Refs have helped get England's scrum in order, says George

‘There was a perception we would mess around in scrum’

- Nick Purewal

ENGLAND have carried out a low-key charm offensive to transform their scrum under the shrewd guidance of new boss Steve Borthwick.

The head coach has overseen a drive to change the perception of the Red Rose set-piece, alongside technical adjustments and training-ground graft.

One of Borthwick’s first acts in the hot seat was to canvass opinion as wide as possible at World Rugby and with top referees to find out where officials felt England’s scrum was falling short. England finished the autumn with the worst-ranked scrum of all the tier-one Test nations.

Borthwick and scrum coach Richard Cockerill have quickly whipped the setpiece into a far more stable, solid offering, and that change has as much to do with changing officials’ minds as altering England’s approach.

“In our first week, Wayne Barnes was with us and we went through the scrums,” said Saracens’ England hooker Jamie George (right). “He was saying, ‘this is what I see, this is the trend, so this is what you’ve got to change’. We’re taking some good steps forward there.