Latest news with #SteveBorthwick
The Independent
2 days ago
- Sport
- The Independent
World Rugby issues statement over Argentina fans' racist abuse of England players
World Rugby has issued a statement after England's players were subjected to racial abuse during their second Test with Argentina. Steve Borthwick 's side eked out a 22-17 victory in San Juan on July 12, but the match was marred by hate speech directed at a number of England stars. The sport's global governing body has stated that 'it is clear an incident took place' after an 'immediate and through investigation' was undertaken. But after analysing witness statements, video analysis and other lines of enquiry, World Rugby has been unable to identify the individuals responsible. It was also stated that World Rugby has worked with the Argentine Rugby Union to develop an action plan to 'educate fans and better prevent such unacceptable incidents from occurring again'. 'Rugby completely condemns discriminatory behaviour of any kind,' World Rugby chair Brett Robinson said. 'We offer our full support to the players involved and want them to know that rugby stands with them in opposing racism. I applaud their courage in raising what must have been a highly distressing experience. 'The rugby family holds our values close to our heart, we will never compromise what we stand for. We use our global platform to say with one voice that racism, or any other kind of hate, has no place not just in rugby, but society as a whole. We expect the rugby family to set an example and model the values that underpin a sport where all are welcome. 'I would like to thank the Union Argentina de Rugby for their cooperation both in attempting to identify the individuals involved and for swiftly developing a comprehensive plan which we believe will make such incidents less likely in future.' England Rugby CEO Bill Sweeney added: "There is absolutely no place for racism in our sport—or in any society—and these incidents must be condemned in the strongest possible terms. "Every player, regardless of their background, has the right to represent their country with pride and dignity, free from discrimination and abuse. We are in close contact with the players affected and have offered them our full support. "We're pleased that World Rugby was able to act swiftly to investigate and thank UAR for their full cooperation and support throughout. We trust that they will take the necessary steps to prevent any recurrence of such unacceptable behaviour." England completed an impressive 2-0 series win in Argentina, with a last-gasp Jack van Poortvliet try sealing a second Test victory in San Juan.
Telegraph
2 days ago
- Sport
- Telegraph
England's depth chart after summer tour triumph
England concluded their summer tour with a convincing victory over the United States after a number of players pressed their Test-match claims against Argentina. With some of Steve Borthwick's big hitters in Australia with the British and Irish Lions, Telegraph Sport analyses how much strength in depth he has in each position on the field. Each player has been designated as stock rising, stock falling or stock neutral following this summer's matches. Loosehead A position which has gone from an area of slight concern - recall Joe Marler being dragged out of international retirement - to an area of genuine, world-class strength for England. Ellis Genge is the starting British and Irish Lions loosehead, having finessed his technique alongside his natural strength and aggression, while Fin Baxter was England's (unofficial) player of the series in Argentina, displaying elements of his game in the loose which had seldom been seen previously, to go alongside fearsome scrummaging. Bevan Rodd looked good off the bench in July, too, while it is a true feather in Asher Opoku-Fordjour's cap that he is able to cover both sides. Emmanuel Iyogun was unfortunate that injury thwarted his chances on tour. Hooker After the three July Tests, hooker looks to be the weakest area of England's front row. There are still decent options - two of them are currently on the Lions tour - but beneath Jamie George and Luke Cowan-Dickie there is a real chance for someone to stake a claim. Theo Dan carried powerfully in the second Test in Argentina but his line-out throwing was concerning; Curtis Langdon is effervescent in the loose but there were errors in the victory in San Juan; Gabriel Oghre was a late call-up and looked sprightly off the bench in Washington DC, but he is fifth choice. Could Kepu Tuipulotu be the coming man? With George and Cowan-Dickie not getting any younger, England might need him to push on sooner rather than later. Tighthead England's No 3 shirt is most interesting owing to potential movers and shakers. Will Stuart was one of England's players of the Six Nations and looked to be the favourite to start in the Lions' Test series. However, the Bath tighthead, for whatever reason, has not quite hit the heights from earlier in the year and has seen Tadhg Furlong pilfer the starting Lions jersey. Concurrently, Joe Heyes was monumental in England's two Tests in Argentina, and may now be at the same level as Stuart in the race for the starting tighthead spot in the autumn. If Stuart does not hit the ground running with Bath at the start of the Premiership season, and Heyes does with Leicester, it would not be much of a surprise to see the Tiger start. Opoku-Fordjour brought impetus off the bench in the July series while Trevor Davison was never really given much of a shot; but England's scrum will shortly not lack for the presence of the Northampton Saint. Afolabi Fasogbon's time will come. Lock England's biggest worry in the pack, which might sound alarmist given that two of their trio of first-choice locks - Maro Itoje, Ollie Chessum and George Martin - are with the Lions, with one captaining. But beneath them the options are bleak. It is no coincidence, especially given Steve Borthwick's penchant for versatility, that Chandler Cunningham-South - and, to a lesser extent, Ted Hill - have been used as lock cover off the bench in Tests this year. Alex Coles was in the form of his life for Northampton during their European charge but has never been able to replicate that on the Test stage. Charlie Ewels, to his credit, proved some of the doubters wrong, catching the eye in Argentina, but he is not a long-term answer. Arthur Clark might be, and he looked like he could step up to international rugby in England's victory in the US - and it is understood he had impressed in training in Argentina - while poor old Nick Isiekwe was one of only two players, alongside Fasogbon, who did not feature in any of the three July Tests. Flanker If lock is Borthwick's problem child, flanker is the opposite, where England possess an embarrassment of riches. With Tom Curry and Henry Pollock on the Lions tour alongside Ben Earl and Chessum, England were still able to select a back row of Ben Curry, Sam Underhill and Tom Willis in Argentina. Cunningham-South was England's best player against the Eagles last Saturday while Guy Pepper was England's best off the bench against Argentina a week earlier in San Juan. Pepper also looked pretty handy in Washington DC. Where Borthwick goes from here regarding selection is anyone's guess, although after the second Test against Argentina the head coach did suggest that going forward he would try to cram as many of these fabulous flankers into his matchday 23 as he could. Ted Hill only featured once on tour, and it was off the bench against the US; a fine player but the Bath flanker is clearly not fancied currently, among a cohort of excellence. No 8 England do not bat too deep in terms of out-and-out No 8s, but the options they do have are admirable. Earl must have pushed Jack Conan all the way for the Lions' starting berth while Tom Willis was titanic for England in the two Tests against Argentina. Willis would not have been far off Baxter for the unofficial player-of-the-series gong. Alex Dombrandt is not a bad third choice, and his versatility in switching to centre means he may well be a mainstay of England's bench going forward. There is also Pollock, Cunningham-South and the Curry twins who could cover in case of emergency. Scrum-half Alex Mitchell is undoubtedly first choice and one would assume that Jack van Poortvliet will continue to take the bench spot, as he did once he was fit in the Six Nations, despite Ben Spencer starting over the Leicester scrum-half in Argentina. Regarding Spencer, it was pleasing to see him given a shot in England's July Tests; in the second, in particular, he excelled. Harry Randall offers a point of difference - a livewire running threat - but currently sits behind the other three, while Raffi Quirke has sadly slipped down the pecking order after bursting onto the scene to great success in 2021. Given Quirke is only 23, he still has plenty of time. Fly-half Borthwick may well be wishing for a few niggles heading into the autumn to make his selection slightly more straightforward. If all are fit and firing, and if Owen Farrell decides to return to the England fold, then it would appear to be a shoot-out between Fin Smith and George Ford for the starting No 10 jersey as things stand. Ford is the incumbent, but Fin Smith has been with the Lions and also directed England's attack astutely in the Six Nations. Farrell will have to prove himself with Saracens, and that is as long as he wants to return. Marcus Smith has not featured too much for the Lions at fly-half but in his last 25 caps for either England or the touring side only nine have been starting at No 10. Do England have better options as bona fide fly-halves? Perhaps. And, perhaps, Marcus Smith's international future will be as impact replacement covering 10 and 15. Charlie Atkinson came off the bench for England in Washington DC but it was telling that for the two Argentina Tests, Henry Slade and Ben Spencer respectively were fly-half cover. Charlie Atkinson still has a lot of ground to make up. Centre Henry Slade was at the epicentre of England's defensive press in the first Test against Argentina but offered little in attack and, while cruel, his hand injury might well have been a blessing in disguise for Borthwick, forcing the head coach into blooding previously uncapped centres in the second Test and against the US. Slade will be 34 by the time of the next World Cup and, in any case, missed out of selection for the 2023 edition. Luke Northmore was solid if unspectacular in the ensuing matches, but Seb Atkinson proved that he is playing at a level which, at least, showed enough potential to be Test class. Max Ojomoh had some punchy moments at 12 in Washington, too, and times a pass as well as anyone in the English game. Oscar Beard was consigned to one sole appearance on tour, off the bench, despite selection for England's Six Nations squad. Fraser Dingwall and Ollie Lawrence, both injured for the July Tests, will both surely come back into the reckoning, with Farrell and Daly both options at 12 and 13 respectively. Wing Tommy Freeman might not have had his greatest day in the first Lions Test in Brisbane but he remains a magnificent wing and England's first choice. When fit and firing, one would expect Immanuel Feyi-Waboso to join Freeman in England's back three - Borthwick recently described the Exeter Chief as 'world class' - although after the long injury lay-off Feyi-Waboso has looked a touch rusty. Despite that, he remains a lethal strike-runner. In the next bracket, Ollie Sleightholme missed the tour(s) with injury and Tom Roebuck did his Test ambitions little harm in Argentina, where he impressed in both Tests. Will Muir was solid against Los Pumas but his performances were not commanding enough to suggest he is now undroppable, but Cadan Murley brings an extra threat. Off the bench against Argentina and starting in the US, Murley looked as though he had gotten over the early nerves which tarnished his Test debut, against Ireland in the first round of the Six Nations. Full-back Despite the greater expanse which Freddie Steward brought to his game in Argentina, and notwithstanding the strong form at No 15 which Elliot Daly has shown for the Lions, it still feels as though George Furbank is England's first choice in this position. Marcus Smith's versatility will probably see him sneak onto the bench if there are tight calls but Joe Carpenter also showed that there would be little risk in starting him in the backfield. With limited opportunities on tour, Carpenter took his form from Sale to Washington DC, where he looked sharp.
Rhyl Journal
2 days ago
- Sport
- Rhyl Journal
Van Poortvliet makes upbeat admission after England battle past USA
The Leicester Tigers star, 24, was part of Steve Borthwick's team that beat the USA 40-5 in Washington DC on Saturday night to round off a summer clean sweep of victories after an impressive 2-0 win in Argentina. The match in the American capital kicked off an hour later than planned due to a lightning strike in the area, with the game then halted by a further half an hour on 29 minutes when another struck within 10 miles of the ground when England were 14-0 up. The disruption followed several similar incidents at the recent Club World Cup in the US, with champions Chelsea's clash against Benfica delayed by nearly two hours after the Portuguese giants endured an even longer disruption against Auckland City. Scrum-half Van Poortvliet, one of six England try-scorers at Audi Field, admits the stop-start nature of the contest hampered England's fluency but hopes experiencing it as a group will prepare them in case a similar scenario unfolds in the future. 'I've never experience it before,' he said 'Going into a game, warming up, having it cut off then again after 20 odd minutes makes it really hard. 'It definitely does take it out of you a little bit – but it's probably great to have experienced now. 'You never know situations that might happen in big games in the future, so now we've all experienced that it's probably great for us. 'The staff were brilliant but we probably came out a bit slow at the start of the game. But we came out a lot better after the second stoppage.' Van Poortvliet, Curtis Langdon, Luke Northmore, Cadan Murley, Harry Randall and debutant Gabriel Oghre all scored to make it three transatlantic wins from three and extend England's winning run to seven matches – their longest streak since back in 2020. Langdon, Northmore and Murley – post-half an hour delay – 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 Shilo 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. England will now enjoy their summer break before gearing up for crunch autumn internationals against the likes of Australia and New Zealand at Allianz Stadium, Twickenham. And Van Poortvliet, England's matchwinner in the second Test against Argentina last weekend, added: 'It was by no means the greatest game to watch today but it's good to end on a win. 'It's been a great few weeks and we wanted to make sure we ended on a high. 'I've loved these few weeks with the lads – it's been an amazing group and it's such good fun. 'We're slightly disappointed with the performance but we're really happy with how the tour's gone in general and to get the win.' Purchase your tickets to the Autumn Nations Series at Allianz Stadium
Rhyl Journal
2 days ago
- Sport
- Rhyl Journal
Relieved Carpenter relishes making long-awaited England debut in USA
The Leeds-born star, 23, made his international bow as part of Steve Borthwick's team that beat the USA 40-5 in Washington DC on Saturday night to round off a summer clean sweep of victories after an impressive 2-0 win in Argentina. But the match in the American capital kicked off an hour later than planned due to a lightning strike in the area, with the game then halted by a further half an hour on 29 minutes when another struck within 10 miles of the ground when England were 14-0 up. The disruption followed several similar incidents at the recent Club World Cup in the US, with champions Chelsea's clash against Benfica delayed by nearly two hours after the Portuguese giants endured an even longer disruption against Auckland City. Sale Sharks full-back Carpenter, watched on by dad Will, mum Jackie, partner Federica and brother Josh at Audi Field, was one of six players to be handed their debuts alongside fellow starters Max Ojomoh and Arthur Clark. And asked about how the delays affected him, he said: 'Most of us getting new caps were just hoping the game was going to start, to be honest! 'Thankfully the weather held out eventually – there are a lot of happy boys in there and it's been a really special tour. 'It's probably not one the lads expected – it was probably the longest game of rugby a lot of the boys have had. 'But to go out there and get the win makes it very special. 'We've got a lot of strong leaders in there who led the way, kept us composed and got us chilled out and fired up at the right time. 'Mentally it's quite tough when you're about to start a game, then come off again. 'But I thought the boys handled it really well – to get three wins out of three is a great way to do it. 'The connections boys have made is massive and there are lots of happy faces in the dressing room right now. 'It was definitely special [to have my family here] – they're the reason I'm here. They've supported me throughout as a young one and as a professional. 'For them to be here for my first one is massively important to me.' 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 and extend England's winning run to seven matches – their longest streak since back in 2020. Carpenter nearly got on the scoresheet himself only for his dream debut try to be denied after a narrowly-adjudged Murley knock-on. USA grabbed a late consolation through Shilo 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. England will now enjoy their summer break before gearing up for crunch autumn internationals against the likes of Australia and New Zealand at Allianz Stadium, Twickenham. And Carpenter, who delivered a rock-solid display on debut, is desperate to be involved. 'That's definitely a goal of mine,' he added. 'Whether it happens or not I don't know – I've got to go back and perform for Sale now. 'We'll definitely enjoy the break and hopefully when autumn comes round I'm still performing and can get a few more caps.' Purchase your tickets to the Autumn Nations Series at Allianz Stadium
South Wales Argus
2 days ago
- Sport
- South Wales Argus
Randall backing England to blossom further after summer tour triumph
The Bristol Bears scrum-half, 27, was one of six try-scorers in Washington DC as Steve Borthwick's side completed a transatlantic clean sweep of victories after an impressive 2-0 win in Argentina. Fellow Bear Gabriel Oghre also capped a memorable international debut when he dotted down for England's final try after coming on in the second half. The match in the American capital kicked off an hour later than planned due to a lightning strike in the area, with the game then halted by a further half an hour on 29 minutes when another struck within 10 miles of the ground when England were 14-0 up. But Borthwick's side, missing several key players on the British & Irish Lions Tour to Australia, kept their composure to extend their resurgent run that has now seen them rack up seven wins on the spin – their longest streak since back in 2020. Randall has loved life in the camp over the last few weeks and is relishing the prospect of returning ahead of crunch autumn internationals against the likes of Australia and New Zealand. 'It's really satisfying – I think we're building something really special here over last few campaigns,' he said. 'There are a few boys away with the Lions – that strength in depth comes through really nicely. 'I think we've showed that over the last few weeks. 'It's one of the tightest groups I've been a part of – generally everyone gets on with everyone and ultimately that's what makes a great team at the end of the day. 'Having that camaraderie – we're definitely building that really nicely.' Randall, Oghre, Curtis Langdon, Luke Northmore, Cadan Murley and Jack van Poortvliet all scored in a commanding albeit imperfect display at DC's Audi Field. USA grabbed a late consolation through Shilo 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. Replacement Randall admits he has never experienced anything like the delays that led to the game finishing 90 minutes later than planned but hailed the group for dealing with it in the best way possible. 'It was a bit of a disruptive game but you've got to adapt to these things, which I think we did pretty well,' he said. 'It was tough conditions – the ball got greasy and slippery but we got what we wanted in the end. 'It's the first time in that situation – it's a weird one. 'It was just a case of when that delay came, switching off, relaxing and keep sipping away fluids as it's so hot. 'When the time comes to get back out there again, it's about getting switched, warming back up and ready to come on when needed.'
