The new-season 'promise' Freddie Burns has made to Steve Borthwick

Steve Borthwick was in his element on Thursday, returning to Twickenham 75 days after his significant transformation of fallen giants Leicester came down to one final kick from Freddie Burns. England Rugby HQ was lit up by that epic late June 18 drama, the sight of the replacement out-half shunting over the lead-taking drop goal with seconds remaining and then exploding even more jubilantly when the final whistle signalled that Saracens were beaten and Tigers were Gallagher Premiership champions.

Ten-and-a-half weeks later, Twickenham was a heck of a lot quieter when Leicester boss Borthwick returned to the scene of his greatest triumph as a head coach. Quieter, too, he hoped was his match-winner Burns who has understandably milked the limelight in the wake of his result-defining intervention.

Asked to reflect on last season’s return to glory by Leicester, the tongue-in-cheek Borthwick quipped: “Freddie has promised me that he isn’t going to do any more podcasts or tweets and Instagram.”

In all seriousness, though, winning meant so much to the club. “We had a group of young men that came together and faced adversity on and off the field last season and learned a lot and taking those lessons forward is going to be really important.

“For many of the guys competing against the top teams in the league was the first time for some of them, for some it was the first time in a very long time to compete with the top teams in the league. This is such a tough competition but the players are energised by that. They want to compete with teams, they want to get better and coaching them is really exciting.”

Borthwick was speaking at the official launch of the 2022/23 Premiership, sharing the stage with his Harlequins and Newcastle counterparts. All three were asked what excites them most about the new campaign ahead and each gave their take on why they feel the league in England is the world’s best.

The Leicester coach was first to answer. “What excites me the most is across the league we have got some fantastic young players and we saw that with them representing their countries in the summer and we have got some top-class players coming into the league so I am looking forward to seeing that mix of young talent mixed with some global superstars on the field competing against each other. Anybody would be excited by that.”

Next was Quins boss Tabai Matson. “That [what Borthwick said] was my answer,” he began. “There are some exciting young guys coming through, but the derbies is something I really enjoyed coming in last year. They were beautiful to watch.

“They lifted the game to another level and that is what the fans want to see so I am looking forward to seeing some really good derbies this year as well. The rivalries often make players excel, they try and take the game to another level and long may that continue with the league being competitive and brutal.”

Last but not least was Dave Walder, the new boss at the Falcons. “I really enjoy watching the way different styles come up against each other and the different ways to win games of rugby.

“From a coaching point of view, it is really interesting to put yourself in opposition coaches’ shoes and think do you change what you do or do you carry on down certain paths? I just love watching the contrasting styles and how it produces the spectacle is brilliant.”