Steve Borthwick was under immense pressure but the character shown by his team against France offers hope of better times ahead
Just as Steve Borthwick was reaching for his coat, he finally has something to hang his hat on. The ledger records an agonising defeat but a performance brimming with positives, carried out with a swagger that must signpost the way forward if this is to be the turning point in Borthwick’s tenure. Moments of naivety, too, plenty of mistakes and a maddening feeling that leaves you questioning why they do not always play like this.
Around half an hour before kick-off of this bonkers Six Nations finale, as part of an equally mind-boggling, gloriously French, pre-match show, there was a moment when two white horses cantered down the middle of the pitch, hitched up on their hind legs before galloping away in different directions down the touchline to take up residence behind each goal. The two horsemen facing each other down. It was then that you sensed something might be in the air.
Picking the bones out of this contest is no easy task but there are some conclusions we can draw. Borthwick is not getting sacked in the morning. Thomas Ramos will probably not have been to bed by the time you wake up and, despite a defeat in such crushing circumstances, England have finally stirred from their slumber. There has been a fair bit of talk about “the England way” this week. Players referenced it without precisely defining what it is, but if this is it, bottle it. Never let it go.
