Borthwick says England failed to meet ‘unwavering standards’ after axing players | England rugby union team

Steve Borthwick has pointed to his misfiring players’ failure to meet his unwavering standards as justification for the most radical England overhaul in the professional era, after ripping up his side for the Six Nations clash against Italy on Saturday.

Borthwick has wielded the axe for the match in Rome on Saturday, ­making nine personnel and three position changes, and sent a clear message to his out-of-form players that performances have not been up to scratch. The head coach has also fielded an entirely new backline with Tommy Freeman, the only survivor from the 42-21 defeat by Ireland, shifting from wing to outside‑centre.

George Ford, Freddie Steward, Henry Arundell and Fraser Dingwall are axed from the matchday squad while Fin Smith comes in at fly-half and Seb Atkinson is selected for a Six Nations bow at inside-centre. Tom Roebuck returns on the right wing with Cadan Murley selected on the left and Elliot Daly tasked with providing experience from full-back.

In the pack, Ollie Chessum, Luke Cowan-Dickie and Henry Pollock have been dropped to the bench with Alex Coles, Jamie George and Guy Pepper respectively replacing them. Ben Spencer is selected at scrum-half with Alex Mitchell forced out through injury, while Ollie Lawrence is also unavailable. Throw in positional shifts for Ben Earl and Tom Curry and only three players – Maro Itoje, Ellis Genge and Joe Heyes – have kept the same jerseys worn against Ireland.

It is the most changes England have made during a Six Nations – in 2007 they made eight before ­beating France – and while ­Borthwick has prided himself on being a loyal selector in the past, the head coach admitted his hand was forced after the ­performance against Ireland.

Intimating that he had some stern words for his ­players in the aftermath of dismal back‑to‑back defeats, Borthwick said: “I would suggest that there have been plenty of times we have won and there have been some strong messages. When a team has won plenty of games, as this team has now, it tends to go to one extreme. I say to the team that we have certain standards, and I am going to hold them to those ­standards. There are certain things that, to me, are unwavering. Things that I will not move upon. Unfortunately, in the last two games, on certain things, we’ve not met those standards.

“Clearly, in the last two weeks there are some key aspects of things that weren’t good enough. Those have been addressed. How I address them, that changes. How and when I address them, in what manner I address them, that can vary. Because ultimately we want an improved performance and result this weekend.”

After inviting the 2003 World Cup winners into camp last week, ­Borthwick hosted the ­England football head coach, Thomas Tuchel, and his backroom staff to address his underfire squad on Tuesday. ­Borthwick was particularly taken by how the ­German prepares his ­players to transfer from the club to the international arena, citing his own squad’s ­inability to adapt to different ­refereeing ­interpretations as evidence of room for ­improvement.

“It’s one of the conversations we’ve had, that challenge of how you prepare a team from domestic competition to international competition and what the differences between the two are,” Borthwick said.

“The officiating in Prem Rugby certainly awards the attack more than it does in international rugby, that’s one of the things you’ve got to bridge when you come into Test rugby. Clearly that’s something that over the last number of weeks we’ve not done well enough and the opposition have gained an advantage. We know that’ll be a big test this week so it’s one of the areas we’ve focused on.”