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Some things never change. Twickenham can always make a hash of the pre-match festivities, Fiji will always take the breath away and there is no substitute for pace in the elite game. If there is one thing that Steve Borthwick takes from this helter-skelter victory over Fiji, it must be Henry Arundell’s 70th-minute try on his first England appearance since the 2023 World Cup. Some way to celebrate his 23rd birthday.
Chasing down Marcus Smith’s grubber kick, Arundell gave Fiji’s outside-centre Kalaveti Ravouvou an enormous head start yet still won the foot race. Suffice it to say he does not lose many and at a stroke, the Pacific Islanders were finally put out of sight. There are plenty of caveats, those who will consider hyping up Arundell’s cameo as getting carried away. He was fresh, having just come off the bench whereas Ravouvou was not. One swallow does not make a summer.
Frankly, the naysayers are to be ignored. Because here was a demonstration that Arundell possesses god-given talents that Borthwick must harness. It is incumbent upon him to do so, a dereliction of duty if he cannot or will not. In Saturday night’s blockbuster between France and South Africa, it is no coincidence that Rassie Erasmus saw fit to field Cheslin Kolbe on one wing, Kurt-lee Arendse on the other. That France could unleash Louis Bielle-Biarrey, meanwhile, is yet further evidence that to dine at the very top table these days, searing pace is a prerequisite.
Arundell has endured a pretty torrid time since the World Cup. His time with Racing 92, which put his England career on hold, began promisingly enough but as things unravelled, as Stuart Lancaster was relieved of his duties, so Arundell’s form nosedived. The manner in which he has started the season at Bath should surprise nobody, however. His confidence may have taken a hit but his raw attributes remain.
This was Arundell’s 12th cap, more than three years since his first, when he introduced himself to the Test arena with a remarkable try against Australia in Perth. Borthwick took him to the 2023 World Cup, he scored five tries against Chile and was not selected again until the bronze medal match. Indeed, to date Borthwick has never given the impression that he truly trusts Arundell.
After the victory over Fiji he was invited to lavish praise and instead he spoke of how he hopes Tom Roebuck will be fit to face New Zealand. Arundell is not the finished article, which is no surprise given how little rugby he has played in his career to date, does not possess the all-round game of someone like Tommy Freeman – though he demonstrated his aerial ability in the buildup to Maro Itoje’s late try – but it is a test of Borthwick’s coaching credentials as to whether he can develop Arundell into the player he can so obviously become.
English rugby has had almost a distrust of players of Arundell’s ilk in the past. Speedsters are too often perceived as flat-track bullies. Unable to graft, to demonstrate a roundness to their game, or unwilling to get their hands dirty. As if express pace is to be construed as a flashiness that is not becoming of an England rugby player. Hogwash.
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Arundell is unlikely to start against the All Blacks next week but he must retain his place on the bench and continue his rehabilitation into this squad. A bench that is fast becoming England’s most potent weapon, again playing a decisive role against Fiji. Indeed, it was not until Arundell’s score that the Pacific Islanders’ resistance was broken. That leaves Borthwick with a number of selection quandaries because it seems inconceivable that Tom Curry – again mightily impressive for 27 minutes here – does not come into the starting XV.
Other changes will be made too because while this goes down in the ledger as a 20-point victory, another flex of England’s squad depth, here was a contest in which they lacked the sort of control that Borthwick craves. Control is a funny thing in rugby because it is what coaches want most, it takes a special sort of player to exert it, yet it is the one thing that Twickenham needs an absence of on days such as this. All of which is a roundabout way of saying that England’s inability to take a genuine stranglehold on this contest until the final 10 minutes made for an engrossing contest and served to highlight that George Ford is nailed on to start against the All Blacks.
For Ford brings control. It is his greatest asset, honed over his 100+ caps, and it was abundantly evident that Fin Smith and Marcus Smith – for all their aesthetically pleasing link-up play – were not able to produce it. And that will be of concern to Borthwick. Indeed, had Simione Kuruvoli’s stunning score not been chalked off – and the Fiji coach, Mick Byrne, made clear he did not feel it should have been – then England would have faced a jittery final quarter. That they did not owed plenty to the match officials’ questionable call and everything to Arundell’s reminder that speed kills.
