Steve Borthwick will begin plotting New Zealand’s downfall this week as he looks to build on England’s encouraging end to the Guinness Six Nations.
A stunning victory over Ireland in round four and agonising near-miss against France in Lyon on Saturday have generated excitement around a team that is now playing their most ambitious rugby for four years.
While finishing third in the table will hardly have set alarm bells ringing in the All Blacks’ camp ahead of the summer tour, the threat posed by England’s attack against two of the best international sides will have been noted.
Borthwick will head to New Zealand for a scouting mission on Monday, accompanied by head of strength and conditioning Aled Walters, who will also continue preparations for the first leg of the tour in Japan.
“I’ve got to go and put plans in place for where we are going to be and how we will do it, so that we prepare properly,” Borthwick said.
“I did Japan just before the start of the Six Nations, with a visit there, and then Aled is going to Japan as well, after New Zealand.
“In a week’s time we will understand exactly where we are going with our training programmes, our locations, our venues, so we give the team the best opportunity to get the result we want.
“I’ll be taking the very best players that are available for selection at that point in time.”
After a humdrum start to the Six Nations, England came alive in the final two rounds by scoring seven tries and only losing to France when Thomas Ramos landed a long-range penalty in the final minute.
George Ford insists the revival was borne out of their deflating nine-point loss to Scotland on February 24, a result that sparked considerable soul-searching due to the high error count.
“Our mindset since the Scotland game has been to really go at teams with the ball in hand,” Sale fly-half Ford said.
“Be a threat, ask questions, fire shots, be that attacking team and be on the front foot a lot more. You have seen that in the last two weeks.
“We had to front that up after Murrayfield. We had to make a choice. It was off the back of that game when we had to have a few honest conversations about things and decide what team we want to be.
“We were putting bits and parts together, but we didn’t have the feeling we’ve had the past two weeks. We’ve probably made a good thing out of a bad there.
“You never want to go through those situations, but when you do you’ve got to learn and come out the other end of them.
“We’re improving and there’s a good base. We still need to improve on that but the penny’s dropped in terms of what type of team we want to be. And how dangerous we can be.
“We all play rugby because we want to score points and want to score tries. You’ve got to do all the other things as well but we’re in a good place now – and we want to get better.”
Borthwick taking positives from 'frustrating' Autumn Series
England ensured they ended 2024 on a high note as they claimed a 59-14 victory over Japan, and coach Steve Borthwick is taking the positives from a difficult Autumn Nations Series.
Borthwick's team lost three matches on the spin, going down to New Zealand, Australia and South Africa, earlier this month.
However, they at least rallied to wrap up their year with an emphatic victory on Sunday, ending a five-match losing streak.
Captain Jamie George crossed twice in the first half, with Ben Earl, Sam Underhill and Ollie Sleightholme also going over before the interval, while Marcus Smith was on form with the boot.
Japan, coached by former England boss Eddie Jones, did score through a fantastic try from Naoto Saito, but England kept their foot on the pedal after half-time.
George Furbank rounded off a slick move after latching onto Tommy Freeman's exceptional pass, while Luke Cowan-Dickie went over twice, either side of Tom Roebuck's maiden international try, with Kazuki Himeno grabbing another consolation for the visitors.
While Borthwick knows England have plenty to improve on, he feels they are not too short of where they wish to be.
He said: "Reflecting on it, the obvious overriding feeling will be one of frustration to have come so close to getting results but not actually be able to convert them, I think that will be one aspect.
"The other aspect would be real positivity around some of the aspects we've seen the team play.
"I want them to be brave with the ball, I want them to play fast. I think we've seen growth in that area over the last four weeks."
Reflecting on Sunday's display, he added: "I'm really pleased with the way the players approached the game and the way they kept their discipline to play the way we want to play.
"You can see the identity they're trying to build as a team, one that moves the ball and can score in different ways.
"Some of the tries were exceptional. Over the past four weeks, we've scored some really outstanding tries. With the skill level that's in the group, I'm really pleased they took it onto the grass."
Townsend sure Scotland have more to show after superb win over Australia
Gregor Townsend insists Scotland can still play better despite ending their 2024 calendar on the high of an impressive 27-13 win over Australia at Murrayfield.
Finn Russell surpassed 400 Test points after scoring one of four Scotland tries and kicking seven points in a game where Scotland led by 21 points at one stage.
Head coach Townsend was delighted to send supporters home happy but was not happy with all aspects of his side's performance on Sunday.
"If you catch me in 10 minutes I'll be in a better mood. There was more in us. We weren't as accurate in the first half," he told BBC Sport.
"It shows we can get a win when we're not playing as well. There were moments in the game that I loved. We saw what it meant to our supporters to get a win against a quality team.
"We're better than some of the aspects today, but I'm proud that the players found a way to win.
"I'm inwardly happy, but if there was a game next week it would be a tough review and there would be a lot of things to improve."
Captain Sione Tuipulotu crossed in the first half for Scotland, who led 7-3 at the break after Noah Lolesio's had put Australia in front.
The hosts took command after the break with Duhan van der Merwe, Josh Bayliss and Russell going over in the second half.
Wing wizard Harry Potter scored on his Australia debut to add some credit to the scoreline for the visitors and Scotland showed great defensive resolve after that to ensure no more points were conceded.
Skipper Tuipulotu collected the Hopetoun Cup in front of his grandmother and said: "It was an amazing moment. When she handed over the cup she said 'you got 'em!'
"I'm super happy and it makes the day all worthwhile, when we win like that. We won playing our rugby, we scored some brilliant tries. We know how dangerous our back three is but it was a group effort today and that's what I'm most pleased about."
Robertson makes overseas players plea after New Zealand labour versus Italy
New Zealand head coach Scott Robertson has said he wants to see overseas-based players become eligible for the All Blacks after his side laboured to a 29-11 win over Italy.
The visitors recorded their 18th straight win against Italy to wrap up their autumn series, but Robertson's side were made to work for the victory in Turin in flanker Sam Cane's final Test for the team, ahead of his switch to play club rugby in Japan.
Speaking after the game, Robertson said he would ask New Zealand Rugby to follow in the footsteps of world champions South Africa and allow those playing outside domestic competitions to be eligible for the national team.
"We don't want to be a cycle behind or a couple of years behind," Robertson said.
"Professional rugby is always evolving. Let's keep an open mind and see what's next. I'll definitely be presenting.
"Using South Africa as an example, they get the opportunity to use a lot of experienced players who are looked after and managed well into their 30s so they've got a great balance.
"And they've got big squads, they can have two really quality 15s."
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