Borthwick hails England's defensive resolve in record 45-22 rout of Australia

England recorded their highest-ever points total against Australia on Sunday, beating the Wallabies 45-22 in the Nations Championship at Twickenham’s Allianz Stadium, with head coach Steve Borthwick singling out a defensive display that had been under intense scrutiny heading into the match.

The pressure on England’s defence had intensified after Shaun Edwards revealed last week that he had approached Borthwick about joining the coaching staff, only for the head coach to retain his existing team — including defence coach Richard Wigglesworth. England answered emphatically, missing just three tackles in the first half and restricting Australia’s only line break before the interval to Max Jorgensen’s interception try.

“I thought that was a very, very good defensive performance,” Borthwick said after the final whistle. “The players have really embraced that challenge, and that difference.”

Borthwick had spoken publicly before the match about the gap between Premiership and Test rugby, particularly in defence and at the breakdown. England led 19-10 at half-time before pulling away decisively after the break.

Discipline offered another significant source of encouragement. England’s card count had been one of the most persistent problems of their year — across the Six Nations alone they accumulated nine cards and spent nearly 30 per cent of their playing time with fewer than 15 men. The issue continued into the summer, where they were reduced to 13 in a defeat to South Africa and came close to losing to Argentina after collecting four cards in their final July Test.

The squad addressed the problem directly during a recent camp, with Borthwick revealing that the players had made commitments to each other about changing their behaviour. Against Australia, England avoided cards entirely and kept their penalty count to seven — four fewer than their opponents.

“They made some clear commitments to each other, to the team, about what we’re going to do going forward, and I thought we made strides in that hour,” Borthwick said.

Attack also showed promise despite England having only two sessions to prepare that side of their game. Borthwick highlighted their speed into position, their ability to threaten both sides of the field, and the advantage of deploying two playmakers — though he acknowledged there were still periods where England became too lateral, even after crossing for six tries.