After 7 years nether Eddie Jones, England is facing a contention against clip to accommodate to a caller manager and a caller benignant of play earlier the Rugby World Cup begins successful September.
Steve Borthwick volition person to enactment miracles, then, to get the English into a presumption to triumph the Six Nations wrong 2 months of taking implicit arsenic Jones' successor.
He'll apt spell backmost to basics to bash truthful erstwhile the tourney kicks disconnected connected Sunday (AEDT).
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Borthwick, who was captaining England successful the Six Nations conscionable 14 years ago, is beauteous overmuch everything Jones isn't - understated, empathetic, realistic... oh, and English.
Yet they bash stock a communal trait erstwhile it comes to attraction to detail, and Borthwick has offered a presumption connected wherefore England had mislaid its mode by the extremity of Jones' reign, which didn't past overmuch beyond a 27-13 pumping by South Africa successful November.
"The world is successful those games successful the autumn bid erstwhile the unit truly came on, erstwhile things went incorrect oregon got challenged, the England squad did not person the clarity to determination forward," Borthwick said.
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Borthwick's nonsubjective volition beryllium to simplify England's crippled plan, particularly up beforehand wherever the scrum has to amended and the lineout should besides tighten up nether a manager who saw those facets arsenic his breadstuff and food successful 57 games for his country.
Borthwick's archetypal squad enactment shows helium volition prime connected signifier - determination were 5 uncapped players successful his enlarged 37 antheral squad - and helium volition anticipation the squad enjoys playing with much state present the shackles of the Jones epoch are off.
A location nonaccomplishment to aged foe Scotland successful circular 1 would permission Borthwick successful a pugnacious aboriginal predicament, however, with a tourney decorativeness of Wales away, France astatine location and Ireland distant not for the faint hearted.
The Six Nations is simply a large woody successful its ain close but there's an added magnitude to it successful a World Cup year.
It's inevitable that the squad crowned the champion successful the bluish hemisphere volition beryllium burdened with other anticipation successful the buildup to the planetary showpiece, which volition commencement six months aboriginal successful France.
It's hard to look beyond the Irish and the French - the apical 2 teams successful the satellite ranking and the starring 2 teams with the bookmakers to triumph the Six Nations.
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They besides person the past 2 World Rugby players of the twelvemonth successful France scrumhalf Antoine Dupont (2021) and Ireland flanker Josh van der Flier (2022).
France is the defending champion aft its Grand Slam occurrence past year, which ended the country's 12 twelvemonth hold to beryllium kings of Europe.
Les Tricolores are connected a 13 crippled winning tally stretching backmost to 2021, a streak which includes victories implicit each apical state from the confederate and bluish hemispheres.
It's mounting up the imaginable of perchance the top ever twelvemonth successful French rugby - the nationalist squad has ne'er won the World Cup - and assurance couldn't beryllium higher.
"Are we defending a rubric oregon going to get a title?" asked France manager Fabien Galthie, who has turned astir the team's fortunes since taking complaint aft 2019.
"That is the question we volition inquire amongst ourselves and that volition springiness america a corporate vision. Because erstwhile we took connected this squad 3 years ago, we said we wanted to triumph matches quickly, we wanted to triumph titles and we wanted to go a unit successful satellite rugby again. That was 3 years ago, and we are inactive moving connected the operation we enactment successful spot 3 years ago."
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Then again, Ireland mightiness person adjacent amended form, having won a archetypal ever bid successful New Zealand successful July followed by victories implicit South Africa, Fiji and Australia successful November.
Andy Farrell's squad has mislaid conscionable 2 Test matches retired of its past 19 - the archetypal Test against the All Blacks past twelvemonth and 30-24 successful France successful past year's Six Nations.
Ireland and France are playing 3 of their 5 games distant from location successful this championship.
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Crucially, the Irish are astatine location erstwhile they conscionable successful circular 2 and besides decorativeness the title successful Dublin erstwhile England visits.
"To beryllium that we tin bash thing successful the World Cup, we request to spell and bash thing successful the Six Nations arsenic well," Ireland skipper Jonathan Sexton said.
Playing Wales distant connected the opening play volition uncover plentifulness astir Ireland - and besides the host.
Because Warren Gatland is backmost successful complaint of the Welsh, making them a unsafe outsider erstwhile more.
The Welsh were improbable champions successful 2021 nether Wayne Pivac earlier unravelling, sparking the departure of the New Zealander successful December - conscionable 10 months retired from the World Cup.
Gatland is simply a seasoned campaigner and a 4 clip victor of the Six Nations with Wales.
This would beryllium his champion if helium tin technologist a turnaround.
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