Steve Borthwick is to embark on an urgent mission to quickly develop the next generation of formidable England props after scrum issues here contributed to a 2-0 series defeat to New Zealand.
The national coach spoke out the morning after his team lost 24-17 at Eden Park, calling the restart a matter of great concern.
The visitors were again put to the test as the All Blacks capitalised on their dominance in that crucial area. Borthwick will have to wait and see whether Dan Cole intends to continue playing at Test level, at 37, knowing that his position in the forward line has become chronically unbalanced.
“The English peloton has changed from a traditionally large and powerful peloton to a younger and more dynamic one,” said Borthwick.
“We need to get some players through there. Obviously we need to develop at tighthead. That’s an area we need to look at. You saw yesterday the scrum was under pressure, so that’s an area we need to improve.
Steve Borthwick will launch urgent mission to accelerate next generation of English props
The visiting side struggled again as the All Blacks capitalised on their dominance in that crucial area
“I’ll have a chat with Coley in due course and see what he wants to do. But obviously we need to find more tightheads. If you look at the loosehead side – the people who weren’t there; Ellis Genge, Ben Obano… Joe Marler missed the last Test, Fin Baxter, Bevan Rodd – we’ve got competition.
‘We don’t quite have that on the other side of the scrum. That’s going to be a big development project for me and Tom Harrison (England scrum coach).’
When assessing the impact of Bath tighthead Will Stuart, Borthwick had a pointed response: ‘Outside the scrum he did a lot of things really well.’ England know they can’t compete with the best teams in the world without a more consistent set of rules.
The conundrum for the head coach now is whether to continue with the likes of Stuart and Joe Heyes from Leicester, or turn to a group of rookie props in the Under 20s set-up. Sale’s Asher Opoku-Fordjour can play either side of the front row, while Gloucester’s Afolabi Fasogbon and Bath’s Billy Sela are others who could eventually push through to challenge for the Test No 3 shirt.
Cole has provided much-needed stability, continuity and experience since being brought out of Test retirement by Borthwick, but he must now consider whether he wants to continue playing.
Asked about his future, he said: ‘I don’t know, we’ll see. Like I said to Steve, I’m taking it day by day. If I can get through the training, I’ll do it the next day and keep taking it day by day. So, we’re going home and we’ll see.’
“The English peloton has changed from what was traditionally a very big and powerful peloton to a more young and dynamic peloton,” Borthwick said
Meanwhile, Borthwick admitted he also faces a selection dilemma later this year over the choice of starting number 10. Marcus Smith has worn that coveted shirt in all three Tests on this tour, but George Ford is expected to be available in the autumn and the head coach still has him in mind, albeit with both Smiths – Marcus and Fin.
“When George Ford is fully fit we have three incredible fly-halves,” Borthwick said. “He’s world class and I thought his performances in the Six Nations were exceptional. Marcus has done some really good things, when you see how good he is at seeing space, opening up a defence and creating tries.
“There’s not a lot of space. We’ve played New Zealand twice and both games were two tries apiece, so it’s vital to have that bit of brilliance to create a chance. At the start of the season I want the players to play really well, for that autumn series. With the three of them – Fin Smith, George Ford and Marcus – we’re in an enviable position.”