Steve Borthwick has challenged his England team to bring their “best versions of themselves” to Ellis Park when they face the Springboks on Saturday.
Fronting up to the media in the build-up to what promises to be an epic Nations Championship opener for both nations, the England boss was quizzed on whether tempo would be key to unlocking a result against the world champions.
Borthwick, though, shifted the focus onto his players’ character rather than any tactical blueprint.
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“Rather than talk about tempo I’d rather talk about the players and wanting them to bring all their character, personality and talent onto the pitch on Saturday,” he said.
“We know South Africa are a wonderful side, they’ve been the benchmark of world rugby for a considerable period of time. We’re playing against the best in the world and it’s what we talked about with the players – bringing their very best versions of themselves onto the pitch on Saturday, in such an incredible arena.”
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With England having struggled during the 2026 Six Nations, Borthwick addressed what has been done to restore belief in his group ahead of a daunting task in the Republic.
“That’s one of the great challenges, particularly the England side. I believe we’ve got a load of great talent and my job, along with all the other coaches, is to be supportive of that, to embrace them and encourage them, and then step into the arena,” he said.
“These players are excited about the challenge, [South Africa] is a wonderful place to play rugby, very few of them have experienced Ellis Park before and I think there’s a freshness, a real energy around that.
“There’s nothing from the past with them, they just want to go and they’ve been supported by some brilliant senior players. My encouragement is always to bring their talent onto the pitch, put the shirt on and feel the energy of the millions of supporters in England that we have.”
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Borthwick also pointed to the growing partnership between Northampton Saints duo Tommy Freeman and Fin Smith as central to accelerating cohesion in a youthful backline.
“We’ve talked many times about looking for the right partnerships, the right blend of players who spend time together and play together and clearly they have,” he said.
“We’re well aware that our backline is young … the team’s a lot younger. We also know the number of caps we have are several hundred less than where South Africa are, so that’s why we spend so much time talking about the relationships and understanding between players because we need to accelerate that.”
Photo: Action Images via Reuters/Paul Childs
The post England amped to step into Bok arena appeared first on SA Rugby magazine.
Steve Borthwick has challenged his England team to bring their “best versions of themselves” to Ellis Park when they face the Springboks on Saturday.
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