It is the last game of the year for the England team, against an opposition who are number 13th in the world rankings, six places lower than England, and if all assumptions are correct, this should at last be the win the disappointed home crowd have been waiting for.
Over the past three weeks we have been told that England had turned a corner and were on the right path to a winning team, yet they have failed to achieve a single winning result despite them leading all three matches going into the final stages in each game only to be overtaken in the dying minutes.
However, today should be the game that England win with ease, having won 52-17 in Japan this summer, although Borthwick may have some concerns facing his old boss Eddie Jones, below, who will have an idea of the game that England propose to play and how to possibly disrupt it.
Even so, the standard of competition that our players are more used to is much higher than that faced by Japanese players, making the result of this game pretty much a guaranteed win for England at last.
Comments made by some of the players regarding Jones’ style of coaching is of no surprise, as all coaches have a power over the emotions of their players with those who are dropped or criticised feeling very defensive.
This story is from the November 24, 2024 edition of The Rugby Paper.
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This story is from the November 24, 2024 edition of The Rugby Paper.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
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