Borthwick’s position of strength leaves rival Galthié envious

England's calm head coach has noneed to spring any Six Nations shocks like those reverberating across Channel

- Gerard Meagher

Steve Borthwick names his England squad for the Six Nations today and as much as we do not know 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 asharp navy suit, ice-white trainers and with a few selection bombshells in his pocket, the England head coach is not about to borrow from the playbook of his France counterpart, Fabien Galthié.

Galthié’s decision to omit Damian Penaud, Grégory Alldritt and Gaél Fickou has created sucha stir because it is radical but the point here is that Borthwick’s squad, in comparison with England’s closest rivals for the Six Nations title, is significantly more settled. He has a couple of injury concerns and he is expected to reward the recent form of Exeter’s uncapped Greg Fisilau with a call-up, but what is likely to be most telling is how few surprises there will be.