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#Post#: 140666--------------------------------------------------
Borthwick’s new plan: Dombrandt at centre, props at hooker and
as many back rows as possible
DIR By: deadlyfrom5yardsout
Date: July 24, 2025, 4:02 am
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Exclusive: England head coach is contemplating 7-1 split in
order to include as many back-rowers as possible in a match-day
squad
Charles Richardson
Rugby Reporter
23 July 2025 12:22pm BST
England are moving closer to selecting seven forwards on the
bench and are even training props to deputise at hooker as head
coach Steve Borthwick aims for maximum flexibility within his
match-day 23.
Deploying a seven-one bench split would be a first for an
England side at Test level, with the tactic having been used
fewer than 10 times in international rugby generally after
Rassie Erasmus’s Springboks pioneered the trend in a warm-up
match for the 2023 World Cup.
Borthwick has long been an admirer of positional versatility and
also of forwards heavily outnumbering backs among his
replacements, owing to the levels of attrition and distances run
among back-rowers at Test level, often opting for a six-two
bench split.
Indeed, the head coach has selected a traditional five-three
bench split in only one Test this year, and that was for the
latest; a 40-5 victory over the United States which could have
been interpreted as squad rotation of sorts after a long tour
and a 2-0 series triumph in Argentina.
Borthwick and his coaches are exploring the seven-one split as a
way of including as many back-rowers as possible in a match-day
squad.
England are seriously well stocked in that department: Tom
Curry, Henry Pollock, Ben Earl and lock-hybrid Ollie Chessum are
all with the British and Irish Lions; Ben Curry, Sam Underhill
and Tom Willis started both the Test victories in Argentina; Guy
Pepper was influential off the bench against Los Pumas, and
Chandler Cunningham-South was hugely impressive in the win over
the US. Ted Hill was the other back-rower on tour while Jack
Willis remains ineligible owing to playing club rugby with
Toulouse.
Such back-row riches will leave Borthwick with serious selection
quandaries in the autumn, when all of his Lions have returned.
In order to best use the talent at his disposal, coupled with
relatively light second-row stocks, Borthwick is exploring how
to fit as many back-rowers into his squad as possible.
Cunningham-South covered the second row in Argentina, with Alex
Dombrandt used as centre cover alongside Cadan Murley; Hill was
an emergency bench lock during the Six Nations while Earl has
featured for both England and the Lions at centre, although has
never started. All of Underhill, Ben Curry, Pepper, Dombrandt
and Cunningham-South were on the field at the end of the victory
in San Juan.
After the series-clinching win, Borthwick said: “Longer-term,
with how many good back-rowers we’ve got – the list is long – it
makes sense to have as many of those players in the squad, in a
six-two, potentially a seven-one, as possible; especially when
we have the positional versatility that we have. [Alex] Dommers
[covers centre] really well and we’ve seen Ben Earl do it in the
past. I want to keep building that as I see six-two as the
long-term plan, to get as many of these good players in.”
South Africa, the inventors of the seven-one, and France, are
the only two Test nations to have employed the tactic – and to
great success.
The Springboks are the World Cup-winners and selected seven
forwards as replacements, their bomb squad, in the 2023 final
victory over New Zealand; Les Bleus won the 2025 Six Nations and
did the same in the final three rounds of the championship.
In March, Telegraph Sport revealed how Gregor Townsend,
Scotland’s head coach, had raised concerns about the seven-one
approach at official World Rugby meetings but that the global
governing body had no plans to outlaw the tactic, insisting that
there was no medical or scientific evidence against it.
All bases covered
For further squad flexibility and positional versatility,
Borthwick also confirmed that his coaches had had a “discussion”
before England’s second Test against Argentina as to whether
Jamie George’s absence from the squad could be covered
internally.
George dropped out on the morning of the match owing to his
Lions call-up and Theo Dan had to be helped off with a knee
injury during the game.
Borthwick called up hookers Gabriel Oghre and Jamie Blamire in
the ensuing days but revealed that there had been some
consideration for internal cover given the long travel time for
the duo and the fact that there was just one match, against the
US in Washington DC, remaining.
“We had that discussion,” said Borthwick. “It’s something that
I’ve spoken about previously, with Asher [Opoku-Fordjour]
playing both sides of the scrum. We are exploring the
possibility, as we develop some of these younger props, of them
being able to play hooker, too.
“We’ve seen that done. The one that jumps out straight away
would be [loosehead] Cian Healy for Ireland against Scotland and
[South African back-rower] Deon Fourie. Although we’re not at
that stage yet, these kinds of things [help] at World Cups...
it’s part of our project planning, as well as seeing which
back-rowers can play in the centre, to allow us to go six-two,
potentially seven-one.”
#Post#: 140672--------------------------------------------------
Re: Borthwick’s new plan: Dombrandt at centre, props at hooker
and as many back rows as possible
DIR By: Hellequin
Date: July 24, 2025, 4:42 am
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Is this why we haven't signed a new 12, Dombrandt to be shifted
there to practice for England?
#Post#: 140675--------------------------------------------------
Re: Borthwick’s new plan: Dombrandt at centre, props at hooker
and as many back rows as possible
DIR By: MaidstoneQuin
Date: July 24, 2025, 5:04 am
---------------------------------------------------------
Might as well give it a go as If we've not signed anyone at 12
now I can't see us, and I'd rather we play Luke at 13.
Props who can hook not too radical. Wasn't Ashton Croall for us
years ago in that role?
#Post#: 140677--------------------------------------------------
Re: Borthwick’s new plan: Dombrandt at centre, props at hooker
and as many back rows as possible
DIR By: The Kid
Date: July 24, 2025, 5:38 am
---------------------------------------------------------
England should look at back rowers with a front row background
like Fourie too.
Alfie Barbeary started his career at hooker and is now an 8 for
bath. Worth a look as an option surely.
#Post#: 140681--------------------------------------------------
Re: Borthwick’s new plan: Dombrandt at centre, props at hooker
and as many back rows as possible
DIR By: Rob Buchanan
Date: July 24, 2025, 6:57 am
---------------------------------------------------------
We had Dave Ward as hooker and 7 IIRC
#Post#: 140682--------------------------------------------------
Re: Borthwick’s new plan: Dombrandt at centre, props at hooker
and as many back rows as possible
DIR By: thatchapcarnell
Date: July 24, 2025, 7:02 am
---------------------------------------------------------
--- Quote from: Rob Buchanan link ---
>
> We had Dave Ward as hooker and 7 IIRC
>
--- End Quote ---
Aye - and he was naff at both! I think this was when we had
three one-third hookers - one could scrum, one could throw and
one was decent in the loose - we just needed to combine them
into one decent hooker [emoji3]
Dombrandt is a unit but not sure he's got the speed to play 12.
#Post#: 140683--------------------------------------------------
Re: Borthwick’s new plan: Dombrandt at centre, props at hooker
and as many back rows as possible
DIR By: Rugbycat
Date: July 24, 2025, 7:13 am
---------------------------------------------------------
--- Quote from: thatchapcarnell link ---
>
> Aye - and he was naff at both! I think this was when we had
three one-third hookers - one could scrum, one could throw and
one was decent in the loose - we just needed to combine them
into one decent hooker [emoji3]
>
> Dombrandt is a unit but not sure he's got the speed to play
12.
>
--- End Quote ---
Faster over the top of someone than round them.
#Post#: 140685--------------------------------------------------
Re: Borthwick’s new plan: Dombrandt at centre, props at hooker
and as many back rows as possible
DIR By: Quinten Poulsen
Date: July 24, 2025, 7:29 am
---------------------------------------------------------
--- Quote from: The Kid link ---
>
> England should look at back rowers with a front row background
like Fourie too.
>
> Alfie Barbeary started his career at hooker and is now an 8
for bath. Worth a look as an option surely.
>
--- End Quote ---
He was great when he appeared on the scene for Wasps but he
seems a bit inconsistent these days.
#Post#: 140686--------------------------------------------------
Re: Borthwick’s new plan: Dombrandt at centre, props at hooker
and as many back rows as possible
DIR By: MaidstoneQuin
Date: July 24, 2025, 8:13 am
---------------------------------------------------------
--- Quote from: Quinten Poulsen link ---
>
> He was great when he appeared on the scene for Wasps but he
seems a bit inconsistent these days.
>
--- End Quote ---
I thought he'd have been in England now but is probably behind
Willis, Alex and Earl. I actually think Pollock may be in the
equation for 8 for the 6 nations too, who I think is Earls
biggest threat.
#Post#: 140687--------------------------------------------------
Re: Borthwick’s new plan: Dombrandt at centre, props at hooker
and as many back rows as possible
DIR By: poorfour
Date: July 24, 2025, 8:34 am
---------------------------------------------------------
We seem to be entering an era that would have been tailor made
for Jack Clifford...
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