{"id":592268,"date":"2025-11-25T06:20:18","date_gmt":"2025-11-25T06:20:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/592268\/"},"modified":"2025-11-25T06:20:18","modified_gmt":"2025-11-25T06:20:18","slug":"england-tracking-on-the-progress-after-autumn-nations-series","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/592268\/","title":{"rendered":"England ‘tracking on the progress’ after Autumn Nations Series"},"content":{"rendered":"

If you\u2019d have said to any England fan this time last year that they would end 2025 with a run of 11 successive Test victories, they would have likely laughed you out the door.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The 2024 Autumn Nations Series campaign was a tale of \u2018what if\u2019 for England. The width of the post and a missed drop-goal denied them a win over the All Blacks, a stunning 83rd-minute effort from Max Jorgensen saw the Wallabies win a week later, and despite a strong fight, they eventually fell to the Springboks.<\/p>\n

A win against Japan saved Steve Borthwick\u2019s side from an unwanted 0-4 record, and proved only a momentary break from the losers column too as England slipped to a 27-22 defeat to Ireland at the start of the Six Nations.<\/p>\n

But that Dublin defeat has since proved to be a turning point for England.<\/p>\n

\u2018We said there was a journey\u2019<\/p>\n

Wins over France, Scotland, Italy, Wales, Argentina (three), USA, the Wallabies, Fiji and the All Blacks have seen England mount a run of 11 straight Test victories, seeing them climb up to third in the World Rugby rankings at the end of the Test year.<\/p>\n

It might have got you laughed out of the pub if you dared even to speak it last year, but it\u2019s now very much England\u2019s reality.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe team is tracking on the progress we\u2019ve talked about,\u201d says Borthwick<\/a>, fresh from his side\u2019s 27-23 win over Los Pumas.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe said there was a journey and about the level of experience, games together and the experience coming off the bench; that\u2019s always something we need to develop, and this autumn series has allowed us to continue that.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s tough Test matches against teams who are coming off long periods of preparation. Ours was a little bit different, but I\u2019m really pleased with the way the players have jumped into it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen we were in that tough patch, it was only fine margins,\u201d adds full-back Freddie Steward. \u201cThe whole time we were saying, \u2018we\u2019re not far away, we\u2019re close\u2019. Now, we\u2019ve learned how to win and how to come out on the right side of those games.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve been fantastic in Q4. The depth we have now is phenomenal. With the competitiveness in the squad, everyone is fighting for their shirt and that\u2019s bringing the best out of everyone.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s never easy when you are going through a tough patch. To be fair to a large portion of the fans, they stuck with us. It\u2019s nice now that we can show to them that it was all worth it. We\u2019ve stuck with it, we\u2019ve bought into what we are doing, and now it is paying off.\u201d<\/p>\n

England v Argentina: Winners and losers as late call-up \u2018nails audition\u2019 for starting XV amid \u2018fascinating side-plot\u2019<\/b><\/a><\/p>\n

Opinion: England have \u2018found themselves\u2019 but \u2018serious contenders\u2019 to the Springboks\u2019 World Cup crown they are not<\/b><\/a><\/p>\n

The run itself is impressive, particularly given where England were 12 months ago, but it\u2019s also the manner of victories that has helped change the narrative surrounding the team.<\/p>\n

Borthwick\u2019s decision to roll out the \u2018Pom Squad\u2019 has become a real talking point, with some of his more high-profile names handed spots on the bench rather than in the starting XV. That in turn has seen newer names like Fin Baxter and Guy Pepper prove themselves against the big guns, while still having an insurance plan to fall back on.<\/p>\n

\u2018It\u2019s tracking well\u2019<\/p>\n

The full effect of the \u2018Pom Squad\u2019 can be seen in the stats, too. Nine of their 17 tries this autumn came after the 53rd minute (the average time they would be rolled off the bench), and posted an aggregate score of 57-17 in the final 27 minutes of the four Tests.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve got players who have been in the Test arena more often,\u201d says the head coach. \u201cI\u2019ve said that we need to develop depth, experience and time together in camp. The England team doesn\u2019t have a huge amount of time together; the southern hemisphere teams have been together for four months now, we\u2019ve been together for four weeks. What we do is maximise every minute together. It\u2019s tracking well.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019d go back to the depth of the squad now,\u201d Steward echoes. \u201cYou look at the quality of the bench and the quality of the players coming on. When you look to your left and see the likes of Curry, Pollock, Gengey when he is on the bench running on the pitch, it gives you that extra boost. You\u2019ve got Lions there coming on to try and win the game and that\u2019s been a massive part of our strategy.\u201d<\/p>\n

Around that, too, England\u2019s attack has again shown signs of serious progress under new coach Lee Blackett.<\/p>\n

Across their autumn campaign, England<\/a> scored an average of 4.25 tries a game (17 in four Tests) \u2013 a figure that would score them a bonus point in every PREM match \u2013 while also posting 23 line breaks as well.<\/p>\n

\u201cLee is a class operator,\u201d Steward says of the new attack coach. \u201cYou saw what he achieved in very little time over in Argentina in the summer. I\u2019ve absolutely loved working with him. The way he coaches, he\u2019s got this really dry sense of humour and a great rapport with the lads.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s got phenomenal detail. The lads have really taken his coaching in their stride, really bought into it, and you\u2019re starting to see some of the bits out there. I think Steve said our average tries to game is up to four and a half this year, so the attack is certainly improving and Lee is a massive part of that.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think it (the system) is notably different. Wiggy was a fantastic attack coach, and Lee has been fantastic in taking what Wiggy has done and building on that.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe boys now are excited to get the ball to edges, excited to beat defenders, and that is the message that has been conveyed in the week. It\u2019s good to see that on the pitch.\u201d<\/p>\n

England have now put themselves in a strong position heading into the Six Nations early next year, leapfrogging both Ireland and France in the World Rankings while extending the gap on Scotland, Italy and Wales as well, and could arguably be positioning themselves as early contenders to dethrone the Springboks at the 2027 World Cup in Australia, and that is a feeling that leaves the playing group salivating.<\/p>\n

Exciting times<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s just exciting,\u201d says captain Maro Itoje. \u201cI\u2019ve been a part of the England team for a number of years now, and I\u2019m as excited as I\u2019ve ever been.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you look at the quality of depth and play (in game), players are getting on board with how we want to play. We need to keep building.\u201d<\/p>\n

However, titles are not won on paper alone, and with the prospect of going toe-to-toe with Les Bleus, Ireland and possibly Scotland for the title, Itoje knows his side have to keep getting better.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou only have to look at this game and see there\u2019s so much work we need to do, but there\u2019s a real appetite amongst the playing group to do that.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI think there\u2019s plenty of things to work upon as well,\u201d Borthwick echoes. \u201cIn many ways, as a coach, you manage to find ways to get the win.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ll go in and study this period hard and make sure we\u2019re really clear on what we\u2019re going to get better at coming to Six Nations.\u201d<\/p>\n

READ MORE: England player ratings: Max Ojomoh\u2019s \u2018debut to remember\u2019 while Lions star has \u2018poor\u2019 return<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"If you\u2019d have said to any England fan this time last year that they would end 2025 with…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":592269,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5008],"tags":[748,393,126,45822,4884,225,90462,21856,12,26349,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-592268","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-england","8":"tag-britain","9":"tag-england","10":"tag-features","11":"tag-freddie-steward","12":"tag-great-britain","13":"tag-home-page","14":"tag-internationals","15":"tag-maro-itoje","16":"tag-news","17":"tag-steve-borthwick","18":"tag-uk","19":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/115608894236915408","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/592268","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=592268"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/592268\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/592269"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=592268"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=592268"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=592268"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}