Borthwick's vision for England 'A'
With one month until England A take on Portugal in Leicester, Steve Borthwick gives his thoughts on the return of the side.
Bringing back England ‘A’
"The England ‘A’ team is an important step for players who have come out of the U20s and are playing club rugby, to be able to get into the international environment to prepare to play for England – where you form together as a team quickly, you put together the tactical plans, and build relationships with players you've not played with previously.
"Since we've not had the Saxons or the ‘A’ team, that group of players who’ve come out of the under-20s, who are now in their early to mid 20s and are striving to make that next level international rugby, haven't had that next platform. This provides that next stage."
Approaching selection
"I think the most important selection criteria is that these players have the potential of being in the England team in the very near future. So, when it comes to the selection, that's what the focus will be. We've got a lot of exciting young players in this country, players that have either graduated out of the U20s, or players who didn’t play in the 20’s but are now in that age bracket and haven't quite broken through to Test rugby and this is an opportunity for them."
Portugal
"Portugal’s performance in the World Cup was incredibly impressive. Not only in the manner in which they played, which I thought was outstanding, but the way they attacked every game. I thought that showed the character and the spirit that they have in their team.
"The first player I’d mention is their captain Tomas Appleton who played at centre. Clearly the way he led that team you could see the way the players followed him. So, a great leader. I think Nicolas Martins stood out who played in the back row. He was athletic and rangy. You could see a number of players who had a background in 7s and could see that in their speed the way they moved the ball. They're a very dangerous team."
Future plans
"International rugby is different to club rugby. You’ve got to build relationships with players very fast, you’ve got to build cohesion very quickly, so getting into the practice of being able to do that is important for players.
"At a club, you are there week in, week out, all the way through the season, all the way through the pre-season. So, the England A experience means the players have to do that, and that's an important part of the process of becoming an international rugby player. This England A game is really important; I can't overstate the importance of re-establishing this team.
"The plan is to have more regular England A fixtures. We see this as an important step in the development of English rugby. We feel there's been a gap there for a while and this is the first stage towards us ensuring that gap is filled."
