17 February 2023 , 09:12
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Steve Borthwick has revealed the technique he is using to keep England focused while rugby is bombarded by distractions.
The England boss has the task of turning a pig’s ear into a silk purse, transforming a side beaten seven times in the last year into World Cup contenders 200 days from now.
All around him chaos reigns with the Six Nations clash in Cardiff a week tomorrow in danger of not going ahead as Wales players threaten to strike over new contract delays.
Netflix cameras were thrown out of their press conference yesterday as an increasingly militant group flexed their muscles. Hours earlier the squad left a sponsor event early in a show of disaffection.
England do not have their troubles to seek either, having sacked Eddie Jones so close to the World Cup and plunged to sixth in the world rankings.
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Borthwick’s response is to narrow the focus by drawing a line under yesterday - “you can’t rewind the clock” - and zooming in on today.
England head to Wales on the back of a five-try win over Italy (PA)“I was introduced a while back to the ‘three boxes’ concept,” he said. “The box that is the past, the box that is the future and the box that is right now.
“It is normal for our minds to take us to the past, which we can’t do anything about, or the future, which we can’t control.
“Society probably does that; the way we are with social media and everything constantly takes you to the past or tries to fast-forward you into the future.
Henry Arundell is tackled by Tom Dunn during England training (The RFU Collection via Getty Images)"I just want to make the most of today; this moment, because that gives us the best chance of making the future what we want it to be.
“Let’s have a positive impact on today, on each other, on the team. Let’s be better today then we’ll recover and get ready and do it again tomorrow.
“And if we keep doing that and getting consistent games the future will be alright.”
Wales head coach Warren Gatland (Getty Images)Life is more straightforward for Borthwick than it is for Wales counterpart Warren Gatland in so much as England agreed a new player pay deal in November 2021, worth up to £23,000 per win.
Gatland was parachuted into the Wales job at much the same time as his England counterpart and, in addition to the contract crisis, has lost his first two games heavily.
Borthwick also has a proven template to work from, having taken Leicester from bottom to top before being lured to Twickenham.
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“As we rebuild this team the task is to find what works for this team,” he said. “One of my key jobs is to prioritise because if we try and get better at everything we get better at nothing.
“So we prioritise two or three key things each week we need to improve upon. The way we train, play and approach our off-field preparation is tailored to maximise every minute.”