maro Itoje conceded the telling penalty at the end – even if France were already playing with an advantage – because England’s captain bestrode this contest like a titan. He has been running on fumes most of the tournament, physically drained by playing so much rugby, emotionally drained because he is grieving his late mother, but this was a statement from the skipper. He had made another one before the contest when insisting that what mattered most against France was that his players showed some “character”. Not get bogged down in the minutiae of the details that modern-day players are overloaded with, but to show some backbone. It felt tantamount to an ultimatum from Itoje and the worry was that if they didn’t, if they rolled over and France cruised to the successful defence of their trophy, the game was up for Borthwick.
“Character” was used quite deliberately by Itoje, who watches his words carefully. The Cambridge dictionary offers plenty of definitions but the two that most align with what Itoje was calling for are “the quality of being determined and able to deal with difficult situations” and “moral excellence and firmness”. Synonyms include “courage”, “integrity” and “spirit”.
These all accurately sum up what Itoje wanted to invoke in his side and what had been all too conspicuously absent in England matches to date. Most notably there has been a failure to deal with difficult situations, against Scotland in the opening 20 minutes, against Ireland in the first half an hour and in the final quarter against Italy. An inability to weather the storm, to stay in the fight, or to “ride the wave” as Itoje put it when accepting that France would have their moments, that it was how England would deal with them and respond that mattered. To their credit, they wore every punch that France threw at them and came back for more every time until Ramos’s last-gasp penalty, England ultimately done for by the clock.
Why have we had to wait until the final round of the Six Nations for England to demonstrate what they are capable of? Why do they need to be stung into action by fierce criticism? These are questions to which Borthwick must find adequate answers, for this cannot be a one-off. If the straitjackets are worn against South Africa in July, the knives will be out again, sharper than ever. The ledger still reads played five, lost four and that is a record that needs accounting for.
As it was, discipline did for them again and much like this fixture two years ago, they return home at the end of a bruising championship – their worst ever – to reflect on what might have been. Ultimately, however, England’s show of character ensured those other two horsemen never materialised. Borthwick has avoided the apocalypse for now.
