A ‘mini-World Cup’ with no winner: Rugby’s Autumn Internationals explained
Video credit: TNT Sports
Ex-England rugby star Ben Kay believes that fine margins will be the decisive factor in how the country’s current coach Steve Borthwick is judged after the Quilter Nations Series.England face Australia at Twickenham on Saturday in their first match of the tournament, with games against Fiji, New Zealand and finally Argentina to follow for the rest of the month ahead, with all these matches to be shown live on TNT Sports and discovery+.
England had a relatively successful Six Nations tournament earlier in the year, winning four of their five games but losing 27-22 against Ireland in Dublin, which cost them crucial points as they finished just one behind winners France.
Borthwick has been England coach since 2022, and is enjoying arguably his most impressive spell in charge of the team, after putting seven consecutive wins together with England. After the Six Nations, he guided his side to back-to-back victories over Argentina, before trouncing the United States 40-5 in Washington DC.
The Quilter Nations Series and then the 2026 Six Nations could be the foundation for the long-term planning for the next Rugby World Cup, held in 2027 in Australia, and Kay sees those two competitions as crucial to public perception of Borthwick.
He told TNT Sports: “There are a lot of opinions about Steve Borthwick. Some of those might be around his personality when he’s interviewed in the media, and the fact he plays his cards quite close to his chest.
“I think recent results at the back end of the Six Nations and in Argentina obviously have helped him massively because it’s a results-based business, but I think he’ll be quite comfortable with where he is in his plan.”
Kay believes that adding Lee Blackett as the new attack coach could improve the coaching set-up.
He explained: “There’s some quite interesting additions to his coaching staff. Lee Blackett, I think, could be an absolutely integral part of his jigsaw leading up to the World Cup.
“You want balance in a coaching setup, and some of the things that might not necessarily be Steve Borthwick’s main strengths, Lee Blackett does have, so I think everyone will judge him on the results over the next two tournaments, the Quilter Nations Series and the Six Nations.”
Looking back, Kay pointed out that there has been a recent improvement in the side’s form, meaning that there does not need to be a major overhaul to prepare for the coming competitions.
“I think if you look at – which some people might have missed because of the Lions series – the series against Argentina in the summer tour, England were playing some really fantastic rugby,” he noted.
“I think the style doesn’t necessarily have to evolve totally. We know what Steve Borthwick’s foundations for performance are, which have been helped massively by the recent rule changes around escort runners, which means the aerial battle will always be part of it. If you look at the first team he’s picked against Australia, very good players in the air.
“Tommy Freeman in midfield, and then [Tom] Roebuck, [Immanuel] Feyi-Waboso, [Freddie] Steward at the back, all good players in the air. Then he’s picked a back row that will scavenge for the scraps on the floor, so I think that will be a massive part, but it’s about how quickly England can turn those transitions into attack.”
Kay also picked out George Ford as crucial to the side’s success, and believes that public perception of England could come down to how effective Ford is at getting results on the pitch.
He concluded: “George Ford, standing at 10 for Sale, we saw what he did against Argentina. He is very, very good at picking those few opportunities you get in international rugby. If they succeed, everyone thinks what a brilliant attack. That’s all that’s missing. Five good attacks in a game, six good attacks in a game, and everyone will go, ‘Look how expansive England are.’
“Bomb those six chances and everyone will say, ‘England play such boring and negative rugby.’”
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