“It was unbelievable” – Guy Pepper reflects upon first England start and ‘Bomb Squad’ tactics

England’s triumphant return to the Allianz Stadium this past weekend, marked the realisation of a life-long goal for Guy Pepper. The Bath back row was named for his maiden Test start upon the opening weekend of the Autumn Nations Series, with Pepper holding down the six jersey for the first round clash against Australia.

Pepper put an inspired performance for only his fourth England cap, as he endured an arduous 80-minute outing against a resiliant squad of gold and green. Pepper made an abundance of hits, was ever-present at the break-down and provided some nice touches into contact, to lay down the marker for a return to Steve Borthwick’s starting XV as the November series continues. Pepper reflected upon the magnitude of his first England start and the experience of training with all the British & Irish Lions stars once again.

“It was unbelievable, the crowd today. We spoke all week about being back as a full squad since the Six Nations, with the Lions and a lot of us have been in Argentina, and we knew we had to put a show on today. I thought we did that in parts, yeah, it was really exciting.”

“That is the beauty of the squad at the minute, any of the back row could play seven at the moment. I had a few chats in the week, at the end of the day, away from set-piece six is just a number on your back. You have got to be clever with it but we are able to swarm opposition and disrupt their ball but you have got to be clever in terms of not over chasing and leaving front row forwards on the edges.”

“I will take it week by week, just put my front foot forward and make sure I attack every week. I have been challenged, it is a number on your back but six is more about the set piece, so I have been challenged on that and I have got to keep working hard at that. I’ll take every opportunity that comes hopefully.”

England’s 25-7 victory over Australia brushed away any pent-up frustration from the fixture a year before, which saw the Wallabies snatch a 42-37 victory following a score in the final moment from wing Max Jorgensen. Whilst England were jubilant in celebration following their inaugural win of their 2025 November series, Pepper highlighted the areas of improvement for Steve Borthwick’s side as the series continues on at a meteoric pace.

“We have only had this week to prepare so with the first game in a block of four there is always going to be things to improve on. From Fordy’s [George Ford] point of view, we had our chances in their 22 and we definitely took some of them but we could have capitalised on others but as he says there are things to work on and Fiji next week will be different to this  completely.

“We put a massive emphasis on double man shots and Wiggy [Richard Wigglesworth] tested us this week and challenged us on that and having two man shots. People like Fin Baxter, then Unders [Sam Underhill] and Cuz [Tom Curry] when he came off the bench, two man shots is massive and being able to slow their ball down in Test rugby is crucial. That is something we went after in the week.”

Two man tackles have steadily become a focal point for England, with the need to tighten up their defensive co-ordination ahead of the second round of the Autumn. Fiji come to Twickenham this Saturday, with the Pacific Islanders eager to impose their customary gain-line dominance upon Borthwick’s side. With audacious off-load also expected from the Flying Fijians, double-tackles are paramount to both neutralise the ball carrier, and cut off any passing options.

“That second man presence is huge in terms of being able to  slow the ball down and in Test match rugby that is what you have got to be able to do. Slow their ball down and hopefully make them go to the air so we can get the ball back  and impose our game back  on them.”

A key moment from England’s win over Joe Schmidt’s side, was the arrival of the second half ‘Bomb Squad’ at the 51st minute. Borthwick backed his replacements bench with a forwards-orientated 6-2 split, with a quintet of British & Irish Lions all unleashed at the same time for a devasating impact. Luke Cowan-Dickie, Ellis Genge, Will Stuart, Tom Curry and Henry Pollock all joined the fray, and blew apart a tiring Wallabies squad to ensure the win.

“It is class, I am quite used to it the way we do it back at Bath as well, potentially England’s Bomb Squad. No, it is an unbelievable boost and the impact they brought to the game was massive as well, which in seeing that game out was crucial.

“The type of players they are, you need that energy. On 50 minutes you are looking for that energy, Pollock picking that ball off his toes to score that try, Curry with that tackle after the kick, it  is energy you feed off. It helped us see out that game.

“If you go 6-2 it enables everyone in the forward pack to completely empty and blow themselves out. It is all foot to the pedal mentality and you have got the ability to do that because you only have two forwards who are going to go 80. When you have got a bench with five Lions coming on at the same time, you know  you have got some energy coming on.”

“You tend to see more whole front row changes in the game. That whole Bomb Squad coming on, 55 minutes potentially getting rolled on at the same time. You definitely know you have got a role in the team, so the mindset has changed a bit.”

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