In a recent media session, Steve Borthwick emphasised his commitment to transparency with his players concerning their prospects for the 2023 Rugby World Cup.
Unlike the previous era under Eddie Jones, Borthwick has discarded any selection ambiguity and is consistently engaging with his players in preparation for the upcoming tournament in France.
As he faces the challenge of narrowing down his wider training squad to 33 players, Borthwick has been vocal and straightforward with his squad during their sessions at Pennyhill Park.
Borthwick told The Guardian: “I believe players want to know exactly where they stand.” “In week one and two, we had players come in and I sat with them straight away and said: ‘This is where you stand and this is what I think you need to do to move forward.’”
“That’s the first thing I do. Why? As a player, I always remember that I wanted to know what I needed to do. I didn’t want ambiguity. My job was to get on with rugby and train, not to be second-guessing anything.”
On Saturday August 5th, England will take on Wales in Cardiff, before Borthwick announces his 33-man squad on the following Monday, August 7th. Borthwick will then finalise his squad, and continue on with the Rugby World Cup warm-up preparations. England are booked in with a return fixture against Warren Gatland’s side at Twickenham, before facing Ireland in Dublin, and then Fiji back at ‘HQ’.
England then kick-off their Rugby World Cup in Marseille, in a hotly anticipated clash against Argentina on the 9th of September. Here are RUCK’s predictions for the positional hierarchy, for England’s Rugby World Cup squad pecking order.
Note – This 33-man squad is dependent on the fact that all of the named players in the 41-man wider training group are match fit and available for selection, currently injured players have an asterisk next to their name.
FIRST CHOICE SQUAD
Front Row
1. Ellis Genge (Bristol Bears)
2. Jamie George (Saracens)
3. Kyle Sinckler (Bristol Bears)
Locks
4. Maro Itoje (Saracens)
5. Ollie Chessum* (Leicester Tigers)
Back Row
6. Tom Curry (Sale Sharks)
7. Jack Willis (Toulouse)
8. Billy Vunipola (Saracens)
Halfbacks
9. Jack van Poortvliet (Leicester Tigers)
10. Owen Farrell (Saracens)
Centres
12. Henry Slade (Exeter Chiefs)
13. Manu Tuilagi (Sale Sharks)
Back Three
11. Anthony Watson (Leicester Tigers)
14. Max Malins (Saracens)
15. Freddie Steward (Leicester Tigers)