LONG READ Mick Cleary: 'England need to knock over one of the Big Two this autumn, as a bare minimum'

Steve Borthwick doesn’t do fanfare. And that is just as well given that the trumpets were to be heard elsewhere on Wednesday, across town at Wembley where Thomas Tuchel was being unveiled as the new English football manager. Day One of the Tuchel regime was in full swing as Borthwick revealed his 36-man squad for the upcoming November fixtures at The Stadium Formerly Known As Twickenham. Borthwick’s honeymoon came to an end long ago. The rebranding of the famous old ground is not the only bit of rejigging that has had to be done recently in English rugby. Borthwick’s coaching team has had an unexpected makeover, not so much a measured relaunch as a cobbled-together, how-the-hell-do-we-get-out-of-this mess exercise.

There might be quibbles as to the actually composition of the training squad – how on earth Saracens’ Tom Willis doesn’t get a look-in, for example, or how is Henry Slade going to cope if he is fast-tracked into the starting XV against New Zealand in just a couple of weeks’ time – but the overriding takeaway of the first big Borthwick reveal of the season is wondering just how he is going to project an air of stability, assuredness and upbeat confidence when there has been so much turbulence behind the scenes. Tuchel has it easy by comparison. He only has to work out if he wears a poppy and sings the National Anthem.

Borthwick is a solid citizen, a conservative at heart but game-savvy too. You sense that the new kit-and-caboodle Allianz facelift would not really be his thing but he would get on with whatever comes his way. Far more significant, though, than the commercial wheeling-dealing was the enforced changes brought about by the loss of key lieutenants, Aled Walters and Felix Jones. Their departures are a hammer blow for Borthwick and for England. So, too, the disappointing reaction to his attempt to appoint Phil Morrow as the man to oversee not only the conditioning side of things but also lend guidance across all aspects of the running of elite teams.

Of course you can understand why the Premiership clubs might wrinkle their noses at the prospect of a key Saracens’ figure having access to medical and conditioning data of their players. But if there is supposed to be a genuine sense of partnership between club and country, and the clubs are happy enough to pocket their share of the £33million, then Morrow should have been given the green light. The clubs’ rejection of his appointment is a slight on his integrity as well as a sign that there still remains so much to be done if there is to be genuine collaboration between club and country. This was a faller at the first. England needed a pick-me-up. Instead they got a slap-in-the-face.

Now is not the time to cast an eye to the future with a punt on the new darling of the Shed, Afolabi Fasogbon, or Sale’s young thruster, Asher Opoku-Fordjour. They are most certainly the coming men and surely destined to feature in England A plans.

International rugby is, of course, all about adapting well to circumstances. There is rarely such a thing as a best laid plan that makes it from team-room on to the pitch. Players get injured, selection gets compromised, game plans need amending and that’s before the first whistle is blown. Borthwick will need to bring all his customary sang-froid, let’s-get-on-with-it persona to proceedings when the squad assemble for their camp in Girona. Players are not mugs. They know that the coaching brouhaha has set Borthwick back on his heels with its betrayal of trust and good faith, particularly the unattributed but not denied jibe that there was a perception that the England set-up was ‘an unstable working environment.’

It certainly is now. And that fault line needs a quick repair. All of which explains why Borthwick’s squad is so lacking in surprise or experiment. Now is not the time to cast an eye to the future with a punt on the new darling of the Shed, Afolabi Fasogbon, or Sale’s young thruster, Asher Opoku-Fordjour. They are most certainly the coming men and surely destined to feature in England A plans.

England need calm and familiarity. The heavyweight grunts such as Joe Marler and Dan Cole, aided and abetted by Saracens’ Jamie George and Maro Itoje, will set the tone and ensure that England do not falter after the promising up-tick in performance across their last few matches. And let’s remember that the feelgood vibe around England is a fragile thing. It has yet to yield lasting success. England have only beaten Ireland in their  recent run of improvement. They have lost four of their last six tests. That is not a ledger that will strike fear into the likes of the All Blacks or South Africa, heartening as their displays were in New Zealand.

You’d like to think that Tom Willis featured heavily in selection conversations given that he has been the form No 8 in the Premiership but, for the reasons advanced already, Borthwick is going with those he knows such as Ben Earl and Tom Curry. Fair enough.

England need to knock over one of those Big Two this autumn. We can take victories over Australia and Japan as the bare minimum requirement. The All Blacks are far from the world-beaters that once they were and are themselves in a state of some flux under their new Scott Robertson coaching team. England know that from their own experience in the summer and will be eager to anoint their embossed Allianz surroundings with a morale-boosting victory. Borthwick himself noted that only two of England’s last 15 games have been at HQ. It’s time to give the Twickenham punters value for their money. Even at £229 a top ticket, a win, any sort of a win, would represent a fair exchange. The all-conquering Springboks, settled and in the groove, are something else.

What will England throw at them? Their forward game may not be overwhelming but it is not without merit. There is a base there. They certainly need the grunt and work-rate of the likes of Leicester duo, George Martin and Ollie Chessum, or that of Chandler Cunningham-South. You’d like to think that Tom Willis featured heavily in selection conversations given that he has been the form No 8 in the Premiership but, for the reasons advanced already, Borthwick is going with those he knows such as Ben Earl and Tom Curry. Fair enough.

There is a conundrum to solve at scrum-half. Alex Mitchell has been an influential figure in England’s mini-revival, providing the zip and cleverness that a Jamison Gibson-Park does for Ireland. Speed of thinking leads to speed of ball. And with that, great things are possible. There are three no.9s in the squad. Harry Randall has pace, more so than Jack van Poortvliet who packs a bit more punch. Ben Spencer, though, would be my choice for his all-round game. However, it’s not an area of strength for England.

Henry Slade’s availability would be a boon, certainly in defence. If he does pass master then a combo of Marcus Smith, Ollie Lawrence, Slade, Feyi-Waboso, Freeman and Furbank offers promise of a decent return for England.

There has been upheaval in camp. In that regard, the training week in Girona assumes a mighty significance. This is a stepping-stone moment for Borthwick’s England.