Stuart has appeared as a replacement 26 times but started England’s past nine Tests, a permanent fixture in a rock-solid scrum and perhaps the best compliment he could be paid is that Borthwick no longer feels the need to keep the 37-year-old Cole on call.
“I’ve been playing on and off for the last five years, off the bench for the first few years then had a few chances to start and coming away from the last World Cup I’ve just tried to keep my head down and do my job well.
Obviously no one is really going to care if I’m throwing 30-metre skip passes if I’m getting drilled in the scrum so I just do my job well, consistently well, and keep my head below the parapet where you can’t get shot.”.
On Saturday, Stuart was perhaps England’s best player, leading the rearguard action even when he lost a boot for a lengthy defensive set and as part of a scrum that put the squeeze on Scotland.
It helps that at Bath, Stuart is one of three Test tightheads along with South Africa’s Thomas du Toit - who plays both sides of the scrum - and Wales’s Archie Griffin while Sela is waiting in the wings.
