After last week’s narrow squeak against Samoa, Borthwick’s team have their backs against the wall and the head coach has gambled with his team. Marcus Smith at 15, Freddie Steward out of the 23, George Ford benched, Henry Arundell ignored and the continual circus around the captain Owen Farrell were the main features of a selection with which Borthwick has nailed his colours to the mast.
But those colours could be taken down by a oneman wrecking machine.
Levani Botia has been the talk of town in the south of France this week and he has the key to the breakdown battle which could decide whether Fiji or England get to the last four of the World Cup.
A former prison officer, Botia is used to locking people up and there should be no release for Steve Borthwick’s line manager, RFU chief executive Bill Sweeney, if England do not find a tunnel out to the last four. This is as big a game for Sweeney as it for the players as it will put his decision, and more importantly the timing of it, to sack Eddie Jones in the spotlight again and highlight England’s deterioration since reaching the final in 2019.
A place in the semi-finals was the absolute minimum Borthwick’s side should have aspired to when they were handed the softest World Cup draw imaginable after it was pulled out of the hat in December 2020.
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