Joe El-Abd and Steve Borthwick bound by trust and shared coaching philosophy
One wonders how many of the England players recognised Joe El-Abd when the Oyonnax head coach appeared on the sidelines to observe one of their World Cup training sessions at the Stade Ferdinand Petit in their camp at Le Touquet, the seaside resort in northern France.
It was September last year. England were attempting to revive their spirits up after World Cup warm-up defeats by Wales, Ireland and Fiji and El-Abd had driven the 450-mile journey from his home in Oyonnax a small town in the valley of the Jura mountains, near the Swiss border, at the request of his old mate Steve Borthwick.
El-Abd would spend the week with England and attended their dramatic opening victory against Argentina in Marseilles, the first step on a journey that would culminate in the last-gasp defeat by South Africa in the semi-final in Paris.
He is not thought to have undertaken any coaching, but his presence at a time when Borthwick needed a confidant can now be seen in its truest context, when the 44 year-old will this week be unveiled as Felix Jones’ replacement as England’s new defence coach. When Borthwick needed someone he could trust to provide counsel, he called on El-Abd, who was prepared to undertake a seven-hour drive through France to accept the invitation.
It is a relationship that stretches back a couple of decades, from when the pair first became friends while studying at the University of Bath. They shared a flat together and Borthwick would be asked to be an usher at El-Abd’s wedding. Coursing through this friendship was a like-minded obsession with rugby, one that would set both men apart as future coaches even when their playing careers were in their infancy.
While rugby would take them in different directions, it seems that bond has remained strong. Borthwick, originally from Carlisle, followed a more established route, playing and captaining Bath and England before joining Saracens.
El-Abd, born in Brighton to an Egyptian father and English mother, signed for Bristol after university and went on to become club captain during a seven-year spell before he became one of the lesser known recruits when Philippe Saint-André began assembling his squad of galacticos, including Jonny Wilkinson, at Toulon in 2009.
While the big-name signings that included Juan Martin Fernandez Lobbe and Sonny Bill Williams, stole the headlines, El-Abd had first caught the attention of Saint-Andre when he was coaching at Sale Sharks, and the Englishman would soon earn respect within the squad as “nuggety flanker” who immersed himself in the tactical side of the game and French life in equal measure.
“Joe was a really hard, hard player and the thing that impressed me was how devoted he was,” Dewald Senekal, a former South Africa back row forward who joined Toulon at the same time.
“He learned French very quickly and became a leader of the group, and even though he wasn’t the biggest line-out jumper he was very involved in our line-out planning. He was always leading.”
‘Players will be put under pressure’
El-Abd remained at Toulon for three seasons, before moving to Oyonnax, first as a player and then joining the coaching team. His mentor Christophe Urios, head coach at the time, had a similar impact on him as Eddie Jones would have on Borthwick, who took his first steps into coaching first with Japan and then England as Jones’ key assistant.
El-Abd became forwards and defence coach under Urios, renowned in French rugby for his man management and passion, learned about the importance of creating the right environment for players to flourish. When Urios moved to Castres, he took El-Abd with him, guiding the club to the Top 14 triumph in 2018, before El-Abd returned to Oyonnax as head coach. His rising stock did not go unnoticed at Twickenham and he was appointed as defence coach of an England XV against the Barbarians in 2019.
When Senekal was asked to join the Oyonnax coaching team at the start of last season, having carved out his own coaching career with spells at Bayonne, Grenoble, Stade Francais and Connacht, he was struck by El-Abd’s meticulous planning and deep-thought philosophies around the game.
“The thing that he challenged me with as a coach was the mindset around coaching and the environment we create to allow our players to develop,” added Senekal, who is currently coaching at Benetton Treviso.
“He was very precise each day, reviewing all the training sessions and making sure that every player knew exactly what they needed to do within the system.
“He also created a coaching style where players will be put under pressure to try and see how they react, how they problem solve. The moment they think they are getting comfortable; they will be constantly challenged again to see how they adapt.”
Preparations for each training session would often involve six or seven variations before El-Abd would sign it off.
Yet what stood out most was the meticulous thought also put into the cohesion of the squad that went way beyond a day out paint-balling or go-karting.
At the start of last season, El-Abd challenged his players with a task that could have come straight out of the BBC show ‘The Apprentice’. The players were challenged to set up stands at the local Saturday market in Oyonnax, resourcing ingredients, preparing food and then selling meals to the public.
“It was about seeing how we can get these guys to lead in their groups, get them to communicate, get them to organise, see who leads, see who follows while deepening the bond with the supporters,” added Senekal.
“The theme of the day was based on Asterix & Obelix. Joe was keen to emphasise the challenge that a small town of 22,000 people faced against the big rugby cities across France who were going to come to try to raid our town. It was all about this little town protecting itself from being invaded. You have to grow the men together and you learn a lot about them off the field.”
On the pitch too, this mindset was stress-tested by putting skills under pressure when players were fatigued.
“For example, during a water break, the kickers would be challenged to kick a penalty from a certain spot,” added Senekal. “There is always a scoreboard. You have to win at everything. Nothing is done without deep thought. You can’t just have a line-out and win the ball and say you are happy, there will be a lot of challenges within that.”
One constant throughout the coaching careers of El Abd and Borthwick has been their constant communication, happy to pick each other’s brains along the way. Which explains why when Borthwick suddenly found himself rocked by the surprise resignations of first Aled Waters and then his defence coach Felix Jones, he turned to the man he could not only trust, but one with whom he shares a coaching mindset.
“I do believe Joe’s got the skill-set and the work-rate to thrive within an international setup, and certainly when working with Steve, I think they’ve got very aligned philosophies around where the team needs to go and what their coaching philosophies look like,” added Senekal.
It seems the unrecognisable figure on the sidelines in Le Touquet is now set to step in from the fringes to become a central figure in Borthwick’s England.
