‘Outstanding’ Steve Borthwick to be top coach says Eddie Jones

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Saracens skipper Steve Borthwick will become an outstanding coach after his playing days are over, according to Japan head coach Eddie Jones.

Borthwick, 33, has been assisting Japan during the June Test window and his influence came to bear during last week’s historic victory over Wales – the first time the Brave Blossoms have downed a top 10 nation – and subsequent win over Canada.

Cumbrian Borthwick, who is rated by Jones as equal to Springbok legend Victor Matfield as a lineout forward, signalled his intention to move into coaching earlier this year when he spent time with the Pretoria-based Super 15 side Blue Bulls.

And Jones, who as rugby director of Saracens signed the lock from Bath in 2008, has no doubt former England captain Borthwick will head to the top of the coaching tree.

“Steve’s been really good and he’s going to make an outstanding coach when he retires,” former Australia coach Jones told The Rugby Paper. “He joined us at the start of the month for the Fiji game and since then our lineout success has risen to over 80 per cent.

“I wanted a really good lineout guy and he immediately came to mind. He’s getting closer to the end of his career than the start so to get a young guy like him over to work with our players and give him a chance to coach is clearly of mutual benefit.

“Of all the lineout guys I’ve met in the world there’s him and Matfield, right, with the knowledge, and Borthers is absolutely first-class. Our lineout work has improved drastically and it’s all due to his coaching – one hundred per cent.

“Instead of worrying about having a lack of height, now we’re concentrating on our speed, movement and tactical and technical excellence.

“Steve’s massively underappreciated by people in England but if you look at Saracens’ history, he’s the guy who’s changed the club more than anyone.

“His captaincy has turned them from being a relegation-threatened team into a regular top four side and he’s been one of the main driving forces.”

Japan’s stunning 23-8 victory over Wales in Tokyo has been the most eye-catching result during June, but Jones believes the recent performances of Samoa and Tonga should send out a warning ahead of the 2015 World Cup in England.

Convincing victories by Samoa over Scotland and Italy have rocketed them to seventh in the world rankings, while Tonga lie 10th – enough to convince Jones that rugby’s global gathering in two years will be the most competitive yet.

“I don’t see why Samoa couldn’t reach a semi-final,” Jones said. “They’re highly ranked and when you look at the standard of players and the level they’re playing at, there’s no reason why they couldn’t be a real threat.

“Tonga’s the other one. They’ve got great physicality, too, and if they put all their best players on the park, they can cause an upset. I remember working with South Africa in 2007 when they nearly beat us, and they did beat France in 2011.

“It’s no coincidence that, as has happened in soccer with the Africa nations, most of their players are now playing in top leagues around the world and as long as they all gel, those two countries could easily upset a few big applecarts.”

Japanese rugby has been boosted by the visit of Wales and Jones thinks more top teams should venture into the so-called tier two nations.

He added: “That really needs to happen. The IRB are doing a great job with their high performance

programmes in countries like Samoa and Tonga, but they need to be sustained by consistent match programmes involving top teams. The difficulty with the bigger nations is that economically you don’t get much money out of playing in Apia.

“But there’s no reason why touring teams to New Zealand or Australia couldn’t take an extended squad and play another Test.

“The All Blacks are looking at stopping off in Tokyo on their way to Europe in November and even if it’s only their second team playing us, it would still be a fantastic experience.

“That needs to happen if we are to truly develop the game.”

NEALE HARVEY

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Tagged Eddie Jones, Saracens, Steve Borthwick