Steve Borthwick watches England practice at the World Cup base at Le Touquet. Photo: Getty Images/Dan Mullan
Early September 2003. A small group of Bath players are at the Nero Café with Danny Grewcock, who is waiting for a phone call to find out if he is in the England squad for the World Cup. The call comes in and that's good news. A birthday cake is offered, but Grewcock declines it, saying «I just hope that doesn't mean Borters won't go. I wonder if they chose between us.”
Meanwhile, behind the Rec stand, Steve Borthwick receives another call confirming he is not on the team. His omission is a devastating blow — and far from the last one he will receive in his career. But by the time Borthwick meets with the rest of the team, nothing seems to have happened. He tells them: «Oh, it's okay, it just shouldn't have happened.»
David Flatman, Bath props, recalls: “I think there are some players, if they were kicked out by England or they lost the captain's armband, the next day they would cut people left, right and center. Others would laugh at themselves. As for Steve, he didn't mention it at all. He will keep to himself.”
The England manager has many different sides, many of which are hidden from view. The public mask is close to incomprehensible. It doesn't have the bombast of Eddie Jones or the spark of Andy Farrell. People close to him usually describe him as a charming and fun company, however, some of his interviews can be harsh and boring. Part of this has led to a gap between how the public perceives him, first as a captain and now as a head coach, and how highly he is regarded by teammates and coaches.
As a teenager, he made such an impression on Nigel Redman, an England second-row player, insisted that Bath offer him a contract. Just last year, Borthwick topped Redman's Everest project by replacing Eddie Jones as England manager.
Nigel Redman noticed Borthwick's talent as a teenager and has been his friend and mentor for over 20 years. Photo: Getty Images/David Rogers
John Connolly, who made him captain at Bath, compares him to Australian legend John. Eales as captain and promoted him to the position of Wallaby after Dave Rennie's position was in jeopardy.
Sometimes it may seem that different parts of his personality are in conflict with each other. Joe El-Abd describes Borthwick as «the kindest and most sincere man in rugby», but Borthwick also had no hesitation in advising coaches to hook Lee Mears, his rugby best friend, when he missed the lineout.< /p>
«He very honest,” Mears said. “There was one game where I came off the bench against Bristol and missed one shot and then missed again and it wasn't my fault. He yelled, «Get Mears out!» I thought: «Hurrah, Bort!»
However, even those who were closest to him can hardly remember times when he showed vulnerability. But England manager Brian Ashton called him an «angry young man» after he failed to play a full part in the 2007 World Cup and again missed the 2011 World Cup.
“There were a lot of things that would have hit Steve hard, but he wouldn’t have told the wider group,” Flatman said. “I see him get in the car, punch a hole in the windshield and come home and be very nice to his family, cook great food, go to bed early and then wake up at 5am to start planning Bath lineup. moving on to the first game of the season.”
If Borthwick has a soul mate, it's Redman. Both were second row, lacking the size of their contemporaries, so they had to find other ways to gain an advantage. They hit it off when they met at a coach development workshop while Borthwick was in the England training program.
“I remember this tall striker who was so hungry for knowledge and so interested in the lineout. play,” said Redman, who is now the RFU's director of performance. “I spent only an hour in his company, but he made such a big impression on me that we really need to look into this issue further. I immediately returned to Bath and said that there was a guy on the way to the England team that we should sign.”
It was in the late 90s that the corridor lift was introduced, opening up a new realm of opportunity for Redman and Borthwick. Together, they sat for hours in Bath's office in Queen Square, watching videotapes of their own and the opposition's squads. «When lift came on board, Steve saw the opportunity for movement and timing,» Redman said.
Bortwick's exploration of the corridor and developing new innovative tactics with Redman transformed his game and standard strategy. Photo: AP/Sang Tan
“What set Steve apart from the others was his interest and curiosity in what a rival was doing and considering robbing his main source of possession. To win a game of rugby, you need a reliable standard. Steve took a serious look at opposition and how it could be broken. He got a lot of pleasure out of causing suffering to the opposition.”
As a prostitute, Mears was one of the main recipients of housework hours. “He was always five moves ahead,” Mears said. “I would come to Borters with my ideas and say, ‘I have this idea,’ and he would say, ‘I thought about it, no. He could make a ball and make sure it was in space. I could throw the worst cake, and the boys were so open that they could not help but catch up.
This diligence was combined with steel. The competition between Borthwick and Grewcock was fierce, both in England and when they returned to Bath, leading to what Mears calls «the mother of all punches».
“I remember that Danny finally won. enough and they did this big hit and then they just went for it and Mike Foley was yelling, «Nooo!» Stop it!” as his best second rows beat the hell out of each other. Neither of them could stop, so they had to be separated.
“He was not afraid to throw out the chatter on the field and get into your head. Once he starts stealing your corridors, he will tell you what you are going to do next and tell you that you are trash. Psychologically, he could crush you.”
Borthwick and Danny Grewcock were both club and country teammates, but also strong opponents. Credit : The Telegraph/Russell Cheyne
When Connolly became director of rugby at Bath, he spent little time promoting Borthwick to captain, ahead of much more experienced players. “There was a certain presence in him. Players want to play for him. Great captains like John Eales and Steve made the players around them better.”
The impression Borthwick left on Connolly was such that when Rennie left, the former Wallaby coach lobbied Rugby Australia to consider him as a candidate.
that he coaches Australia,” Connolly said. “He has connections in Australia. His wife is from Melbourne. There were much worse options when it was clear that Rennie was leaving.”
Borthwick stayed in Bath for 10 seasons. There is conflicting information about his departure. Whether it was conspiracy or incompetence, the contract offer never materialized and so Borthwick signed with the Saracens in 2008. By the time he retired, the north London club was well on its way to building a dynasty. “Wherever Steve goes, success follows him,” Mears said.
He also doesn't see it as a coincidence that Bath suffered a drug scandal in the season following Borthwick's departure. “Under Borters, this would never have happened, not in a million years,” Mears said. «Alex Crockett and Mike Lipman became co-captains and were brilliant in their own way, but when we went into social mode, we didn't have enough Borter to say, 'Get your neck worked'.»
After ten years at Bath, Borthwick moved to Saracens, where he helped lay the foundation that turned the club into a dynasty. Photo: Getty Images/Mike HewittThe only time Mears remembers Borthwick letting his hair down (when he had it) was at the 2007 World Cup when he convinced him to enjoy thick Parisian hot chocolate with Mears and Sean Perry. «From time to time, Borts broke down, but then he attacked us in the gym,» Mears said.
It's not that Borthwick lives like a monk, but he avoided excess, which was far from the norm in rugby locker rooms in the early 2000s. “There is a standard group of behaviors in rugby, one of which is that you are openly outgoing, you are an extrovert and you like to get irritated,” Flatman said. “But a lot of guys aren't like that. Now you are allowed to be yourself, but at the time when you were not allowed to be yourself, he still was and did it. He has been like this since childhood. You can't let your captain not be furious at the end of the season. Yes I can. I'll do what I want, thanks. I'll be there for a drink and then disappear like a smoke bomb out the side door and you guys will make some bad decisions.»
Perhaps that's what the disunity is all about, that In a rugby world full of alphas, Borthwick is happy to be himself. “Some of the best comedians are introverts,” Redman said. “They don't really like big crowds, but the stage is their platform that allows them to become a different version of themselves. The rugby field is actually Steve's stage.”
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