Has Borthwick created the Manchester Utd of rugby?

One of their sport’s richest entities? Check.

- HARRY LATHAM-COYLE

Perplexing form? Bingo. A number of high-profile players struggling to hit the heights of which they are capable? Sounds familiar. Several years without the titles they crave most? Yep. A head coach pleading for patience as he builds a new team?

The comparison is far from one-to-one but the shared similarities between the plights of Ruben Amorim’s Manchester United and Steve Borthwick’s England are evident. If there are ways in which the worlds of international rugby and club football could not be further apart – Amorim has had 19 games in charge in three months; Borthwick 29 fixtures in two years – both head coaches are dealing with an expectant fanbase, boardroom strife above them, and a playing squad perhaps not yet built to their preferred requirements.

Their shared pain is one that Richard Wigglesworth, Borthwick’s senior assistant and a lifelong Manchester United fan, feels particularly acutely. Born in Blackpool, schooled in Kirkham, a Lancashire lad who spent his formative days enjoying the glory years of Sir Alex Ferguson and his professional career winning seven Premiership titles and 33 England caps speaks with obvious passion for the two fallen giants.