England’s identity under Steve Borthwick is not as clear as it should be this close to the tournament

It was not so long ago that the Rugby Football Union would host an annual Christmas bash. Executives, head coaches, assistants, members of staff and an invitation to the press pack. Mince pies and mulled wine, even a touch of merriment if we were lucky. Eddie Jones would sometimes make an appearance, but the mind goes back to one year when he did not.

To give him his due Steve Borthwick, his assistant at the time, did. He would probably rather have been anywhere else, but one of the more clear-eyed RFU employees, who had long-since figured out that the then forwards coach was destined for the top job, did their utmost to involve him. Alas, Borthwick soon had a long-distance train to catch and hours of in-depth analysis on a laptop ahead of him.

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