Borthwick's wrecking ball brings new hope

Head coach's common-sense approach has players desperate to show him their worth

- Nick Purewal

STEVE BORTHWICK'S England tenure has begun with a dismantling operation as diplomatic as it is devastating.

The new England head coach has torn down predecessor Eddie Jones's set-up, from personnel to tactical planning.

In less than seven weeks, he has studied, critiqued, then rewritten England's playbook, repatriated a host of players summarily exiled under Jones and cast out a few contrived ruses, too.

Jones revelled in renaming England's replacements "finishers". Borthwick ditched the description yesterday, in announcing his first match squad. Replacements are back, along with common sense: round pegs for round holes and an impressive equation of straight shooting, minus any withering undertone.

Spoken by anyone else, Borthwick's dismissal of the term "finishers" would have been immediately described as a coldly-delivered barb.

"I don't get too obsessed with things that I don't think add value," said Borthwick, when pressed on why he had reverted to replacements.

Had master manipulator Jones proffered such a pronouncement, the wily Australian would absolutely have done so in order to generate a reaction.

Borthwick cuts such a matter-of-fact figure, though, that his assessment is at once a total rejection of Jones's philosophy, but also in no way offensive.

This is precisely the kind of managerial mastery that could mark out Borthwick's England tenure for success.