Steve Borthwick rebuild has long way to go as England fear factor has "gone"

12 February 2023 , 14:02

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Steve Borthwick rebuild has long way to go as England fear factor has "gone"

Mike Brown believes teams are no longer scared of England after they lost their "tough and nasty edge" under former head coach Eddie Jones.

Jones was sacked in December after England just five of their 12 Tests in 2022 and new coach Steve Borthwick admitted after his first game in charge, a 29-23 loss to Scotland in the Six Nations, that he had taken over a side that "weren't good at anything".

"I've been frank from day one in saying there's a lot of work to do," he admitted. "When I looked at the team in the autumn, when I measured the team and got all the data for the team, we weren't good at anything. It was as frank as that."

And Brown, who earned 72 caps for England between 2007 and 2018, agrees with Borthwick's assessment, citing a clip of Scotland star Finn Russell goading England captain Owen Farrell as Duhan van der Merwe scored the winning try as proof England have lost their fear factor.

"I like how Steve Borthwick set the tone at the start of the week with some really honest words," Brown said in his column for the Mail on Sunday. "He said England haven't been good at anything and he was spot on. This rebuild is going to take time because Eddie Jones didn't leave England in a good position.

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"England have lost their dog. They've lost that tough and nasty edge and they need to get it back, quickly. There are tough individuals in the squad — guys such as Owen Farrell, Ellis Genge, Lewis Ludlam and Ollie Chessum — but opponents aren't scared of England at the moment.

England head coach Steve Borthwick said after his first game in charge that he had taken over a side who "weren't good at anything" (Dan Mullan - RFU/The RFU Collection via Getty Images)

"The fear has gone. Under both Stuart Lancaster and early Eddie Jones we didn't always get it right rugby-wise, but we were difficult to beat because we were niggly, abrasive, in your face. Right now it looks like the whole Eddie saga has taken its toll.

"If I were Borthwick, I'd be replaying the clip of Finn Russell sprinting 30 metres to scream in Farrell's face as Duhan van der Merwe scored his unbelievable try. I'm not criticising Russell but that was humiliating, wasn't it?

"It proves teams aren't scared of England. That kind of thing would fire me up and I'm sure it would be the same with guys in the team."

Matthew Cooper