Steve Borthwick's honeymoon period with England could last a single match

Steve Borthwick, the newly installed England head coach, is due to announce his Six Nations squad today. When we see it, we will know how he is trying to balance the need for England to have a decent tournament and also to preface this year’s Rugby World Cup in France.

Make no mistake, England need the fillip of a good Six Nations, after being booed off the pitch following their 27-13 loss to South Africa at Twickenham in November. Fans were so disappointed by the run of performances last year that Borthwick’s honeymoon period could last just to the opening Calcutta Cup match. He knows you have to win your opener, especially at home.

To a certain extent, selection by a domestic coach is easier than someone from outside. For a couple of seasons Borthwick and his Leicester coaching team have been planning to face, and playing against, his potential squad choices. It is a relatively straightforward job to say: “Who did we fear and who did we give special attention to when we faced them?”

Borthwick will have seen how well his plans worked and therefore know what problems his Six Nations coaching counterparts might have in preparing for certain selections. That is far less complicated than coming from outside and making judgments over unfamiliar players, most of whom you have not seen play live and been able to determine how they react under pressure.

Style is irrelevant

First of all, Borthwick must avoid getting dragged into the debate about style. Whether a team is labelled stylish is irrelevant. Fans and players, rightly, just want their team to be effective.

France, a team recently lauded for their style and ambition, also kick – a lot. The important thing is that they are accurate and deadly when they strike, and they keep winning. As Borthwick’s Tigers found last season, you cannot underestimate how much confidence is enhanced by successive victories.

Sport is all about confidence, and if you look back to the demoralised way England capitulated against the Springboks last time out, you will have seen how much England need the restoration of that mindset.

Borthwick will at least have Owen Farrell back. Yes, Farrell was lucky to get that sanction for his third suspension for dodgy tackling. Yes, it is a cynical manipulation of the rules to notionally release Farrell back to his club, so that his suspension is spent by the time England face the Scots. Just do not tell me that no other international side would do something similar.

Farrell will remain central in Borthwick's England

For those hoping that a change of coach might bring an end to the domination of Farrell in England planning, you are going to be disappointed. Borthwick’s England and club connections to Farrell go back a long way and it is unlikely he will break those. The biggest question for Borthwick is does he agree with the many who think that Farrell is an average international centre and that there are players, who in combination and over time, would be better choices?

The recent injuries to Marcus Smith might have made that conundrum slightly easier and allowed Farrell to start at 10. If you add Manu Tuilagi and, say, Dan Kelly outside Farrell, you get an immediate, if obvious, physical challenge for opponents. Henry Slade, off the bench, would give England a more flexible approach if needed later in the game.

At scrum-half, Borthwick will signal whether centurion Ben Youngs features in World Cup plans. If he is not going to play an integral part, there is no point in him being in the squad. Jack van Poortvliet and Raffi Quirke are possibly the combinations to try without Youngs, and there is always the option of having all three now that World Cup squad sizes have been increased to 33.

In the back row, the likely inclusion of Tom Willis and Ben Earl leads to discussion of the rule against playing players from outside the Premiership. Some have said this rule is pointless, but it has secured the long-term viability of the Premiership as a marketable entity and it should remain in place, with exceptions being just that – one-offs according to circumstance.

And so, to the question of Courtney Lawes. Will Borthwick continue with Eddie Jones’s belief that he is too light to play second row and keep him as a No 6? If so, that would bring Hugh Tizard into contention at lock.

As a final observation, of all the things Kevin Sinfield could do for England, chief among many would be to stop England giving away so many unnecessary penalties. No matter how hard to beat Borthwick makes his team, it will all be undermined if they cannot match the parsimony of, say, the Ireland team in this regard.