Turing, Spock … Borthwick? England coach is analytical genius, says May

Steve Borthwick is a genius who can “crack the code to rugby” according to the England winger Jonny May, who compared his head coach to the mathematician Alan Turing. Often described as the “father of computer science”, Turing broke the Nazi Enigma code during the second world war. May’s praise does not stop there, drawing parallels between Borthwick and Star Trek’s Spock.

If those are colourful compliments to pay a head coach, they demonstrate the esteem in which May holds Borthwick and, in turn, how he feels about the future of the national side after their improbable run to the last four of the World Cup in France.

May was not picked in Borthwick’s initial World Cup squad but was handed a reprieve after an injury to Anthony Watson and established himself as a key member of the side that suffered last Saturday’s heartbreaking one-point defeat by South Africa.

May expects his international career will be over after the World Cup, but believes Borthwick’s analytical mind will serve England well. The 33-year-old said: “We’re starting to see what a genius Steve is, in terms of how he’s starting to get this team going. You won’t find a harder working man and his approach to the game is a little bit like Alan Turing.

“If anybody is going to crack the code to rugby, it will be Steve. He’s getting ever closer each week. He’s got an analytical brain, evidence-based, scientific, Spock-like approach.

“I’ve learned a lot from him. I’ve been very grateful for all the coaches I’ve had throughout my career. I feel like I’ve absorbed everything I possibly can and always tried to learn and be curious. But Steve, within his ways, he’s on to something. He’s a young coach and it’s different, the way he goes about the game. If anybody is going to crack it – not something I’m interested in doing, as it gets more complicated each week – but he’s obsessed with it.”

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Jonny May shows his dismay after England’s loss to South Africa in the World Cup semi-final. Photograph: Paul Harding/Getty Images

May has been competing in his third World Cup, having suffered the dismay of England failing to get out of their pool at the home tournament in 2015 as well as the agonising final defeat by the Springboks four years ago before succumbing to South Africa again at the semi-final stage. “For me no regrets, what a journey. I wasn’t even going to be on the plane at one point,” he said. “We were written off going into this tournament and we’ve got a bit better each week. That’s all we can do. A team that beat us in the autumn convincingly, we took to the wire.”