Borthwick: ‘We need the roar power of our 16th player’

STEVE BORTHWICK has issued a rallying cry for

England fans to get back on their feet and roar in a new era at Twickenham.

England open their Six Nations campaign against Scotland next week, just weeks after Eddie Jones was booed off the pitch before getting the sack.

Borthwick is on a mission to restore public faith after a dismal 2022, delivering a message to supporters as the countdown begins to the Calcutta Cup.

‘I know we have got to deliver on the pitch and I am expecting us to deliver on the pitch as we grow as a team,’ said Borthwick. ‘One thing we would ask is, we have got a lot of work to do, and we want the crowd with us and I think they are going to be.

‘Not one player can add more than the home crowd can add. When they talk about being the 16th man, the crowd is worth more than a player. The crowd is worth more than anything else so I would ask the Twickenham crowd to roar this team on.’

Scotland head coach Gregor Townsend, meanwhile, believes his team have the necessary character to thrive in the Twickenham cauldron.

‘If it is noisy and intimidating then we’ve got to just keep our control,’ said Townsend. ‘If we want to be the team that we believe we can be, then a noisy atmosphere is just another thing that we’ve got to take on.’