Steve Borthwick insists his England stars should ‘have the time of their lives’ in Six Nations tie against Wales… and claims Twickenham atmosphere will help ‘lift’ his side as old rivals prepare to clash
- Steve Borthwick has eased the pressure on his England side ahead of the draw in Wales
- England coach insists he wants his players to ‘have the time of their lives’
- Borthwick wants to turn Twickenham into a fortress feared by the opposition parties
Steve Borthwick has told his new team to put aside the weight of expectations that burdened previous England sides and enjoy the clash with Wales at the ‘special’ Twickenham on Saturday.
“It’s the most special place in the world to play rugby,” Borthwick said ahead of the thrilling Six Nations encounter between the two famous old rivals. ‘That is the journey we want to start on Saturday. These are special days and sometimes you can forget how special these days are. I want them to have the time of their lives when they play for England.
“There will be players who have played a lot of Tests there. How many do they have left? But I hope there are some players who will feel that Twickenham will be their home for the next ten years. I want them to feel like this is a wonderful place to be.
‘From my experience as a player and as a coach, seeing these players put on the white shirt and run away from Twickenham is something that has weighed on them. We haven’t seen the best of it yet.
‘This weekend they start a new journey. The idea is that when they put on that white shirt, they build the best versions of themselves – especially at Twickenham. We want them to benefit even more from that.’
Steve Borthwick has told his new team to put aside the weight of expectations that weighed on previous England sides
The England boss says his players should ‘have the time of their lives’ against Wales
Borthwick and New England captain Jamie George want to turn Twickenham into a fortress feared by the opposition parties. That has not been the case in the past two years.
England’s last match at Twickenham ended with the team being booed after a humiliating World Cup warm-up defeat to Fiji in August. Now Borthwick is looking for a fresh start. He has named an unchanged team, compared to the team that defeated Italy 27-24 in Rome in the first round.
It is the first time since 2019 that England have played the same XV in consecutive matches.