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Steve Borthwick will demand more from his bench as he looks to transform England into a side capable of winning tight matches in the upcoming Guinness Six Nations.
England collapsed to narrow late defeats against France and Australia, and three times against New Zealand, in a disappointing 2024 that produced only five wins in 12 Tests.
That record that has placed Borthwick under pressure heading into the opener against Ireland in Dublin on February 1 and the head coach has been devising ways to ensure his team come on strong in the final quarter.
England’s replacements made little contribution throughout a disappointing autumn and an improvement will be sought when they join the action in the Six Nations.
“Clearly the message is that we’re doing a lot of things really well because we’re playing against very good teams and getting into winning positions,” Borthwick said.
“So the challenge I give to this team is to start the games even faster and play even harder through that first part. And the next part is the impact we have from the bench.
“I’ll be challenging the players about that impact that each of them brings to add to the intensity of the game at whatever time they enter the game.”
Borthwick also wants his players to be bold in the closing stages by giving the pass when it is on having detected a hesitation to take the ambitious option last year.
Marcus Smith was first-choice fly-half for 2024 but he is facing competition for the jersey from Fin Smith and could be deployed at full-back where his threat in broken play has a natural home.
Borthwick believes that while Smith’s height of 5’9” counts against him as an option at 15, his running skills offer a value weapon later in matches.
“When the game opens up and is more unstructured, that’s where a player of Marcus’ strength can really take advantage of the space when there is fatigue in players’ legs,” he said.
Freddie Stewart is favourite to benefit from George Furbank’s broken arm and seize the full-back duties but the aerial master has also emerged as an option on the wing.
“It’s something I would consider, especially in the contestable game,” Borthwick said.
“Freddie’s carrying work has been very good. He was challenged a good period ago to develop pace and he’s gone away and worked at that. He’s got faster and improved his pace, so I think Fred on the wing is certainly a possibility.
“You start looking at Marcus and where he starts, his versatility, Freddie’s versatility, Elliot Daley’s versatility. I like players who have got the ability to move positions.”
