Borthwick a contrast to Galthié as he picks England squad from position of strength

Steve Borthwick names his England squad for the Six Nations on Friday and as much as we do not know about the precise makeup of the chosen party, there is plenty that we do. As much fun as it may be to imagine Borthwick rocking up at Twickenham in a sharp navy suit, ice-white trainers and a few selection bombshells in his pocket, the England head coach is not about to borrow from Fabien Galthié’s playbook.

Galthié’s decision to omit Damian Penaud, Grégory Alldritt and Gaël Fickou has created such a stir because it is radical by any measure but the point here is that Borthwick’s squad, in comparison to England’s closest rivals for the Six Nations title, is significantly more settled. He has a couple of injury concerns, as is always the case at this time of year, and he is expected to reward the recent form of the uncapped Greg Fisilau with a call-up, but what is likely to be most telling is how few surprises it contains.

That is not to criticise Borthwick, to paint him as a bland selector, because the teams he has picked in the most recent couple of years show him to be anything but. Indeed, it is a compliment. When the squad lands on Friday, complete with a list of injury absentees and those called into camp for rehabilitation, it is not far-fetched to imagine that England’s 2027 World Cup squad will be made up entirely of the names mentioned.

What fascinates is how and why Borthwick is in such a position. Part of the issue is that he is not Eddie Jones. He does not have a twinkle in his eye on days like this. The determination to pick a couple of rookies whose names require Googling for the sole purpose of ruffling feathers. Equally he is not someone who leaves senior players out to prove a point, for he is not a coach who needs his players to thrive in a constant state of discomfort. By comparison, at this stage of the 2019 World Cup cycle, Jones named 18 players in his Six Nations squad who did not go to Japan. Granted he had a lengthy injury list but Jones had also just signed a contract extension and relished causing a stir. Lewis Boyce is among those selected still waiting for a first cap while Gary Graham’s England career was short-lived before aligning himself with Scotland.

When it comes to Borthwick, however, his depth charts are clear. All the more so after a summer tour of Argentina and the US with so many players away with the British & Irish Lions, while the resurrection of the England A side means rabbits being pulled from the hat is an even less likely proposition. It is unfair but Borthwick suffers in comparison to Jones on days like this. The sense of anticipation is not what it was when put up against Jones – rogue, rascal but with the golden touch in his most prosperous years with England. The irony is that Borthwick’s boldest selection call in the autumn was to include the 19-year-old Noah Caluori after five tries on his first Prem start – precisely the kind of player Jones would have overlooked on the grounds that he didn’t want to add to the hype.

It helps Borthwick that he is selecting on Friday from a position of strength with England on a run of 11 straight victories. He has issues at tighthead prop but Joe Heyes came on considerably in the autumn, while he must manage a number of players who are injured but will hope to play some part in the championship such as Fin Smith, Tom Roebuck and Fin Baxter. There are, of course, a few either-ors in certain backup positions but, crucially, he does not have a clutch of players he needs to phase out before the 2027 World Cup. Jones did in 2018, those such as Chris Robshaw, James Haskell, Mike Brown and Dylan Hartley and the difficulty in doing so, in getting the timing right, almost cost him his job.

Which brings us back to Galthié – who also evidently does – and more pertinently to France. Because, as much pain as it caused England in the immediate months after the 2023 World Cup, Borthwick has not had to phase players out mid-cycle, quite simply, because they upped sticks and went to France. He has not had to worry about bringing an end to the illustrious careers of the Vunipola brothers, Manu Tuilagi, Kyle Sinckler, Courtney Lawes or Jonny May because they did so themselves. In hindsight, Owen Farrell joining them has made Borthwick’s life considerably easier, too. Dan Cole and Joe Marler soldiered on but that was always a stopgap until the burgeoning crop of young props emerged and as a result Borthwick can see the road to Australia in 2027 clearly.

In turn that means that days like Friday do not generate as much fanfare which, on one hand is a shame because rugby is a sport that could do with a bit more. Jones was always aware of that, though he also had players at his disposal whose names transcended the sport, those such as Danny Cipriani, and did not trust them. That Borthwick does not is another reason that Friday’s announcement may feel a little humdrum but it is not his fault an approach that values consistency puts him in a position that his rivals will envy.