Steve Borthwick in need of experienced operators on England coaching team

When it comes to squad selection, England are explicitly prioritising cohesion and continuity. Nobody wants to labour the point for fear of sounding like they are promising jam tomorrow; a message that grew tiresome towards the end of the Eddie Jones era. But that requires patience. And it is easy to frame the coaching set-up in a similar light.

Steve Borthwick is in his second role as a head coach, having guided Leicester Tigers to a Premiership title in 2022, and a first top job at Test level. Richard Wigglesworth, recently promoted to senior assistant, retired from playing less than two years ago when the Rugby Football Union whisked Borthwick away from Welford Road.

Tom Harrison, the team’s scrum guru and another to have arrived at Twickenham from Tigers, is just 33 years old. Before Joe El-Abd was appointed to the England set-up in September, he had not been an out-and-out defence coach. One main plus was his familiarity with Borthwick, an asset shared by Wigglesworth, Harrison and Kevin Sinfield.

Now, the experience of those current coaches can be understated. As a highly respected forwards specialist, Borthwick was integral to England’s successes between 2016 and 2020 and went on a British and Irish Lions tour. Wigglesworth juggled various secondments, including a trip to the 2019 World Cup with Canada, while still playing. He had Leicester playing attractive, incisive stuff towards the end of the 2022-23 campaign. El-Abd has overseen defence as well as the forwards at Castres and Oyonnax.

Togetherness is important as well. By the end of Jones’s tenure, the coaching team looked fragmented; as though the Australian had needed to scour the globe to finds individuals willing to work with him.

But there is a strong argument that Borthwick’s relatively young line-up, which has been compromised by the quick-fire departures of Aled Walters and Felix Jones, could benefit from a gnarled big-hitter – notwithstanding the presence of Andrew Strawbridge as a coaching advisor.

Following a third-place finish at the last World Cup, Borthwick reached something of a fork in the road regarding selection policy. He has opted for evolution rather than more drastic revolution, keeping Dan Cole and George Ford around and handing the captaincy to Jamie George, while integrating younger figures.

This gradual reshaping of the squad is undoubtedly occurring. From the team that lost to Australia this weekend, Immanuel Feyi-Waboso, Tommy Freeman, George Martin, Chandler Cunningham-South and Ollie Sleightholme have all emerged under Borthwick. Ben Earl has been trusted more than he was under Jones, and is an official vice-captain. Marcus Smith is imposing himself on Test matches more fully.

Yet the changes bring with them a sense of fragility that is playing out in costly lapses. Fairly or unfairly, Cunningham-South epitomises the teething problems. He scored two tries against the Wallabies and is capable of stirring moments such as the clattering tackle on New Zealand lock Tupou Vaa’i earlier this autumn.

However, he also committed errors such as a needless block on Andrew Kellaway that invited pressure. That much is understandable. He has eight caps and rarely plays a full 80 minutes for Harlequins – as he had to on Saturday because of Tom Curry’s concussion – and is learning on the job. Many colleagues are, too. Would they not be better supported if most of their coaches were not also broaching new ground and had witnessed more scenarios in the international game?

In fairness to Borthwick and the RFU, the experience of Walters and Jones from their time with South Africa could not have been questioned. The former has one World Cup winner’s medal, the latter two. But Walters is already with Ireland, while Jones is serving his notice period from Dublin with the rather curious remit of “remote analysis”.

There have been suggestions that Jones was initially due to take over the attack before being asked to implement the blitz defence that conceded 42 points to Australia. Anyone considering an approach from England after a summer of upheaval will have had fair questions about the working environment.

Big names bring big egos and demands for big pay cheques, while there is also the question of availability during any recruitment process. Raiding France for Shaun Edwards would have appeased fans, yet always appeared less feasible because the RFU had forked out cash to acquire Borthwick, Sinfield, Harrison and Wigglesworth from Leicester.

Consequently, England are hoping that continuity and cohesion win out – among the coaches as well as the players. The trouble is that when defeats exert pressure in the harsh environment of Test rugby, hiding places are trickier to find.