It’s 22 years since England received the World Cup beneath the auspices of Sir Clive Woodward in 2003. They’re the one northern nation to have interrupted the victory procession of the southern hemisphere ‘large three’ of the Wallabies, Springboks and All Blacks. Communicate it in a whisper, however the stars may be aligning for one more English World Cup triumph on the 2027 World Cup.
The event will likely be performed in Australia, the identical venue the place Woodward’s males achieved their success. The comparisons are applicable, as a result of head coach Steve Borthwick is quickly assembling the deepest and strongest squad of England gamers because the flip of the millennium, and he will likely be reminding them of their historic provenance within the land down beneath. Rugby in Australia holds no fears for the lads in white.
Borthwick’s choice is as far-sighted now as Woodward’s was again then, and it’s being developed with Australia’s onerous grounds and clement rugby local weather in thoughts. The top-of-year marketing campaign confirmed that he’s creating two separate front-row mixtures to supply 80-minute impression and problem the Springboks at their level of super-strength.
Woodward might choose horses for various programs from amongst a deep pool of props together with Phil Vickery, Julian White, Jason Leonard, Trevor Woodman and Graham Rowntree. Borthwick already has Will Stuart, Joe Heyes, Fin Baxter, Ellis Genge and Asher Opoku-Fordjour at his disposal.
The Cumbrian supremo has additionally reverse-engineered his back-row choice philosophy to accommodate the host of high-quality quantity sevens at present being produced within the Prem. As soon as once more, he’s following a well-worn, World Cup-winning teaching footprint. Sir Clive had been the primary England coach of that period to desert ‘the large again row’ principle which had been espoused by Geoff Cooke and Jack Rowell earlier than him. Let Tigers’ Neil Back, all 5ft 10ins of him, and 90 kilos dripping moist, choose up the story:
“I felt Geoff Cooke and Jack Rowell in the end got here to grief as England coaches on the very highest degree as a result of they needed large blokes taking part in at No.7 – Ben Clarke, Steve Ojomoh and even a younger Lawrence Dallaglio. For my part it set the event of English rugby again years.
“I had spent all of my rugby life coaching with the backs, studying tips on how to play the linking function between forwards and backs till it turned second nature. Lawrence, Steve and Ben had been all nice gamers, however what number of of them might say the identical?
“In world phrases, it restricted England to being a bully in its personal yard. An excellent bully it must be stated, however for my part Cooke and Rowell had been content material with dominating the Six Nations relatively than [attempting to] beat the likes of Australia, South Africa and the All Blacks.
“[England defence coach] Phil Larder and Clive Woodward had a really totally different mindset by way of what they thought an England crew might be, and it definitely affected their view of what a Neil Back might contribute.”
The place Cooke and Rowell had seemed straight previous the small man as if he was invisible, Woodward and Larder got here to the identical scenario with an open thoughts. Phil Larder instantly recognised that ‘Backy’ was the perfect tackler on the crew, with the best degree of conditioning, and ‘the one one who might play Rugby League straight away’. Abruptly, measurement actually didn’t matter.
The popular England again row by 2003 had Again and Richard Hill bookending Dallaglio at No 8; not one of the three an acknowledged lineout knowledgeable or a penny over 6ft 4ins however each man jack having began video games of rugby for England on the openside of the scrum.
Woodward banished the blinkered obsession with measurement within the again 5 forwards, all the way in which again to the place it belonged within the Darkish Ages, and 20 years later Steve Borthwick is doing the identical. ‘Borthers’ is tipping his hat to England’s present glut of high-quality breakaways by selecting at least 5 quantity sevens in his 23-man squad. Moreover, Maro Itoje’s companion within the second row all through 2025 has been permed from a gaggle of males who’ve all performed blind-side flanker for his or her golf equipment – to wit Ollie Chessum, Chandler Cunningham-South, Alex Coles or Charlie Ewels.
The need for measurement and athleticism has if something, moved backwards within the crew, again so far as the again three, and that is the place England in 2027 could show to be a big enchancment on its predecessor 24 years in the past. Check out the differential in measurement:
The typical for England 2003 is 5ft 10.5 inches tall and 91 kilos however by 2027 these figures could have grown to 6ft 3ins and virtually 100kgs. The 2003 group featured three gamers beneath 6ft tall within the again three, with solely Ben Cohen a real aerial menace. Wind the clock on 24 years and it’s possible each participant within the again three will likely be over 6ft tall and no less than 4 of the group will likely be excellent ‘masters of the air-waves’.
From Borthwick’s standpoint, the modifications which permit the chaser of a excessive ball unimpeded entry to the competition couldn’t have come at a greater second. He now has a spread of tall, top-drawer athletes to win the ball within the air and a bunch of sevens buzzing at floor zero to choose up any crumbs which fall from the desk.
Whether or not it’s a excessive contestable or cross-kick, the direct hyperlink from George Ford or Fin Smith or Owen Farrell to the wings represents a real menace. The primary trace got here within the second Check of England’s 2024 tour of New Zealand:
— William Bishop (@RPvids1994) December 1, 2025
That is Marcus Smith to Tommy Freeman on the cross-kick close to the New Zealand goal-line. Come the autumn of 2025, the British & Irish Lions’ Check wingman had been moved inside to quantity 13, with large Tom Roebuck taking his place versus Australia:
— William Bishop (@RPvids1994) November 2, 2025
On this event it’s a excessive contestable kick from an exit situation, however the connection between Ford [kicking] and Roebuck [receiving] is simply as clean because it was between Marcus and Tommy over 12 months earlier than. Roebuck wins his particular person aerial battle with Australian League kingpin Joseph-Aukuso Sua’ali’i, after which the pace of England’s new sevens-based back-row takes over. As quickly as Roebuck wins the primary contact, the 2 males closest to him are Ben Earl and Sam Underhill, who run straight previous the one large back-rower within the neighborhood, Australia’s Bobby Valetini. Within the remaining act, Saracens ace Earl comfortably outpaces a brace of chasing Wallaby backs en route to the posts.
The type of the newest teen sensation means that England might get even higher within the air than both Roebuck or Freeman. Saracens winger Noah Caluori, solely 19, was initially introduced in to England’s coaching camp at Bagshot to impersonate Sua’ali’i in a hi-vis jacket forward of the sport towards the Wallabies, only some weeks after scoring two tries for Champ membership Ampthill towards the Cornish Pirates on mortgage. The transition from the common-or-garden environment of Dillingham Park to palatial Pennyhill inside one solitary month was breathtaking:
“It was a bit like ‘I can’t consider that is occurring’, as a result of my first call-up was a bit sudden, the day after the Sale sport [where Caluori scored five tries for Saracens on debut].
“There was a second the place I believed ‘I’m going to flick the swap, I’m going to go for all of it’. On the high-intensity Tuesday, Maro [Itoje], my captain at Saracens and with England, instructed me to not let this chance go to waste.
“He stated lots of people come into camp for the primary time and suppose ‘I’m simply going to cruise by this, not do something, not make any errors’. And he instructed me that whereas he is aware of I’m not that sort of participant, simply to go for it. That basically motivated me.”
As his coach with England Below-18s Will Parkin defined, “For those who can bounce larger than the opposite youngsters after which catch above your head, it’s going to be undefendable.” Amen to that.
Noah Caluori can do issues within the air that even basketball legend Michel Jordan would respect:
— William Bishop (@RPvids1994) December 1, 2025
— William Bishop (@RPvids1994) December 1, 2025
Within the first clip the younger man runs 40 metres at full tilt to take the ball in stride with none hesitation in any respect. Most wingers wouldn’t have made it to the 22 with out dropping orientation or working out of fuel, or each. The second instance illustrates the sheer heights that Caluori can scale. He’s to this point off the bottom that his reverse quantity finally ends up working by way of his hips. You may both enable your self to be outjumped within the contest otherwise you foul the Mill Hill prodigy and quit a penalty attempt, and Sale’s Tom O’Flaherty selected the latter.
Caluori is equally harmful returning kicks out of defence, and his potential to run by way of the catch and transition seamlessly right into a dash is uncanny:
— William Bishop (@RPvids1994) December 1, 2025
Arguably England emerged from the end-of-year excursions with as many positives to rely from their investments as South Africa. Borthwick’s males realized that the a number of quantity sevens principle might work towards a New Zealand crew which included 4 males with expertise of beginning skilled video games at both quantity six or quantity eight.
They discovered one proper wing with as a lot, if no more, aerial potential than Freeman in Roebuck, and so they practised towards one other teenager with extra potential than each at Pennyhill Park in Caluori. English rugby is transferring in the fitting course, and it might be transferring as shortly because it did again in 2002-2003. Proper now, solely Rassie’s Springboks stand within the highway.
