The £325 ladder helping England go for Rugby World Cup glory against South Africa in Japan
ENGLAND'S secret weapon in their bid to win the Rugby World Cup is a £325 ladder sent to them as a gift eight months ago.
Eddie Jones powered their way to Saturday's final in Tokyo with a stunning display to beat New Zealand in the semis - in a match where they totally dominated at the line-out.
And one of the key factors in their brilliant performance against the All-Blacks was the work line-out coach Steve Borthwick could do with his forwards using the special three-legged ladder which arrived announced in the past during the Six Nations.
In February, rugby-loving businessman Tom Kitching spotted pictures of Borthwick teetering on top of an old step ladder while throwing balls in to his players from the sidelines.
It meant the former England captain was struggling for balance as he was going through vital drills, causing problems with the efficiency with his throws.
So thoughtful Tom, managing director of ladder firm Henchman, decided to send one of his company's specially developed tripod ladder to the RFU at Twickenham - and it went down a storm.
Borthwick loved it so much he gave the England fan a call once the Six-Nations had finished to pass on his gratitude.
And the ten-foot high product was flown out to Japan to play a vital role in the training preparations for the World Cup assault.
Tom said: "I'm a huge rugby fan and I couldn't help but notice in pictures of them training how they were just using step ladders for training at line-outs.
"One of the big problems with those is that the feet sink into grass terrain, particularly if it is uneven and that person standing on them can struggle to balance.
"So in the middle of the Six-Nations I sent them one of our tripod ladders which is specially designed and adjustable so it remains solid for the user to be properly balanced.
"After that tournament finished Steve Borthwick gave me a call to say how much of a difference it made to the forwards' line-out practice.
More Rugby World Cup news
"Looking at the pictures of England out in Japan, they have obviously taken it with them and I'm delighted that Henchman can play even such a small part in helping them in their preparations.
"England have been excellent out in Japan and I'll be glued to the TV on Saturday watching them.
"The only problem is that our new general manager is from South Africa, so one of us is not going to hear the end of it depending on how the game goes."
