England must play with the 'wow' factor

ONE of the biggest talking points of Steve Borthwick’s 2024 Six Nations squad is the selection of Jamie George as England captain. I’m not sure how innovative or game-changing it is, or whether it will prove to be great foresight.

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George is 33, and with 85 caps he has stacks of experience – but will he make the next World Cup? It’s unlikely, but Borthwick clearly has a plan. He selected Owen Farrell as his first captain just over a year ago, and England finished fourth in the Six Nations, and, whether people like it or not, they then came third in the World Cup.

Now he has picked George as captain ahead of other options like Maro Itoje, George Ford and Ellis Genge, and how inspiring that choice is will be apparent over the next couple of months. George is a good player, but just as the Saracens hooker put Dylan Hartley under pressure when he was captain, he will also feel the heat from Theo Dan because his young club-mate is a pocket dynamo.

Dan is so active he looks as if he could combust, and he has shown that he is a good carrier, and quick. The only question is whether he’s big enough at Test level. There will also be competition from Luke Cowan-Dickie and, if he gets back to his best, he will challenge.

Borthwick had to adapt very quickly as England head coach because of the manner in which Eddie Jones departed, and initially he had to spend all his time making tweaks to a team he inherited to try to win games.

However, after 12 months, Borthwick should have bedded in – and now he has the chance to make his mark. So the question it raises is where do England get their winning ‘bump’ from? If you look at Bath they got their bump this season from the arrival of fly-half Finn Russell in the backs, tighthead Thomas Du Toit in the pack, and from coaching additions like Lee Blackett in attack. All were missing pieces to the puzzle.