Zimbabwe News Update
zifmstereo
10 min read
Steve Borthwick shows his Australia counterpart he has a few tricks up his sleeveTWICKENHAM — South Africa coined the description of “the bomb squad” for their belligerent use of six substitute forwards while winning the 2019 World Cup, but there is no need for a fancy catchphrase and England have decided not to bother.Head coach Steve Borthwick is happy to refer to “the bench” or something equally unflashy.
The impact made by the replacements, not the name they are given, is the important thing.At Twickenham in Saturday’s autumn-series opener, Borthwick’s “bench” did the business, with half an hour of weapons-grade impact from a new front row and two quality back-rowers.It was not quite the full-on Springbok fuel injection of six forwards rumbling on together, but Australia, who were trailing 10-7 when the five fresh white jerseys gathered on the touchline in the 51st minute – and had started with a weakened line-up anyway – had no answer.The obvious contrast to make was with the corresponding fixture this time last year, when Australia won 42-37 at Twickenham with a try in added time at the end.It would be too simplistic to say the England bench last November fizzled out whereas this one exploded.But there were definitive differences, and you could see what Borthwick was getting at when he said after this 25-7 win: “The squad is building depth; I’ve got difficult decisions to make – the ones I want to have as a head coach.”Last year, Fin Baxter was a raw last-quarter replacement for the established loosehead prop, Ellis Genge.Now, the 23-year-old Baxter has accumulated 15 caps and played in every England Test since July 2024, and he has also been fronting up for his club Harlequins in the wake of the mighty Joe Marler retiring from club and country.Baxter’s greater experience and solidity meant Borthwick could afford to keep Genge with his fellow Lions-tour front-rowers Luke Cowan-Dickie and Will Stuart shining the pine at the start here.There was some weary Wallaby body language when that trio rumbled on, and that was not the sum of it.Henry Pollock, Tom Curry and Alex Coles all came off the bench (Photo: Getty)Ollie Chessum was absent injured last year, whereas he and Maro Itoje carried the second-row load for all but eight minutes here, until Alex Coles came on for Chessum.Tom Curry was a world-class replacement this time, having started last year, even it may partly have been a function of his injury-affected start to this season.And then there is Henry Pollock, who brings so much bravado and pace across the ground and madcap gnarliness, yet was making just his second appearance for England when he replaced Ben Earl at No 8, and Curry came on for Sam Underhill, leaving the impressive new workhorse and third line-out jumper Guy Pepper in situ.Pollock may occasionally overdo the whooping and hollering, but the 20-year-old can play and his swoop onto Tom Roebuck’s retrieval of a high kick – a successful England tactic – brought a swerving, exciting try and a two-score lead at 15-7.“Everybody’s excited when Henry Pollock gets on the pitch, what he brings,” said Borthwick.“I think he’s probably the most excited person, the way he is.
He’s a ball of energy and I love having that character in the squad.
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