- Southgate’s team reached the final of Euro 2024 by beating the Netherlands
- Steve Borthwick’s team woke up at 7am to watch the match from their Auckland hotel
England rugby players sang ‘football’s coming home again’ on their bus journey to training on Thursday, after gathering early to watch Gareth Southgate’s team secure a place in the European Championship final.
The match against the Netherlands kicked off at 7am New Zealand time and there were noisy scenes of celebration at the Red Rose Hotel when Aston Villa striker Ollie Watkins scored the winning goal in the last minute. England captain and Villa fan Jamie George said: ‘We went absolutely mad in the team room, absolutely mad, it was unbelievable – I’m a very proud Villain.
‘Apparently they were all watching our game on Saturday. Gareth Southgate texted Steve (Borthwick) to say they were watching us, which is really cool; a great crossover.’ Borthwick’s team will fly out of Auckland just as the final kicks off in Germany on Sunday night. ‘We’ll be relying on the (airplane) wifi,’ George added.
Borthwick revealed that his players used to sing football songs on the bus journey to training and George said: ‘Marcus (Smith) was in charge of the playlist and he put on the classic football songs. ‘Southgate you’re the one’ (football’s coming home again), that was a popular one.
“That’s the power of sport. How good is that? There’s the joy that the England football team brings to us and hopefully we can do that for a lot of people at home. This month has been absolutely amazing with the Euros, Wimbledon and the cricket with Jimmy Anderson’s final Test. There’s so much to be excited about and we just hope that we can keep that positive curve of English sport going.”
England rugby players watched the Euro 2024 victory over the Netherlands in their team hotel
A video on the official England Rugby X account showed the players celebrating wildly
Head coach Borthwick was asked if the footballers’ success has had a tangible impact on his own team’s preparations to take on the All Blacks on Saturday and he said: “It absolutely has. We’ve got so many football fans in the crowd, cricket fans who are watching Jimmy Anderson’s final Test for England this week as well. Lads are following that.
“When I saw the boys jumping and cheering when we scored this morning, it was amazing to see. When I saw them singing the songs on the bus to training… they were enjoying it.”
Southgate has been a regular visitor to England’s Surrey HQ in recent years and Borthwick confirmed they are often in close contact. He offered an emphatic tribute, saying: ‘I have a huge amount of respect for him. He’s been incredibly helpful and supportive to me, personally.
‘A group of coaches and I’m on a WhatsApp group together and he’s been very generous with his thoughts. He came and spoke to the team before the Rugby World Cup and I went to meet him earlier this year to get his thoughts on a few things.
‘I’m just happy to see his team progressing. There’s always pressure on the England team – whether it’s football, rugby, cricket. The way he’s obviously handled that, leading that group and giving the players the confidence in the process… now they’re competing in the final this weekend.’