Jonathan Joseph: It’s time for Borthwick to unleash England’s magicians

As a former player, I can tell you that the only thing that matters at the weekend is winning. It doesn’t matter the manner in which you win, just win. For a coach, of course there is desire to win, but there is a bigger picture. A good coach has a plan to develop their team to peak at the World Cup. A coach may watch his team lose a match, but the areas he wants to improve are coming to fruition, and that is all part of the building process that Steve Borthwick now has less than a year to complete if he wants his England to lift rugby’s ultimate prize. England have the talent to win the World Cup, but what is needed to make that a reality? Having retired last year, I’ve been watching England closely, as well as the domestic game, and there are a few areas that really stick out to me. Unleash the magic England have depth and talent to rival most countries, but we need to find the key to unlock these strengths. We need to adopt a style of play which provides the best conditions for our players to show off their individual strengths. What’s the point in having magicians if we can’t unleash their magic? France away in the last Six Nations is a game that sticks out as a real positive England performance, even though Thomas Ramos snatched victory for France 48-46 with the last kick of the game. The England performance wasn’t perfect but they looked rejuvenated and dangerous. Following a disappointing campaign, they had nothing to lose and they were able to express themselves in a way we hadn’t seen in a long time. There was a complete mindset change. They played an expansive style of rugby, they took people on and they looked confident doing it. We got a glimpse of what England are capable of. Rugby has changed – and England need to respond My concern, and it has been for a while, is England sticking to the set-piece and aerial game, with little phase attack or creative patterns to disrupt defences. All the other nations have developed their attack and are happy holding the ball for numerous phases, doing so very effectively. The game as we know it has shifted to a more attacking focus and we haven’t adapted yet. I’ve witnessed England go behind in games and then revert to trying to hold onto the ball: it lacked detail and cohesion which ultimately left them falling short. So what needs to happen? Steve Borthwick cannot rely on set-piece and aerial superiority alone (Photo: Getty) The vision and the way a team plays come from the coaches. The game drivers (captains, No 9s and No 10s) lead this in training and during games. This England team need to flip the script. They need to spend time in training with the excellent Lee Blackett, working on their attack, particularly their phase play. I’ve seen first hand what he managed to achieve down at Bath: the shape, the detail and the skill execution went up a level. I fear England prioritise other areas of the game like the aerial contest and set-piece, and therefore Lee has had little time to coach his attacking vision. More weapons in the arsenal is never a bad thing Through my own experiences, you can never underestimate the importance of clarity. The last thing you want is a player going into a game unsure of their role or what’s expected of them in a particular situation. That clarity comes from repetition on the training pitch. Once players have that understanding, they can attack every moment in a game with confidence and conviction, because there’s no hesitation or doubt in their minds. They know exactly what they’re trying to achieve and how to execute it. Does this mean England should just throw the ball around all the time? No. But what it means is that when they go into a game, they should be confident in all aspects of their game. They can then find the area where they gain dominance and home in on it. It might end up being the scrum, line-out or the aerial game. But having more weapons in your arsenal can only be a good thing, and right now, for me, this is where England need the most improvement. Mobile forwards and dangerous backs excite me England’s mobile but powerful forward pack is exemplified by Ollie Chessum (Photo: Getty) Let’s start with the forwards. We have a seriously powerful yet mobile forward pack. Come set-piece time, we can rival any team up front. When the game opens up, the opposition don’t want to see the likes of Ellis Genge, Maro Itoje, Ollie Chessum, Ben Earl and Henry Pollock coming at them. Borthwick is undoubtedly a brilliant forwards coach and I am confident the set-piece will be a real weapon for England. As games become more unstructured in the latter stages, their fitness and power will give them an advantage in attack and defence. The balance in the backline excites me, and with more ball in hand, the cohesion will get better and better. We have fantastic ball players and dangerous runners. I’m a big fan of having two or three ball-players in the backline. It gives you multiple decision-makers who can collectively use their vision to identify opportunities and execute the right options, so it’s not solely down to the fly-half. Of course we have three brilliant No 10s but players like Seb Atkinson, Henry Slade and George Furbank are integral to getting the ball to Tommy Freeman or Manny Feyi-Waboso, our most dangerous finishers. Read more Ben Youngs: I felt guilty playing for England after family tragedy Chris Robshaw: Prince Harry turned up to our England crisis meeting It also makes you less predictable as an attacking team because the opposition can’t put their focus on one player to control the game. This doesn’t come easy, but time and energy spent in this area would propel England forward. So, going into this autumn, of course I care about the results, but for me, it’s equally important to see a real identity developing within this England side. The priority has to be finding a way of playing that exposes the strengths of the players available. I want to see a team that knows how it wants to play, plays with confidence and plays to its strengths. If England can develop that identity and build consistency in their performances, they’ll be right where they need to be for the World Cup.