oxygenOne day Italy will beat England in rugby league. Granted, it’s been over a decade since the Blue Jackets finished within a point, but as Steve Borthwick knows from experience, the possibility can never be completely discounted. In 2008 and 2010, when he captained England at the old Estadio Flaminio, the team’s lead was four and five points respectively.
However, everyone involved with the current England squad is focused on looking forward, not backward. The World Cup is behind us, the last few Six Nations tournaments have faded into unremarkable history, and there’s a subtly different feeling in the clear, bright air of Rome. Is it even possible that England will eventually seek more proactive rugby and take the handbrake off?
Obviously, a necessary balance has to be struck – a quick ruck ball doesn’t just magically appear, a strong defense is as fundamental – but listening to Jamie George, New England’s most charismatic captain, speaking, the locker room There is no doubt that a new mentality has emerged. George is a huge cricket fan and despite the second Test scorecard in India, he wants his England team to bring in a new defender and show more positive intentions.
Because, while George Ball may be exaggerating, there’s a general consensus that last year’s ultra-conservative approach needs an upgrade. At the same time, relax the mental restraints and hope that England’s young players can be inspired rather than suppressed. “I’m a cricket fan, why wouldn’t I be inspired by what Ben Stokes is doing in England cricket?” George asked rhetorically. “You see the impact he has on young players, allowing them to go out and play on their own terms and create an environment that allows them to do that. That’s exactly the model we want.”
Had Marcus Smith not suffered a most untimely calf injury, or had Borthwick and his lieutenants preferred Finn Smith to George Ford from the front half, the message of renewed intentions would have been clearer. Still, with five players out of 23 appearances for their country, George is optimistic England supporters will enjoy the Italian cuisine they offer without neglecting the original ingredients. “A lot of questions have been asked about our attack and how we are going to entertain, but for me every successful England team is built on strong set-pieces and aggressive, confrontational defence. We Do you have the right people to do it? Absolutely. We want to catch them and we want to show more physicality. Whenever you beat Italy you have dominant scrums and dominant Hard hitting.”
Of course, those carefully laid plans still require surviving first contact with a motivated enemy. Italy aren’t as bad as their World Cup defeat might suggest. They simply committed the Oval version of seppuku, which put them headlong into the hands of the All Blacks and France. Now under the more restrained management of Gonzalo Quesada and with the talented Tommaso Menoncello back at center, George was not naive enough to foresee a tepid welcome. “We’re expecting them to come out armed, with smoke in their ears and emotions.”
Either way, it will be auspicious for the aforementioned Smith, Fraser Dingwall, Ethan Lutz, Chandler Cunningham-South and Manny Fay Waboso day, and they all want to make an immediate impact. The 24-year-old Dingwall has already planned his initiation anthem – Islands in the Stream, in case you were wondering – but channeling his inner Dolly Parton comes second to filling the big boots of inside center Manu Tuilagi . Although the Northampton man is smaller at just 12 years old, he believes there are other ways of doing things. “I’m not going to be a No. 12 with the ball like Manu. I think it’s more about creating balance in the midfield as a whole and how the centers complement each other.”
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Likewise, Roots will be called upon to provide a tough graft, allowing Sam Underhill and Ben Earl to focus on other areas, while Cunninghaman will bring more dynamism in the second half. It will also be interesting to see whether Fay Waboso’s athleticism and power through contact transfer immediately to the test pitch less than 12 months after playing for Taunton Titans in the National League. Obsessed with things.
George is one of those who admits it will be an exciting time personally. But apart from getting misty-eyed during the national anthem, his priority is getting England to aim higher. “We’re not saying it’s absolutely okay to make a lot of mistakes and make the same mistakes over and over again, but it’s okay not to be perfect. What we want is the courage to go and the courage to accept others.” In other words. , breaking free from the shackles of the past and accelerating England’s players and fans towards a better future.
