Steve Borthwick has unleashed a torrent of simmering indignation, as the England head coach lashed out at what he decried as ‘personal attacks’ on Owen Farrell.
A few hours after arriving in the Irish capital and naming a match-day 23 which did not include his captain, Borthwick vented his feelings about a week of turmoil and another to come.
Having seen Farrell avoid further punishment at a disciplinary hearing only to be left facing a second one after World Rugby appealed the verdict amid a global backlash, the man in charge of the national team struggled to keep his emotions in check.
This is a man who is normally quietly under-stated, but he was evidently seething as he surveyed the wreckage of his best-laid plans going into the World Cup.
Borthwick did not resort to raising his voice, but the look on his face told the full tale. England fans may have relished how a trying situation brought out a more forceful and forthright side of Borthwick’s nature, which is rarely witnessed, in public anyway.
Steve Borthwick has lashed out as ‘personal attacks’ on England captain Owen Farrell
Borthwick (centre) dropped Farrell from his Ireland squad over the ‘intrusion in terms of preparation’ as the England captain awaits to see if he will be punished following an appeal
Without waiting for inevitable questions about Farrell’s disciplinary saga, he launched into the subject, saying: ‘Regarding the on-going disciplinary matter with Owen Farrell, unfortunately given the disruption to his week and the intrusion in terms of his preparation, I made the decision to pull him out of the team that he otherwise would have led this weekend.’
It was a pertinent first point to raise, as the official team announcement statement released by the RFU was at pains to emphasise that Farrell would have played here.
It will be a factor in the new hearing next week, if he is found guilty of an offence which did warrant a red card after all. England will hope and expect that the Irish encounter will count towards any ban.
Next came the outraged part of Borthwick’s address, as he said: ‘The situation is one I find really disappointing. We thought we had reached a conclusion of this matter on Tuesday. It had an impact in terms of the disruption this week and now it’s going to be on-going into the next Test week.
‘The situation with the England team and Owen in particular seems to be amplified.
‘The commentary around it seems to move from an issue around the tackle to personal attacks on the character of the man, which I think is just wrong.
‘I think Owen has handled himself through this process in a really respectful manner. We respected the process and thought we had reached the conclusion of it. We will continue to respect the process and the decision that is reached. Now, we are looking forward to this game on Saturday.’
First and foremost, the anger felt by Borthwick and within the England camp as a whole appears to stem from the mass backlash against the decision which spared Farrell from a suspension.
They have been incensed by what is regarded as a venomous edge to the fall-out. However, Borthwick’s reaction also hinted at frustration with World Rugby for stepping in, to drag out the whole controversy. So the Red Rose rage is aimed at pundits and media and the powers-that-be.
Asked if he could understand why Farrell is a subject for such vitriol, Borthwick said: ‘You would have to ask the people writing the commentary around this. I think it has moved from a tackle and a split-second decision to commentary around his character. It is wrong. He’s a team-mate of the players, he’s a member of our squad and he’s the captain of our squad. We all feel for him. We feel it when one of our group is receiving these personal attacks.’
Borthwick (right) says ‘personal attacks on the character’ of Farrell (left) are plain wrong
As a meticulous planner and organiser, the national coach is irate about the fact that proceedings will have left an enormous hole in his countdown to the World Cup, by leaving the involvement of his captain and primary playmaker in jeopardy.
Borthwick was asked if part of his angst was a reflection of how the disruption could drag on into next week, ahead of the final warm-up against Fiji at Twickenham.
With a date for the next hearing still to be confirmed, he said: ‘It is going into next week. The final two Test weeks of our Rugby World Cup preparation are going to be disrupted by this matter.
‘One of the most senior and experienced panels who deal with these matters dealt with it on Tuesday. They went through the full hearing procedure and came to an answer.
‘We thought that was the conclusion and now the situation is that another panel is being convened to try to find some holes in what was done on Tuesday. What we are going to do again is conduct ourselves in a manner that respects the process and in the mean-time we are going to focus on playing against Ireland – the No 1-ranked side in the world – on Saturday.’
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