In international rugby, preparation time pre-campaign is tight – both Borthwick and Eddie Jones before him have blamed England’s slow starts to Six Nations on the fact that they must bring together a squad drawn from a broader pool of clubs than some of their rivals.
Saints centre Fraser Dingwall might be next man up if injury befell either Slade or Lawrence; George Hendy, player of the match in the Premiership final win last season, is in the England A squad to face Ireland in Bristol next Sunday.
Smith and others have brought some of his ideas into England camp; the “slide” move employed in Elliot Daly’s match-winning try against France is a play most use, but one which Northampton have nonetheless mastered over the last two seasons.
The success of France, who face similar issues in bringing together a group drawn more broadly, has come about partly due to the excellence of their Toulouse vertebrae, with Fabien Galthie increasingly installing a gameplan that closely resembles the one employed by Antoine Dupont and co. at club level.
Concerns grew at Leicester when Borthwick led them to a Premiership title a couple of seasons ago that a young group that had grown together would eventually have to be broken up as each came up for contract renewal and, rightly, commanded more.
