Nick Cain talks to three great English Lions to gather their views about the England back-row

Back-row expertise does not come with better credentials than that offered by Roger Uttley, Mike Teague and Peter Winterbottom.
The trio are legends of the English game, so, when the opportunity came to tap into their accumulated wisdom to deliver a Rugby Paper exclusive on the merits of the current back-row, it was a no-brainer.
They all have England Grand Slams in the locker, and they have also written their names large for the Lions. Uttley was the Test blindside in the unbeaten 1974 side in South Africa, Gloucester No.8 Teague filled the same berth on the victorious 1989 tour of Australia (on which Uttley was assistant coach), and Winterbottom played with distinction at openside on the 1983 and 1993 trips to New Zealand.
The three have great shared memories too, with Uttley coach of the 1991 Grand Slam side that Winterbottom and Teague helped to drive to the summit of the international game, including the World Cup final of that year. Importantly, they also have shared interests today. One is keeping a weather-eye on England’s progress under Stuart Lancaster, and the other is that they have become keen cyclists, setting up their own touring venture, The Ride of the Lions.
Teague and Winterbottom confirm that the rider usually found at the front of the peleton is Uttley, still super-fit at 64. Their inaugural ride in Australia last summer, in support of Walk for the Wounded, saw them cycle 600 miles from Melbourne to Sydney, to deliver the match ball for the third Test. They are embarking on another trip in June dubbed The Triple Crown 2014 taking a group of riders from Twickenham, via the Millennium Stadium and Lansdowne Road, to Murrayfield.
Uppermost on their rugby agenda is Jacques Burger’s brilliant wrecker role for Saracens against Clermont last weekend, and whether England have their own back-row strategy right with the 2015 World Cup on the near horizon.
Winterbottom, who was a renowned wrecker himself, says having an openside like Burger is a big bonus at Test level.
“Making 27 tackles means that he was pretty influential. Back-row forwards, if given the freedom by a solid front five, can be game-changers. Burger is using his aggression and putting people off their game. People don’t mind being tackled, but they don’t like being mugged, and when they end up spilling the ball you get chances to attack from the turnovers.”
He adds, “England don’t really have a destroyer like him.”
Teague confirms the psychological benefits of having a mad axeman in the back-row. “I was comfortable playing with Dean Richards and Peter Winterbottom. Being a destroyer was what Wints did, and that puts opposition heads down. He once said to me about the back-row, ‘England play well when we play well’.”

However, Teague also recognises the revolution England have undergone in mobility and work-rate in the front five: “Courtney Lawes had some tremendous games for England in the Six Nations at lock, and was a destroyer in defence with a phenomenal work-rate.”
Yet, both he and Winterbottom agree that getting the balance right in the back-row remains crucial to success – and that any flaws will be brutally exposed by New Zealand, a country where the back-row is still paramount.
Winterbottom identifies a potential fault-line in England’s starting backrow of Tom Wood and Chris Robshaw, with Billy Vunipola at No.8, in that the two flankers cover many of the same bases and lack searing pace.
“You need good ball-carrying forwards, and a lot more of those are now found in the front five. One big ball-carrier in the back row is a must, and Billy Vunipola is very effective, whereas Tom Wood and Chris Robshaw are not great at the hard yards – although they are bloody good players in most respects.
“What England do not have is a very fast link man. Wood and Robshaw do not have the speed in the open to link like the New Zealanders. The All Blacks have a very mobile back row and, given freedom, they will cause us trouble.”
However, he says there is a partial antidote: “The good news is that the England forwards as a unit play a mobile game, and that’s why I think they will cope. For New Zealand, guys like Kieran Read and Liam Messam in the back row can only play off the platform they’ve got. Looking at the England pack overall, Lawes and Launchbury could potentially be the best second row pairing in the world – and that gives you a hell of an advantage.”
Uttley flags the potency of the All Blacks, especially No.8 Read, but is staunch in his support of Robshaw in particular.
“England have a good back-row combination, and it will be interesting to see how much Billy Vunipola can improve, because the acid test in New Zealand will be if Read hits the same vein of form as last year. Watching Read play is a joy. The first New Zealand try at Twickenham last year was manufactured by his great awareness and offloading skill.
“New Zealand have a great back-row combination, as do Wales, but Sam Warburton is injury prone and you do need players who are durable. That’s something you cannot take away from Chris Robshaw. He has a consistently high tackle count, his carrying is good, and he has shown his durability. I’m certain that if England lost Robshaw it would leave a big hole because he is the heart of the machine.
“The combination is good with his work-rate and consistency, Billy Vunipola’s get up and go, and Wood doing the tidying up. Robshaw is not a demonstrative player, but he does a lot of good things.”
Uttley acknowledges that Steffon Armitage’s form for Toulon makes him Robshaw’s main rival, but he argues that the England captain has been performing at a more rarified level.
“The key difference is that Armitage is in a Toulon side with a lot of high-class players, and he plays behind a dominant pack. That helps a pocket-rocket like him, but, although the Top 14 is pretty competitive, club matches do not often have the intensity of international matches – and Robshaw has played eight of those this season.”
The hall-of-famers are unanimous, however, that England should take Armitage to New Zealand.
Winterbottom says that his ability to win turn-overs clinches it. “Overall, I’m in the specialist camp, because if you’ve got a McCaw, Pocock or Warburton against you it doesn’t take too long to work out that they are worth their weight in gold. For a specialist openside – which Armitage has been – to get three or four turn-overs in a game is a crucial advantage, and Robshaw’s rate is not high.”
He says that with Matt Kvesic and Luke Wallace failing to make their cases this season, and Will Fraser injured for most of it, Armitage brings much-needed competition for Robshaw at openside – and also for Ben Morgan at No.8.

“I would take Armitage. He has been at 8 recently for Toulon, and it wouldn’t bother me seeing him at 8 for England. Whether you give him an opportunity on the edge (No.7) I don’t know. We know that he is playing really well, and he gets turn-overs. Would you pick him instead of Morgan against the All Blacks – yes, you probably would. Morgan has quite simply got to get fitter. He did very well against Wales, which surprised me, but you have to be able to rely on him doing that every game.”
Teague’s view? “You have to take Armitage and give him a chance to put his hand up. The idea of the tour is to weed out those who will not make it for the World Cup, and for those who will be the core of the team to step forward. As long as he plays well for the group he is in, which is England, that’s what matters. As for Morgan, there is no better place for him to prove himself than in NZ.”
Uttley highlights the necessity of having openside back-up. “If you accept that Armitage has got the necessary credentials to be a Test openside, then as a coach I would want the best options available to me. And, if Robshaw does get injured, who do you bring in? The question is whether Armitage can replicate club form at Test level – but if he is the next best thing I’d have him on the plane to NZ. I want to see footballers in my back-row as a priority. That’s why I enjoyed playing so much at blindside with Tony Neary at No.7 and Peter Dixon at No.8. They were such good footballers.
“At openside you ideally want someone explosive who has the pace to be on the ball, and is also strong enough to stay over it. Armitage’s stocky physique makes him a good candidate for that, although Robshaw has done nothing wrong.”
He adds: “I like Morgan. He’s a big game player and even though he’s been pretty anonymous at times for Gloucester, when he’s come on for England he’s been impressive. Sometimes England are too one-paced – which Morgan isn’t. If he looks after his fitness he can compete with anyone.”
However, Teague says that Vunipola is justifiably ahead in the No.8 race. “As we are now, Billy is in the lead, but it’s about peaking at the right time as a pro, and that’s the World Cup.”
The Saracens powerhouse also heads Winterbottom’s rankings: “Billy’s progress over the last 12 months has been very impressive. He’s not just a big lump, he has learned to off-load, and has improved his fitness. If he continues the same progress in New Zealand he will be very hard not to pick for the World Cup.”
Uttley concludes with this advice to the England tourists. “For this England squad, this is the greatest opportunity they have had to put themselves on the rugby map. They will need to show real edge against a side dedicated to making sure they don’t win a game. NZ will also play all sorts of (mind) games to make sure England are on the back foot.”
If England are going to have to get on their bikes to do well in New Zealand, they will not be alone in sweating for glory – and a good cause – this summer.
Uttley says that having ridden last summer with Wallabies like Simon Poidevin he is looking forward to hooking up for The Triple Crown ride with former Lions including Winterbottom, Teague, Colin Charvis, Roger Baird and Steve Bainbridge.
He says of the challenge: “Cycling is great for former rugby players. It’s kind on the knees and you can feel reasonably young and fit again. There’s a sense of camaraderie, which you identify with immediately. You don’t have to knock each other about, but there’s great teamwork, encouraging and helping each other through, and the opportunity for a bit of competitiveness going up or coming down hills. All of those things give it what I call ‘the spirit of rugby on a bike’.”
As for the England back-row, if they can summon the same spirit shown by Uttley, Winterbottom and Teague, all of whom have been winners against the All Blacks, they will travel well.
If you are interested in riding in The Ride of the Lions ‘Triple Crown 2014′  in June alongside Uttley,  Teague and  Winterbottom please contact: Mike Gore on e-mail: mike@rideofthelions.co.uk or phone 07887 561784.