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Steve Borthwick has his say on England numbers on Lions tour
By PA
Steve Borthwick says he wants as many England players as possible to tour with the British and Irish Lions in Australia this summer.
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The Guinness Six Nations runners-up look set for double-figure representation in the Lions squad that will be announced on May 8.
England also have a major candidate for the Lions captaincy in lock Maro Itoje, who would appear to be in a straight contest with Ireland skipper Caelan Doris.
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England players made the most of a final Lions audition by crushing Wales 68-14 in Cardiff as the likes of Itoje, Tommy Freeman, Fin Smith, Alex Mitchell, Ellis Genge, Will Stuart, Tom Curry, Ben Curry and Ben Earl all showcased strong claims.
Borthwick, who has met with Lions head coach Andy Farrell and spoken to him on the phone, also hopes that members of his coaching team will be in the frame.
“It is an exciting time because we want as many of our England players on the Lions tour as possible,” England head coach Borthwick said.
“I have been fortunate to have plenty of rugby experiences, great rugby experiences, and being part of the Lions coaching team in 2017 was probably the best.
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“Anybody on that Lions tour will come back being a better player, so I want as many of them on that trip as possible.”
Asked how many he thought might be in contention, Borthwick added: “I have done the exercise about 10 times where I have sat there and written out which players I think will go.
“I end up with a different number each time, because it depends on who’s playing well.
“Ollie Lawrence was one of those, so I was really disappointed for him that he’s not going to have that opportunity on this Lions tour. I just want as many as possible, and hopefully, there aren’t any more injuries to any players.
“The good thing here is that Andy has got some great headaches on it.
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“He has got some brilliantly-tough decisions to make because there are so many good players around. But it would benefit English rugby to have as many on that Lions tour as possible.”
On Itoje, meanwhile, he said: “I think Maro has been absolutely outstanding. He leads by example every day.
“He is an experienced player at Test level and Lions level. I have got full confidence in Maro’s ability to lead the Lions should Andy ask him.”
Borthwick said that Farrell has not talked about any of the England coaching team “at this stage”.
He added: “I would love them to have the opportunity. That Lions experience I had in 2017 was one of the best, if not the best, experience I have had in my life.
“I developed and learnt so much as a coach in that period. It was brilliant for me and accelerated my coaching.”
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Think some of the English backrow have usurped some of the Irish. Wonder if Farrell will use the front rows as units rather than mixing them. Porter, Sheehan, Furlong to start with Genge, George, Stuart off the bench or vice versa?