Most of us have been there. A dull throb as the eyelids slowly open; a desperate fumble for the Berocca; a slow roll out of bed and search for a packet of bacon, a pair of running trainers or whatever happens to be one’s particular cure of choice. Slowly, the hazy recollections emerge into a heavy head – perhaps a night to be remembered, perhaps one to forget.
For England, a ninth-ever win over New Zealand falls firmly as the former, and there might have been a few in need of nursing last Sunday morning. Publicly, the players were given licence to celebrate a performance that proved their progress as they wished as Steve Borthwick recognised the importance of allowing his squad to let off some steam after what feels a significant victory in the growth of a side increasingly looking in encouraging shape. An eight-day turnaround to their final fixture of 2025 was helpful; an environment that has perhaps found a better balance between light and shade than some past groups, too.
Borthwick would not have overly indulged either in the celebrations – the head coach is fonder of an orange juice than anything stronger – or in the suggestions that his team are a significantly changed entity to a week ago. Come Tuesday, it was back to Bagshot, back to work and a job to be finished with one last outing against Argentina to come. One would not wish to stumble at the final fence with an unbeaten year at home within reach.
“Training this week was as competitive and as intense as we have seen all autumn,” Borthwick underlined after announcing his team on Wednesday. “The players had an extra day [off]. They went home and used that time well to recover.”
Not all have made it to the end of the four-match itinerary – which may be helpful for Borthwick, in a way. While one, and he specifically, would certainly not have wished injury on the unfortunate Jamie George, Ollie Lawrence and Tom Roebuck, there is a fresher feel to a selection tweaked in part out of necessity and in part a desire to drive continued competition for places. Fresh in a way, that is – no-one would confuse 73-cap internationals Elliot Daly and Henry Slade for rookies staking a claim, nor indeed a 33-year-old Ben Spencer at scrum half, but that figures of such experience can be recalled to the backline shows the depth now apparent within, and crucial to, Borthwick’s strategy.
“Part of this is ensuring that we have the appropriate level of depth, experience and competition amongst the squad,” the head coach said having also brought in an all new front row that includes young tighthead Asher Opoku-Fordjour.
“Certainly, some of [the changes] are clearly from the knocks and bangs we had from Saturday’s game. Others reflect the depth developing within the squad. I have been really pleased with the impact we’ve had late in games. Now it comes to those guys who are now numbers 16 to 23 to deliver that impact.”
If it is a side that looks a little light on carrying punch, it is one stacked with controlling quality through the backline and mobility up front. It shows the new England identity that has become clearer and clearer across a year that has so far contained just one defeat. England are significantly fitter than in the early days of the Borthwick regime, aided by the arrival of Phil Morrow from Saracens as head of performance and the introduction of the enhanced EPS contracts that give the national team greater control over a group of 25 key individuals. “The team keeps running and can create chances and take chances,” Borthwick said. “That’s the distinct difference. This is a team that’s got to be able to run for each other and while we talk about sometimes we don’t quite have the same power as an England team used to have, what we do have is this team can run.”
The need to stay the course, and run, has been underlined again this week after Argentina’s Murrayfield exploits. In the flash of an errant Finn Russell pass the Pumas pounced to turn a 21-0 deficit into the sort of victory that imperils an opposing head coach. If there was a sense that a soft Scottish centre was rather easily exposed as they melted, the final 20 minutes displayed the speed and accuracy with which Felipe Contepomi’s side can strike – a lesson that both the British and Irish Lions and New Zealand had already learned this year.
There were some surprised when Argentina followed up that Lions win with a 2-0 defeat on home soil to a weakened English squad, but perhaps not enough was made of the individuals that Contepomi was missing. Like South Africa, a squad almost exclusively based in European competitions is operating on a southern hemisphere international schedule; a time for appropriate rest has to be found.
At close to full strength – as they are this weekend with Tomas Albornoz back at fly half and both Pablo Matera and Santiago Carreras lurking on the bench – Argentina are a developing force with the ability to make this a difficult day indeed if England are still carrying the lingering effects of their New Zealand hangover.
“This is a team that has hurt us before, this is a team that has beaten us, and we know a lot of their players,” captain Maro Itoje warned. “I think there’s probably more Argentinians playing in the Premiership now. We play a lot against a lot of their guys in France, so we’re well aware of the threats that they bring.”
