Detractors of the format of the Nations Championship are not necessarily hard to find but the new competition may find itself a fan in Steve Borthwick. Were the July international window not reshaped, we can perhaps assume that England would have faced a three-Test itinerary in South Africa this summer; instead, as they seek to end a five-match losing run, they have at least been able to enjoy the comforts of home without the prospect of another tussle with the Springboks to fret about.
Not that a tangle with Fiji at Everton’s Hill Dickinson Stadium is a fixture to leave this weekend’s “visitors” licking their lips – and certainly not in the state in which England find themselves. It is 20 years since they last lost six fully-fledged Test matches on the spin, a run that eventually led to Andy Robinson’s resignation at the end of 2006.
Is Steve Borthwick feeling that pressure? He has stared this ignominy in the face before, of course, ending a similar run with a success over Japan in the autumn of 2024, but the strong backing given by the Rugby Football Union (RFU) after their opaque Six Nations review would start to soften in the heat that a defeat here would generate.
Borthwick spoke powerfully after naming his team on Thursday of his love for English rugby and acceptance of the scrutiny that comes with taking his lofty office. That relationship was formed by another of England’s rare outings to a northern outpost, and a 1997 encounter with the All Blacks at Old Trafford best remembered for a face-off during the Haka between the late Norm Hewitt and Richard Cockerill. “Seeing that for the first time, I was absolutely hooked on English rugby,” Borthwick explained. “All I wanted to do was play for England. I hope that this weekend we can get back to the winning ways we want to be and hopefully the players can put on a performance that does inspire – like I was back in 1997.”
Perhaps the biggest disappointment of the performance against South Africa is how flat it all felt; how little of the tourists’ game they managed to put on the pitch. England showed real spirit to arrest momentum after a wretched, 0-17 start but could not sustain a challenge, fading in the final quarter having been beasted at the breakdown throughout. Anyone to have enjoyed an interaction with Borthwick’s team would describe them as a likeable group but there is no real sense of lingering goodwill after another tough phase four years into the head coach’s tenure. The personality of the figure at the helm has probably not helped; that a character as anodyne as Borthwick has compelled such strong feeling of distaste among sections of the support is reflective of where England are.
A rare summer swing on home soil offers a chance to rebuild the connections felt last November particularly; that, too, in a part of the country too often ignored by a predominantly southern sport. Few would suggest that the RFU goes full Andy Burnham and proposes a Twickenham of the north but the governing body is known to be keen to find ways of maximising their geographical spread, with the success of the Red Roses and possible expansion of the Prem useful.
This is, strictly-speaking, a Fiji home game; that Liverpool will be a few degrees warmer than Suva on Saturday may add something of a tropical feel. It is highly positive that the Pacific Islanders were invited into this competition but there is something of the bodge job around the scheduling of their games within the United Kingdom, though near enough a full house is welcome after empty seats at the Cardiff City Stadium. A few Fijians didn’t turn up, either, squandering a strong start to end up beaten by a distance by Wales.
They will be better for the gallop, and for the arrival of veterans Peceli Yato and Levani Botia in a gnarly and skilful back row. Their array of strike-running threat remains freakish: Jiuta Wainiqolo, Josua Tuisova, Kalaveti Ravouvou and Salesi Rayasi are an intoxicating blend of power, pace, poise and potency.
England have their own uber-athlete to unveil, mind. Time was that a week like this would have been ideal opportunity to deploy a debutant on the wing; not under these circumstances, nor against a Fijian side that has taken advantage of Borthwick’s side at a low ebb before. The English starting fifteen is as strong as it could be. A welcome, then, to the spring-shoed, jet-heeled Noah Caluori will be said at some point in the second half when the teenage try-scoring phenom makes his international bow off the bench – and the 19-year-old has been tipped by a club teammate to energise England just when they need him.
“There are very few people that have his athletic ability,” captain Jamie George said of his Saracens colleague. “I’ve genuinely never seen anything like it. You know, I was lucky enough to play against [Israel] Folau; I see a likeness to that, but it is different. He’s able to do things that other people aren’t physically able to do. He’s raw and he’s energetic and he’s just buzzing at the opportunity to get out there.”
Two more debutants will earn their first caps off the bench in South African-born centre Benhard Janse van Rensburg – newly-qualified on residency – and his Bristol Bears squadmate George Kloska, a tighthead prop. The hope is that the situation will allow they, Henry Pollock and the rest of the bench to express themselves and suggest brighter times to come; George, standing in admirably as skipper for Maro Itoje and as passionate a player as any, dare not consider an alternative scenario.
“I hope people are excited about watching [Caluori] play, I hope people are excited about watching Pollock play,” came the captain’s plea. “I genuinely want every England fan to be excited watching us play. I am aware of, and can resonate with, the fans’ frustration around the performances and results we have had over this period of time.
“It’s important for us to get a real true perspective. It’s very hard to block out noise from elsewhere. We need to make sure we keep the most important thing the most important thing, keep believing in what we’re doing and stay tight.”
