‘Borthwick’s England must find French flair and adventure’
This is it for England, their World Cup gets real from this weekend. There is no easy fixture against Wales, there’s no friendly against the neighbours from over the Severn Bridge.
It always has been, and always will be, war.
And with Steve Borthwick set to name his final World Cup squad next Monday – far earlier than any of his northern hemisphere competitors – this weekend is the final chance for players in that particular 23 to impress the boss.
And if you’re not named in the starting side for the match in Cardiff? Well it either means you’re an integral part of Borthwick’s plans to such an extent that you’re not worth the risk, or it means you’re out.
There will be a lot of sitting on your hands hoping after this weekend, because it’s a singular phone call or discussion that will make or break your World Cup dream.
England window for error
The sport gets tougher and tougher in these moments, because the window for making mistakes narrows.
A red card here or pulled muscle there could be the difference.
England have given themselves an interesting schedule, home and away to Wales, away to Ireland and home to Fiji at Twickenham.
It is a fascinating balance of sides but for the latter three everyone will know England’s squad, which could be both an advantage or disadvantage.
Wales, who name their squad later in the month, have a brutal schedule with two matches against England and one against the world champions South Africa.
Wales will be right in at the deep end for the whole of August. It could be overkill.
But in England, with what will be a more settled squad as the weeks go on, I want to see adventure and creativity.
You cannot win a World Cup without it. You cannot challenge the likes of France and New Zealand if you take to the pitch with the opposition knowing you’re not going to try something or make use of a maverick player.
Black and blue
That’s what’s made Les Bleus and the All Blacks so good, they take their chances and they play with unpredictability. England and Wales, right now, do not.
So in these eras – of Steve Borthwick and Warren Gatland – there must be some of that.
I believe England have a better chance of doing that than Wales – Gatland’s side this week line up with a mishmash of experience and untested talent.
Two uncapped props in their starting XV? Brave.
But I like that, I like the desire by Gatland to force this on his players. He has the time to do so.
It starts now, the run-in for the World Cup, and England and Wales must show some development for their opposition later this year in France to even take notice of them.
It is a case of turning up and playing to be seen, to be noticed. This weekend is about laying down a market to be judged against for the rest of the warm-ups and into the World Cup.
I’d like to think we’re going to see two new sides willing to explore their potential. Alas, I imagine I’ll be disappointed.
Former England Sevens captain Ollie Phillips is the founder of Optimist Performance, experts in leadership development and behavioural change. Follow Ollie on Twitter and on LinkedIn.