Steve Borthwick is confident of adding Phil Morrow to his coaching team at the end of the season and believes the Saracens fitness guru’s desire to join demonstrates that working in his England setup is still an attractive proposition.
Borthwick put on a brave face as he publicly addressed the shock resignations of Felix Jones and Aled Walters for the first time, having named his 36-man squad for an autumn campaign that comes at a critical time in his tenure.
Jones, the defence coach, blindsided Borthwick in August, handing in his resignation just days after Walters, the head of strength and conditioning, had jumped ship to Ireland. Such high-profile departures have raised significant questions over the environment that Borthwick oversees and whether England positions hold the allure they once did.
Joe El-Abd has replaced Jones – who remains on the payroll though working remotely – but Borthwick’s attempts to date to recruit Morrow from Saracens have proved unsuccessful. The Rugby Football Union had hoped to appoint Morrow in time for the autumn internationals but a proposed job-share that would have seen him continue in his team manager role at Saracens was blocked by the Premiership clubs.
Morrow has recently signed a four-year contract at Saracens but Borthwick was remarkably bullish over the prospects of the Irishman joining after the Six Nations.
“I respected that two guys decided they wanted to go elsewhere for individual reasons and personal circumstances,” said Borthwick. “But there’s also a lot of people that want to be here. The high-quality CVs I got sent, means there’s a lot of people who want to coach this England team.
“Phil Morrow is a world-class coach and I’m hopeful that at some point in the future he will be working in this team. He wants to, I want him to, the players want to be coached by him, so hopefully we can make that happen.
“I think we’ve got to try to be respectful so that we are not disrupting any one of our clubs. If there is a possibility of Phil joining, it is done in a way that allows the club to do things right. This is something I wish to revisit. Those things tell me this is a place where a lot of people want to be, that we have an exciting group of players and the feedback you get from the players, and you’ve chatted to many of them, these players are pretty clear about enjoying this environment.”
Upheaval on the coaching staff is contrasted by continuity in the playing squad with Borthwick selecting a settled group for November matches against New Zealand, Australia, South Africa and Japan. Henry Slade is deemed fit enough for selection despite not having appeared this season due to a shoulder injury while George Ford has been called to continue his rehab on a thigh injury with England heading to Girona for a training camp next week. Alex Mitchell, however, has not been included due to his ongoing neck troubles.
The coaching overhaul continues apace, however, with Richard Wigglesworth this week promoted to senior assistant while Borthwick hinted that Jones’s decision was on the basis that Walters was a close ally. “[Aled] made that decision, a very personal decision and I wished him well with it – not against us, clearly,” added Borthwick.
Quick Guide
England 36-man squad for Autumn Nations Series
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Fin Baxter (Harlequins), Ollie Chessum (Leicester), Dan Cole (Leicester), Luke Cowan-Dickie (Sale), Chandler Cunningham-South (Harlequins), Ben Curry (Sale), Tom Curry (Sale), Theo Dan (Saracens), Trevor Davison (Northampton), Alex Dombrandt (Harlequins), Ben Earl (Saracens), Charlie Ewels (Bath), Ellis Genge (Bristol), Jamie George (Saracens), Nick Isiekwe (Saracens), Maro Itoje (Saracens), Joe Marler (Harlequins), George Martin (Leicester), Will Stuart (Bath), Sam Underhill (Bath)
Backs
Elliot Daly (Saracens), Immanuel Feyi-Waboso (Exeter), Tommy Freeman (Northampton), George Furbank (Northampton), Ollie Lawrence (Bath), Alex Lozowski (Saracens), Luke Northmore (Harlequins), Harry Randall (Bristol), Tom Roebuck (Sale), Henry Slade (Exeter), Ollie Sleightholme (Northampton), Fin Smith (Northampton), Marcus Smith (Harlequins), Ben Spencer (Bath), Freddie Steward (Leicester), Jack van Poortvliet (Leicester)
“He’s a coach I have a lot of admiration for and we’ve worked together for a long time so I’m disappointed by it. It was a few days later that Felix told me, having had the Aled news, that he didn’t want to work with the team and he wanted to move in a different direction. The two of them are close, but it was still disappointing and surprising. I hadn’t anticipated it.”
Borthwick is evidently eager to get his man given whoever replaces Walters has a significant role to play in smoothing relations between the RFU and the Premiership clubs after the new Professional Game Partnership gave England greater control over players’ strength and conditioning matters for players awarded enhanced contracts.
Borthwick is supposed to be able to award up to 25 enhanced contracts but delays in negotiations with the players have ensured he has been unable with just two and half weeks remaining until England’s opening autumn Test against the All Blacks. “I think we are very close,” he added. “It is just getting those final details right.”
