Six Nations: England stick together, not crack – Tom Roebuck

Highly rated Bath attacking coach Lee Blackett was named to the England squad in September following successful loans on the summer tour of Argentina and the United States.

Scrum-half Ben Spencer, who worked under him at Bath, insists Blackett is performing as he did at club level.

“It was definitely the same,” Spencer said.

“He’s a great guy, he’s great around players and he’s one of those guys who really gets the best out of people.

“He always speaks really positively around the group about scoring four tries in every game we play.

“So, I definitely saw the same side of Lee that we saw in Bath.

“We’re all in this together, coaches and players, having a tough time at the moment. 2025 has been fantastic and this is where we want to get back to and the only way to do that is together.”

Spencer says the belief is mutual, with coaches giving players the freedom to go off script and ignore a game plan in which contestable high balls are a key way to get up the field, if they see another opportunity.

“We definitely got the licence,” said Spencer, who kicked the ball out of control 14 times, the most of any player, in the defeat to Italy.

“It’s something Lee talks about and Steve talks about in terms of playing with what we see.

“So, yeah, in terms of straying from the plan, that’s not a problem.”