Ahead of England's Six Nations opener against Ireland, coach Steve Borthwick emphasized the need for team cohesion, contrasting England’s squad—which consists of players from various clubs and has not played together much—with Ireland’s stable lineup. Captain Maro Itoje promotes team bonding, encouraging players to share personal stories. Borthwick maintained his starting lineup from previous matches, retaining fly-half Marcus Smith while including debutant Cadan Murley, who shares a strong connection with Smith, underscoring the importance of on-field understanding among teammates.
Maro Itoje has taken it upon himself to encourage members of the squad to stand up in front of the rest of the group and bare their souls.
Borthwick has resisted any temptation to carry out surgery on his side, sticking with Marcus Smith at fly-half as one of 10 players who started the last November Test against Japan.
This is a squad that hasn't been together a long time. There is a great contrast between where we are and the Ireland squad which has been so stable for so many years.
Murley is best friends with his Harlequins teammate Smith, the two are thick as thieves off the pitch, have a telepathic understanding on it and given Smith's instinctive idiosyncrasies can sometimes be hard for his teammates to follow.
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