Borthwick enjoying back row selection headache for England Tests

There are only two flankers in a standard rugby team but such is the quality at the disposal of Steve Borthwick that he knows he will need to find other ways to get them in his starting XV. England travelled to Argentina this summer deprived of three back-rowers on British & Irish Lions duty – Tom Curry, Ben Earl and Henry Pollock.

But their absence was barely felt with the performances of those given chances in their stead, as Ben Curry and Sam Underhill shone in starting roles in the 2-0 series victory over Los Pumas, while Guy Pepper enjoyed a stunning cameo to help seal the second Test success. In an era where teams are experimenting more and more, with Borthwick having played Earl in the centres at times during the Six Nations, this embarrassment of riches is set to lead to even more innovation with two years to go until the World Cup in Australia.

The England coach said: “You can see depth. Look at the back row in particular, look at the performance of Ben Curry, Tom Willis, Sam Underhill, look at the bench, Guy Pepper, Dommers (Alex Dombrandt), the way he has come onto the field. You’ve got people like Henry Pollock and how he has been performing for the Lions, Tom Curry, Ben Earl, those guys, it’s tremendous competition in the back row.

“It’s (selection) always on your mind about where we are going and what we need to develop. You can see that we have a number of world-class flankers and we have got to have them in the team because of how much they add in terms of breakdown speed, how much they add in attack, so I think they have to be in the team. So for me, selection is always about how we find the right combination and what does it mean tactically for us.”

Given the 13 England players initially called up for the Lions, England headed to Argentina as underdogs. Los Pumas were fresh from a win over the Lions in Dublin and while they were missing a few players of their own, it was still asking a lot for England to pull off a whitewash.

What has been evident over their time together is that this squad has become particularly close, led by George Ford and Jamie George – who admitted to finding it hard to say goodbye to his teammates as he headed off to link up with the Lions. And while there will inevitably be turnover when the team gathers in November – with one match on this tour against the USA still to come – Borthwick is keen to maintain the level of camaraderie that has developed in South America.

He added: “Argentina had nearly 400 caps more than us. I couldn’t be more proud of these players and the spirit that they have, which is incredible. I want to bottle the spirit of La Plata, the spirit of San Juan, and take it with us wherever we go. This group have been brilliant. They have trained with great intensity, they play with great intensity. They run hard for each other and I think an England team runs, everyone can see that. They work for each other and with that kind of attitude, we’ll keep getting better.”

Purchase your tickets to the Autumn Nations Series at Allianz Stadium https://www.eticketing.co.uk/rfu/