In one of the meeting rooms at England’s training camp in Girona, a team of scientists with laptops are busy processing performance data. It has become commonplace in every Test environment, but Steve Borthwick and his staff are one of the market leaders.
Elliott Brown became the team’s senior data scientist on a full-time basis last July, having previously worked as an analyst for Deliveroo and a cattle trading platform. Ben Earl describes him as a ‘genius’, blown away by the way he can pick apart the performances of the football team Earl supports, Arsenal.
Outside of victories, cohesion is one of the key metrics that England are chasing ahead of next year’s World Cup. Familiarity breeds success and Borthwick’s selection for the Six Nations opener against Wales is loaded with tried-and-trusted combinations.
The half-back, the midfield and the back-row all remain consistent with the team that went unbeaten in the autumn. Maro Itoje is the key change, moved to the bench after missing half of last week’s training due to his mother’s funeral in Nigeria.
It will end Itoje’s run of playing every minute of every Six Nations game since 2020. For an example of England’s cohesion project, fellow lock Ollie Chessum has started 28 out of his last 30 Tests alongside the skipper who is primed for a role with the ‘Pom Squad’.
England’s cohesion data peaked with Sir Clive Woodward’s squad that won the World Cup in 2003. Studies have shown the value of consistent playing partnerships in Manchester City’s dominant teams and England are trying to follow suit.
‘Going into the first Test of any series, having combinations that understand each other really well is one of the key factors in the selection process,’ says England coach Steve Borthwick
Ben Earl (pictured in Girona last week) describes England’s data guru Elliott Brown as a ‘genius’
‘Going into the first Test of any series, having combinations that understand each other really well is one of the key factors I feel in the selection process,’ said Borthwick on Monday. ‘I look at a lot of teams and a lot of different sports. I spend a lot of time looking at what makes a successful rugby team. Clearly, having continuity of selection is an important aspect.
‘I’ve also looked at when the continuity of selection potentially goes too far and where is the right balance. That’s one aspect I consider. The leadership, the age, the number of games they have played together, when is the right time to bring in new players – they are all factors.
‘There is a connection and tightness around this squad that I have not seen in very many England squads and certainly was not apparent in the England squads that I was part of in the later years of my playing career.’
England’s cohesion index feeds into a wider pool of data. Borthwick recently presented a graph at a coaching conference that showed England’s expected win rate before they embarked on their 11-game unbeaten run. Cohesion was one of the contributing factors and Borthwick’s theory was proved correct as they discovered their winning formula in 2025.
In England’s midfield, Tommy Freeman has been deployed outside his Northampton team-mate Fraser Dingwall. Borthwick ignored the clamour to select Max Ojomoh or Seb Atkinson, with winger Henry Arundell the only enforced change in the backline thanks to Tom Roebuck’s injury.
The data feeds down into micro-areas of performance, too. No 8 Earl tracks a performance index that measures the cumulative time between his involvements during a match.
Every element of what Wales can bring at Twickenham on Saturday has been analysed. ‘There’s a lot more detail in international rugby,’ said Freeman. ‘We play similar teams week in, week out in the Prem. Obviously Europe is a bit different but we know what Saracens are going to bring, what Sale are going to bring. You play them enough. There are probably a few more tired legs in the Prem that you can get after and pick off.
‘Here Steve says we want to be the world’s best prepared team and learn the fastest as well. There is that detail aspect around them but it’s very much then a focus around us.
‘I’m lucky that I’ve played with George Ford quite a lot now,’ says scrum-half Alex Mitchell (pictured). ‘We’ve trained together for four or five years’
There will be a familiar feel to Borthwick’s team when they run out at Twickenham – and there should be a familiar result against a Welsh
‘Elliott is a genius. I’m one of the guys who tries to avoid getting overloaded with information, but some of the stats that Steve comes out with are pretty mental. Knowing that, “If we do this, this many times, then the result will look like this” is very interesting and it’s good to know. But at the end of the day, you play to space, you get the ball there, you score more than them and you win.’
It is only a matter of time before artificial intelligence creeps into international rugby, although performance director Phil Morrow told Daily Mail Sport there are not yet enough rugby data points for it to be used effectively.
Yet nothing will replace the feel of a Test match and the art of problem solving on the pitch, with George Ford once again bringing his key experience to England’s No 10 jersey.
‘I’m lucky that I’ve played with Fordy quite a lot now,’ said scrum-half Alex Mitchell. ‘We’ve trained together for four or five years now. We have little positional group meetings and the golden nugget conversations are off the field, chatting around the coffee machine.
‘Fordy is a fantastic leader who understands the game really well. His kick strategy knowledge is through the roof. I’m always picking his brains because every scenario is different, with yellow cards, weather and what not. He has a really good balance in his game. He’s been fantastic for a long, long time now.’
There will be a familiar feel to Borthwick’s team when they run out at Twickenham – and there should be a familiar result against a Welsh team that has not win in the Six Nations since 2023.