Here are my eight big talking points for the year ahead\u2026<\/p>\n
1. ENGLAND\u2019S NEXT BIG CHALLENGE<\/p>\n
Steve Borthwick<\/a>\u2019s side had a superb 2025, winning 11 of their 12 matches and claiming a first autumn clean sweep since 2017. Any England team should always be competing for the Six Nations, but Borthwick\u2019s side has definitely got the potential to win a first title since 2020 this year.\u00a0<\/p>\n England aren\u2019t yet the finished article, even if they are now ranked third in the world behind South Africa<\/a> and the All Blacks<\/a>. Whatever the rankings say, I think England are the Championship\u2019s second-best team behind France.\u00a0<\/p>\n As such, it wouldn\u2019t be a disaster if they didn\u2019t lift the title. But what England must do is prove they can win big games away from home. That is the next step in their evolution.<\/p>\n England can\u2019t be considered potential World Cup winners until they have beaten big teams in their own backyard.\u00a0The next World Cup is in Australia in 18 months – a long way from the comforts of Twickenham.\u00a0<\/p>\n England won 11 of their 12 matches in 2025 – now Steve Borthwick\u2019s side, with Henry Pollock (above) to the fore, has got the potential to win a first Six Nations title since 2020<\/p>\n England won the 2025 Calcutta Cup by beating Scotland at home – now they must beat them at Murrayfield in the next step of their evolution\u00a0<\/p>\n England will beat Wales at home in their first game. But then Scotland away is a huge clash for both teams. Scotland and Gregor Townsend copped plenty of criticism through the autumn, but they are a very good team.\u00a0<\/p>\n They will relish England at home, and have not lost to them there for six years. Scotland will know if they\u00a0beat their fiercest rivals, the criticism will disappear. I know how hard it is to win in Edinburgh and we\u2019ll know a lot more about Borthwick\u2019s men from how they perform at Murrayfield.\u00a0<\/p>\n Looking further ahead, the Nations Championship game away to double world champions South Africa on July 4 is just an awesome fixture for England. Playing the Springboks away a year out from the World Cup is exactly the sort of challenge that will show where England are. Good teams win regularly at home. Great teams can win anywhere in the world.\u00a0<\/p>\n Right now, England are a very good team. They\u2019re not great yet, but they certainly can be.<\/p>\n 2. FREEMAN AT 13, DITCH THE SMITH FULL-BACK EXPERIMENT<\/p>\n Borthwick has done very well to build an England squad of impressive depth.\u00a0<\/p>\n That was shown in the autumn when Max Ojomoh came in from the wilderness to start against Argentina and was player of the match.<\/p>\n England have quality across the board, but now is the right time for Borthwick to start to nail his selection colours to the mast.\u00a0We should be able to say what England\u2019s first-choice team is by the end of the Six Nations.\u00a0<\/p>\n The area still to be sorted is the centre pairing. England have the players, but there is still confusion around who starts. I\u2019d continue with Tommy Freeman at outside centre. I\u2019ve found it interesting to see Freeman there for Saints against both Bath and Harlequins. England have so many different options that Borthwick is in a fortunate position.<\/p>\n I would continue with the explosive Tommy Freeman at outside centre in the England team<\/p>\n But Marcus Smith cannot play at full-back anymore. It is doing him no favours<\/p>\n Selection will always be the No 1 skillset of any head coach, so Borthwick has to get the inside centre position right. Fraser Dingwall, Seb Atkinson and Ojomoh are all options.\u00a0Ollie Lawrence is a wonderful player too and will be in the midfield equation.\u00a0<\/p>\n I\u2019d like to see George Furbank back at full-back. He offers a ball-playing presence that Freddie Steward can\u2019t and I\u2019ve always said Marcus Smith just isn\u2019t a 15 at World Cup level.<\/p>\n Smith has been struggling in a poor Harlequins team, but even on top form he isn\u2019t an international full-back and England considering him there is doing him no good.<\/p>\n 3. DON\u2019T DISCOUNT FARRELL<\/p>\n Owen Farrell is 34 and hasn\u2019t played for England since returning to Saracens this season from Racing 92. Perhaps Farrell has made peace with the fact he won\u2019t play another Test, and perhaps he doesn\u2019t want to, given he stepped aside for mental health reasons.\u00a0<\/p>\n But I wouldn\u2019t rule him out returning to international level. You might say England don\u2019t need him given the number of options they have at fly-half, but experience is something you can never discount.\u00a0<\/p>\n Aside from winning a World Cup, Farrell has done pretty much everything in the game and his know-how could be invaluable. The biggest compliment I can give Farrell is that opposition teams wouldn\u2019t want to see him in a white shirt.\u00a0<\/p>\n It might not happen, but I\u2019d have no qualms if Borthwick gave him a chance, and his quality means he should still be trusted at the highest level. Previous coaches ruined Farell by playing him at 12. He is world class at 10.<\/p>\n Do not rule out an Owen Farrell England comeback in 2026<\/p>\n 4. LAW FRUSTRATION<\/p>\n World Rugby is forever tweaking the game\u2019s laws. I\u2019m not a fan.\u00a0<\/p>\n The ban on escort runners blocking opposition players chasing a kick has made the aerial battle one of the most important areas of the game. But the result has been more and more kicking, which is not the most entertaining for fans.\u00a0<\/p>\n I\u2019m not sure how you stop that now, but one thing that can be changed is the time a scrum-half is given to play the ball at a ruck or maul. The game is still too slow, with No 9s allowed to roll the ball back and protect themselves by using forwards to form a ‘caterpillar’ ruck.<\/p>\n I\u2019d insist a scrum-half has to use the ball within two seconds of the referee telling him to. The current rule is five, which is still way too long. That would only serve to increase the speed of the game which is something everyone wants.\u00a0<\/p>\n I\u2019d also like to see top referees have greater courage of their convictions and use the television match official less. Yes, we want the right calls to be made. But we\u2019ve got to a stage where the TMO is becoming more important than the referee on the field because they are making all the big calls. That can\u2019t be right.\u00a0<\/p>\n The PREM matches between Bath and Northampton and Exeter and Leicester over Christmas were dominated by the TMO.<\/p>\n 5. BRING IN SIX NATIONS RELEGATION<\/p>\n This is not a new debate. But I\u2019m all in favour of promotion and relegation in the Six Nations.\u00a0<\/p>\n Whoever finishes bottom in each year\u2019s Championship should face a two-legged play-off (home and away) against the winner of Rugby Europe. It\u2019s a no-brainer and would bring some welcome jeopardy to the tournament.\u00a0<\/p>\n Wales are currently the Championship\u2019s strugglers and wouldn\u2019t welcome a play-off. But such a scenario would actually benefit them. Countries like Georgia, Portugal and Spain deserve a chance.<\/p>\n It is a shame though that Georgia, who have just sacked Richard Cockerill as head coach, have regressed since the 2023 World Cup. But that doesn\u2019t mean they, or any of their rivals, should be denied a shot at the highest level.<\/p>\n Wales ‘won’ the Six Nations wooden spoon in 2025 and I would introduce a relegation play-off\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n It is a shame though that Georgia, who have just sacked Richard Cockerill as head coach, have regressed since the 2023 World Cup<\/p>\n 6. SORT HEAD INJURY LEGAL SHAMBLES<\/p>\n I get asked a lot these days if I\u2019d allow my children to play rugby given what we now know about ex-players suffering from neurological diseases.\u00a0The answer is yes, so long as all concussion protocols are adhered to.\u00a0<\/p>\n Rugby at the highest level has improved its safety measures. But the ongoing court case between ex-players \u2013 like my former England hooker Steve Thompson \u2013 and the game\u2019s authorities shows no sign of ending. It\u2019s been going on for five years now.\u00a0<\/p>\n All parties are losing as a result. There is lots of good work being done on research and prevention on head injuries around the world, but it\u2019s too disjointed.<\/p>\n I\u2019d like to see one body or company lead the way and get everyone working together under the same banner for the greater good. Rugby needs a resolution and quickly.<\/p>\n 7. LIFE AFTER RUGBY<\/p>\n I\u2019d have loved to have been a professional rugby player. But the fact I played in the amateur era and represented England and the Lions while still working a full-time job was a good thing.\u00a0<\/p>\n One thing I\u2019m passionate about is players taking control of their own futures. I don\u2019t see enough of them planning for life after rugby. Even the game\u2019s top stars will have to work when they retire.\u00a0<\/p>\n Rugby isn\u2019t like football where the money can set you up for life. It should be mandatory for all players to spend one afternoon a week looking at what they\u2019d like to do when they\u2019re no longer playing.\u00a0<\/p>\n Some players do this. But too many don\u2019t. I have now been director of sport for over 12 years at the Apex Ski Academy. Flavio Vitale, who is now skiing for France, has come through the academy while also studying at St Edward\u2019s School in Oxford.<\/p>\n Now, the London School of Economics has accepted him to do his degree course over seven years with the majority of it taking place online, so he can continue to study. That\u2019s a great lesson for all professional sports people.<\/p>\n Rugby is a brilliant career, but it will end one day. Players have to be ready for when that day comes.<\/p>\n 8. RECOGNITION RETHINK NEEDED<\/p>\n England\u2019s women winning a home World Cup was one of the moments of 2025 and a fully deserved success.\u00a0<\/p>\n England’s women celebrate winning the World Cup – but I cannot believe ALL the players were not awarded an MBE in the New Years Honours. That should be rectified<\/p>\n England’s victory will help change the face of female sport in this country<\/p>\n But I cannot believe only a handful of players and John Mitchell, the coach, were awarded New Year Honours as a result. Every member of the squad had to be given an MBE as a minimum. Rugby is a team game. The Red Roses awards going to just a few goes against every essence of what the word ‘team’ stands for.\u00a0It wasn’t a good look by whoever made that call – and I would love to know who did. It was a massive own goal.\u00a0<\/p>\n When England won the 2003 men\u2019s World Cup, I made sure every member of staff \u2013 player or management \u2013 was recognised.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n It is wrong that in the case of both England women\u2019s rugby and football teams, only some have been recognised for their achievements in winning major trophies. I\u2019d be surprised if the players were happy with that.\u00a0<\/p>\n All of England\u2019s women\u2019s rugby stars deserve recognition for not only winning the World Cup but representing their country with pride and helping change the face of female sport.\u00a0I\u2019d urge whoever makes these decisions to rethink. It\u2019s not too late for the right call to be made.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"English rugby is in a very good place at the start of 2026. The men\u2019s national team will…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":676122,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5008],"tags":[748,92,393,4211,4206,4884,4207,4212,11082,4214,4204,4208,4209,93,26349,16,15,4213],"class_list":{"0":"post-676121","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-england","8":"tag-britain","9":"tag-dailymail","10":"tag-england","11":"tag-england-rugby","12":"tag-france-rugby","13":"tag-great-britain","14":"tag-ireland-rugby","15":"tag-italy-rugby","16":"tag-owen-farrell","17":"tag-rugby-world-cup","18":"tag-rugbyunion","19":"tag-scotland-rugby","20":"tag-six-nations","21":"tag-sport","22":"tag-steve-borthwick","23":"tag-uk","24":"tag-united-kingdom","25":"tag-wales-rugby"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/115844296925556231","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/676121","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=676121"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/676121\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/676122"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=676121"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=676121"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=676121"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"England](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/105248617-15436113-image-a-60_1767631855292.jpg\")
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