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Steve Borthwick’s England squad have been compared to Ruben Amorim’s Manchester United side before this Saturday’s massive Six Nations fixture at home to France. Both teams have been having difficult seasons but inside the red rose camp there remains a firm belief that, given a little patience, the tide will eventually turn for them.
England’s attack coach, Richard Wigglesworth, also happens to be a United fan and sees similarities between the respective situations at Twickenham and Old Trafford. He thinks Amorim will eventually deliver success for United, currently 13th in the Premier League, and is also backing England, who have won just two of their past nine Tests, to turn the corner in the not-too-distant future.
Wigglesworth is well aware that France will be formidable opponents this weekend but insists “green shoots” of recovery are already visible in England’s performances. “We’re going to get there,” insisted Wigglesworth, pointing to the fact England have scored three tries against both Ireland and world champions South Africa in recent months.
“We’re seeing green shoots in this England team; we play fast, we’re aggressive and we score tries. Against South Africa we scored tries with limited ball and limited possession because we’re looking a little bit more dangerous. When did we last look dangerous with the ball? I think we were the only team to have scored three tries against South Africa in the past couple of years. Against Ireland there were 11 line-breaks against a good defence which doesn’t give up line-breaks. There is stuff coming.”
The 41-year-old Wigglesworth fully accepts, however, that professional sport is about results and believes that coaches, whether it be Amorim at United or Borthwick with England, need time to revitalise struggling squads. “I’m not avoiding the fact that if you don’t win then people are passionate about it. They want to leave the game happy and leave with that [winning] feeling – as I am with Man Utd and when I was a fan and not a player or coach of England rugby.
“When Man United played Arsenal [in the FA Cup last month] I’m seeing players sprint back and I’m thinking as a fan that I have not seen that for a long time. The manager says he wants them to run like wild dogs and I’m seeing that. The little bits [of improvement] that he’s getting in ... I am fascinated by him as a coach. With my limited knowledge of football, just from watching him and how he speaks, [I think] he’s the real deal.
“I love how he speaks about the team. He comes across as honest and looks as though he values the right things. The club have kept changing and changing and now they’re in their worst moment ever.
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“As a fan, I’m thinking someone has to be given time to grab this and sort it out. Otherwise, the whole thing starts again: staffing and the players all change. That is proven not to be the way to do it. You need the right man. To me, he looks incredibly impressive. So given time, resources and a bit of luck that everyone always needs, it would be nice to see him turn it around.”
The big difference between the Premier League and international rugby, of course, is that Borthwick has many fewer games per year in which to transform England’s fortunes. Defeat against France would be their eighth consecutive loss against tier one opposition, the worst run in their history, with a dangerous-looking Scotland next up.
Wigglesworth, though, insists England are not ducking short-term reality. “We want to win but not everyone gets to win all the time, straightaway. We are working to make that happen but there is evidence to back up the best way of creating good teams over time. We’re going to get there.”
