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Ben Earl played a pivotal role in England’s thrilling Twickenham win over Ireland in the Six Nations to deliver on his pre-match prediction.
The number eight scored England’s third try in an all-action display after telling head coach Steve Borthwick how his 29th cap would unfold.
“I sat with Ben on Saturday morning,” said head coach Borthwick. “He talked and showed me what he wanted to do against Ireland.
“He did exactly what he said to me.”
The Saracens back row was tireless with ball in hand and earned his second man-of-the-match award of the championship after winning the same accolade for his performance in last month’s win over Wales.
His impressive development in the role as England’s first choice number eight follows an excellent World Cup campaign and Borthwick says the 26-year-old is “delivering” on his targets.
“It is phenomenal, the thought process he is going through and how ambitious he is as a player to get better,” Borthwick said.
“Ben played his first 15 games off the bench. Even in last year’s Six Nations he played a run of games and then he was out.
“I think he feels backed. I get the impression he feels he is growing as a player and he wants to keep getting better.”
‘Everybody involved with England is under incredible scrutiny’
England’s surprise 23-22 win over defending champions Ireland in the penultimate round has revived faint title ambitions heading into their meeting with France on Saturday.
Ireland remain in pole position to defend their title when they host Scotland, but England’s attacking intent at Twickenham, outscoring their visitors 3-2 on tries, was a huge improvement on their capitulation at Murrayfield.
“Post the Scotland game, there was evidence that the weight of the shirt was on the players,” Borthwick added.
“I believe we need to create a supportive environment. Everybody involved with English rugby is under incredible scrutiny. That’s just the way it is.
“There’s incredible expectation and I’d rather be involved in a team where there is expectation upon it than not.
“But with that I want to make sure that young players are coming into a supportive environment. I want to see their point of difference on the grass.
“Mistakes are going to happen and we are understanding of that, but we don’t want to repeat mistakes. We have got to learn fast.
“The team went through a difficult experience at Murrayfield, reviewed it properly and then addressed it on the training field.
“The players weren’t perfect against Ireland, they made mistakes, but at Murrayfield I thought we made a mistake and then went into ourselves, played a little bit small.
“Against Ireland they made errors and got into the next battle. If there is anything I can encourage the players to do, it is go into the next battle.”
