A couple of factors have helped England in making this tactical shift.
Firstly, rugby’s calendar. The Lions tour of Australia sucked up 13 first-choice England players the summer. It meant youngsters and fringe players were given a shot in Argentina and repaid Borthwick with back-to-back Test wins.
Guy Pepper made his international debut. Baxter and Heyes started together for the first time. Alex Coles was in the XV for the first time in two and a half years. Tom Roebuck cemented his place as Test wing. Freddie Steward and George Ford, who had managed one appearance each in the Six Nations earlier in the year, gave reminders of their quality.
All seven start on Saturday.
Secondly, however the personnel are distributed across the matchday 23, there has been a sharper focus on how to take the initiative – psychologically, physiologically and strategically – in the closing stages.
David Priestley, a psychologist who has previously worked with Leicester and Saracens, as well as Premier League side Arsenal, has been sharpening mental processes under pressure.
Sam Underhill, a key man in England’s last win over New Zealand six years ago in the Rugby World Cup semi-finals, says communicating amid the sound and fury of a match’s crescendo is crucial.
“Obviously there’s a focus on every quarter of the game, but I think in terms of doing well towards the tail-end, there’s a lot to be said for tactical clarity,” he told Rugby Union Weekly.
“For a lot of guys, breathwork’s important when you get breaks in play and you want to get your mental clarity as quickly as possible.
“You want to get your heart rate down and thinking clearly.
“You also want to get messages across to each other.
“Key decision-makers and key leaders in areas – defensive and attacking – will have the attention of the group.
“You don’t have an awful lot of time, you can’t say loads, so it’s about being as clear and concise as possible.
“What helps is your understanding in the week – what you want to do and how you want to do it.
“The more understanding we have and the clearer we are as a group, the easier it is then for the decision-makers to tap into the things that we’ve learned in the week, as to what specifically our focus is going to be for maybe that play, or the next five or 10 minutes.”
