Steve Borthwick says England are still heading in the right direction despite losing 2-0 in the New Zealand series. The head coach believes his side have earned the respect of their opponents and silenced many New Zealanders who warned him the All Blacks would sweep his side away with ease.
England have been unable to hold on to their second-half leads in both Tests, but Borthwick is encouraged by their progress and is looking forward to facing the All Blacks again at Twickenham in November.
“People on the street tell me 10 times a day we’re going to be blown away at Eden Park,” Borthwick said after England’s 24-17 defeat. “I was told in the lift today that it is a privilege for us to play at the Eden Park and that we will be lucky if we can concede less than 50 points in the game. Some teams are 17- There’s no way to come back from being down 24, but this team kept attacking and kept fighting, which is a huge credit to them and I’m proud to be with them.
Borthwick isn’t overly concerned about his team, which has suffered four losses in its past six games. “The team is making progress, we are learning quickly, but it shows that we still have a lot of work to do. We are getting into a position to win, we are not far away from wins, but we have to learn to convert them into wins. I feel for the players We are proud and excited about what this team is capable of going forward. The team was outstanding in many ways tonight.
England players felt they were unlucky not to have equalized in the final moments. “I’m very proud of the guys for hanging on,” Jamie George said. “I’m not sure too many teams try to do what we did in the second half of that game against the All Blacks.”
Hooker also believes England could have had a late try but the TMO gave New Zealand a game-deciding penalty. “I hate to say too much, but it’s frustrating,” George said. “If you use TMO, you have the opportunity to see all kinds of things happening there. The ball is short of the baseline and it’s on the floor, so to me the game needs to continue at that stage.
His front-row colleague Dan Cole, who became England’s most capped male forward after breaking Jason Leonard’s long-standing record, was equally frustrated. “I think the reason we went around the front was because the maul collapsed in the middle. We had the truck and trailer done, but we were held up in the queue. I don’t think the race should have ended like this.
Theo Dan and Freddie Steward will be under observation after picking up head injuries in the second half, with Dan’s early departure further reducing the potential impact Borthwick had hoped for from the bench. “A lot of those changes mean we don’t necessarily have the new legs we thought we had. Against a team as good as New Zealand, you need that kind of performance.
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In contrast, New Zealand coach Scott Robertson is delighted with the impact of his successors, particularly the experienced Beauden Barrett. “Our bench was key today and last week,” said Robertson, who was also pleased with the scrapping contribution of prop Ethan de Groot, whose skills caused a stir after the first test. Some review. “We noticed a lot [of World Rugby’s feedback]that’s why we won the scrum penalty.
