England’s Bright Future
The average age of this England 23 is 26.2 years. The young players coming through will only get better with time on the pitch. In particular, 22 year old Ollie Chessum, only on his second start, looked as though he has been around the England squad for years, he looks like he is meant to be there. In my view, he has definitely swatted any hands away from the #5 shirt, it is his to lose.
Ollie Lawrence impressed from the start and, as we have seen for Bath, has more to his game, as opposed to a battering ram, but he was tasked with getting over the gain line and he did that very well.
But young guns Mitchell and Arundell teamed up well, to score in the corner. The only hindrance this youth has is the decision-making aspect. Looking at Ireland, everyone knows their roles, both from an individual and a team perspective. This is the clarity England will want. If they can get it in time for the World Cup, they may be in a better position than initially thought last Autumn.
This England team are not the complete project, Borthwick can’t kick back at training and say “do what you want lads, my job is done”, but they are heading in the right direction. They will be travelling to Wales with a confidence in their ability, something that seemed to go missing in the latter stages of the Eddie Jones era.