Matt Proudfoot, the ex-England forwards coach, has expressed his views on the players that he thinks are necessary for Steve Borthwick’s team to improve their performance and reverse the fortunes of their struggling side.
“Where do you start processing that loss? Because so much of their game fell to pieces. The pack was poor. The kicking was poor,” said Proudfoot, who was speaking to Rugby Pass after England’s record home defeat to France..
“Where do they go to? They go to a side who are ruthless in attack, who wants the ball and can play through long phases.
“Eddie [Jones] wanted to go [with] a real power game. To compete with the southern hemisphere teams, you need a power game. He tried to go superpower, that’s why Owen [Farrell] went into flyhalf.
“So you can see the selection model now, do they go a high continuity side with Smith at ten, or do they stick with Farrell at ten and go a more traditional kicking game with a power game, so I think this whole flux of where they are, depends on selection at ten.”
Proudfoot went onto namecheck four players Borthwick must get back into the fold for the 2023 Rugby World Cup.
FOUR PLAYERS TO RECALL:
#1. Joe Lauchbury
He said: “11They’re probably missing a Launchbury in the second row. So they’re missing a big chunk of what their pack could be.”
