"Optimism is often manufactured at the start of a campaign. Everyone goes in believing they can win every game, but there is a mood of true optimism around England before the autumn series. Considering they have won their past seven matches, had their best finish to a Six Nations for five years and then won a summer series in Argentina, I think it's fair to have confidence."
"Steve Borthwick is growing into the head coach job and is more confident in what he's doing: turbulence may not be the right word for the early days of his tenure but I think people expected more. As fans we want immediate results, but coaches tend to have a helicopter view and understand the direction of travel. Two years into this World Cup cycle the team's trajectory overall development, increasing experience and playing style are tracking the right way."
"Lee Blackett has been brought in as attack coach and did a tremendous job in the summer. Some of the tries England scored were really good and I loved the brand of rugby they were playing: it was aesthetically pleasing as well as effective. Byron McGuigan also did a really good job in Argentina. Defence has probably been England's biggest weakness in the past year and it will be interesting to see if they become a bit more aggressive."
England has won seven consecutive matches, finished with its best Six Nations placing in five years, and won a summer series in Argentina despite many players and a coach being absent. Strong performances from Premiership players and overall club standards raise expectations for the autumn series beginning with Australia. Steve Borthwick is increasingly confident and two years into the World Cup cycle the team's development, experience and playing style are moving in the right direction. Lee Blackett strengthened the attack with attractive, effective try-scoring, Byron McGuigan contributed well in Argentina, and defence remains a major area for improvement.
Read at www.theguardian.com
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]