Borthwick hails 'magnificent' England after overcoming delays in USA

South Wales Argus

6 days ago

In a match that kicked off an hour later than scheduled owing to lightning strikes in the American capital, Curtis Langdon, Luke Northmore, Cadan Murley, Jack van Poortvliet, Harry Randall and debutant Gabriel Oghre all scored to make it three transatlantic wins from three following their impressive 2-0 victory in Argentina.
The clash was also delayed by a subsequent half an hour when the players were marched off after a second strike but Steve Borthwick's side, who did concede late on when Shilo Klein crashed over for the hosts, kept their composure to stroll to a comfortable triumph.
Boss Borthwick, 45, believes his players did 'brilliantly' to deal with the unique scenario and says they're moving in the right direction after a summer tour to savour.
'The way the players handled it was brilliant,' said Borthwick, who handed debuts to Oghre, Max Ojomoh, Joe Carpenter, Arthur Clark, Charlie Atkinson and Oscar Beard on Saturday night .
'They were challenging conditions, and with the weather break the game has lasted a long time.
'It's a scenario none of us have faced before – to deal with those conditions, with six new caps in the team today, was magnificent.
'There are things you want to do better, yes, but I thought they were brilliant.
'I'm pleased with the way the players have approached all the games - all three were very different, and it's been a great experience in so many ways.
'We've had 10 new caps over three Tests and got depth developing – we can all see the physical nature of the team, which is athletic, quick, fit and the way the England team's moving.'
The result stretches England's current winning run to seven matches, their longest since back in 2020 ahead of upcoming autumn internationals against the likes of Australia and New Zealand at Allianz Stadium, Twickenham.
Langdon, Northmore and Murley all dotted down in the opening period that also saw USA fly-half Chris Hilsenbeck pick up a yellow card.
And Van Poortvliet, Randall and Oghre added three more in the second to help England power to victory.
USA grabbed a late consolation through Klein to give the home fans who remained something to cheer about but England's work was done as they ended their triumphant tour in style.
Borthwick played last time England were touring the USA back in 2001, where Sir Clive Woodward's side toppled the Eagles 48-19 in San Francisco.
And asked about comparisons between that tour and this one, the former second row added: 'My memories were we were getting changed in the swimming pool changing room, so a leisure complex!
'Playing here in such a unique, brilliant stadium.
'It's very different, which is terrific to see.'