Steve Borthwick has staunchly defended Henry Pollock after his young England star received a backlash in Australia for declaring that a 3-0 series whitewash for the British & Irish Lions was “definitely on the table”.
Pollock’s bold claim led the Lions to be branded “cocky” by former Wallaby Chris Latham, with the World Cup winner adding: “For me, and I’m sure for every Aussie, it’s like, ‘OK, righto, we’ll shut you up.’ ”
Borthwick, the England head coach who is in Washington preparing his side to face the United States at Audi Field on Saturday, said: “This guy is going to be a star and I want this game to have stars.
Pollock has rubbed Australia up the wrong way with a prediction of a Lions series whitewash
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“Rugby is in a battle for attention and support with so many competing sports. We need superstars in the game and Henry is going to be one. Unfortunately, in Britain we’re very good at cutting people down. We talk about tall poppy syndrome, well what rugby needs is taller poppies.
“I happen to think you can be a superstar and a team player. I don’t think the two are mutually exclusive. Henry is exciting people, getting them jumping up and down. That’s what we all want to see. I see my two sons out with a rugby ball, practising goalkicking. One of them is pretending to be George Ford, the other Fin Smith, or even [All Black] Damian McKenzie. They see superstars.”
Borthwick, 45, has just seen his England team sweep a series in Argentina despite 14 of his best players being absent with the Lions. He is on a six-match winning run, a feat England last managed in 2020. The memory of 2024, the seven losses and fierce criticism, feels a lifetime away.
England have won six matches on the spin, including an impressive 2-0 series win in Argentina
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“We’ve got incredible talent, we’ve learnt how to win and I now want to develop the belief that we will win,” he said.
Borthwick has been round the block enough times not to think he has cracked it but he is intent on taking enjoyment where he can, reasoning that if he does not, then how can he expect those that play for and work alongside him to do so.
“I want the players to go on the pitch excited,” he said, after handing debuts to Joe Carpenter, Max Ojomoh and Arthur Clark, a first start to Guy Pepper and bench spots for rookies Gabriel Oghre, Charlie Atkinson and Oscar Beard. Immanuel Feyi-Waboso returns on the wing having served a two-match ban for a high tackle in the pre-tour game against France A.
Feyi-Waboso, right, is set to play after serving a two-match ban
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“I want them to put on an England shirt and not be weighed down by it, rather be excited by the millions of people willing them to do well. There were things from my time playing for England which I wish would have been different. All I can do now is help these guys have the best experience.
“Playing for England is demanding. We are here, ultimately, to win games and I understand that as supporters you expect linear progress. And pretty quick linear progress. But I want the players and their families, the management team and coaching staff, to enjoy it. I want it to be the time of their lives.”
Rewind to January of this year and the fun aspect was hard to find. England had lost six in a row to Tier One opposition, beating only Japan between March and December. When Borthwick took the captaincy off Jamie George and gave it to Maro Itoje, George considered calling it a day.
“When you make decisions like that, clearly there’s the human factor and while one is elated the other is not,” Borthwick said. “But I always try to do what I feel is right for the team. To be clear, I have enormous respect for Jamie and, having watched the way he’s moving now and how fit he is, see no reason he won’t be playing well for England at the World Cup in two years’ time.”
Borthwick also revealed that one of his sons wrote a letter to Anthony Watson after the wing was forced to retire through injury and received a signed pair of boots in reply, which told him that the culture in English rugby is healthy and that his job, despite the scrutiny, is well worth getting out of bed for.
“In this role there’s always going to be outside noise because people love the game, love this team and what England is trying to do. The level of interest is awesome and we should be grateful for that. It’s about staying consistent and being clear on what we need to do to get better. If we, as a management team, play a small part in helping players achieve their dreams, that makes us very happy.”
United States v England
Saturday, kick-off 10.05pm
TV Rugby Pass TV
England squad
J Carpenter (Sale)
I Feyi-Waboso (Exeter)
L Northmore (Harlequins)
M Ojomoh (Bath), C Murley (Harlequins)
G Ford (Sale), J van Poortvliet (Leicester)
B Rodd (Sale), C Langdon (Northampton)
A Opoku-Fordjour (Sale)
A Coles (Northampton)
A Clark (Gloucester)
C Cunningham-South (Harlequins)
G Pepper (Bath)
A Dombrandt (Harlequins)
Replacements: G Oghre (Bristol), F Baxter (Harlequins), T Davison (Northampton), T Hill (Bath), B Curry (Sale), H Randall (Bristol), C Atkinson (Gloucester) O Beard (Harlequins).