Saturday 18 February 2017 12:49, UK
Steve Borthwick has come to the defence of "fantastic" England captain Dylan Hartley amid speculation over his position in the team.
Eddie Jones named Hartley as his skipper after being appointed England coach in 2015 and he has led the reigning Six Nations champions through a 15-Test winning run, but replacement hooker Jamie George is having a bigger influence on matches.
Hartley is still regaining full fitness following a six-week ban picked up while playing for Northampton and made way for George just 46 minutes into the 21-16 victory over Wales, and the Saracens front row's impact was immediate.
The indications from Friday's opening training session at Twickenham, however, are that Hartley will continue to fill the number two jersey when England's Grand Slam defence resumes against Italy on February 26.
"Dylan has been fantastic. He has been a brilliant captain," forwards coach Borthwick said. "I say that from the experience of looking at what he has done and the challenges the England captain faces.
"He has been fantastic and the level of his performance has been excellent also. I coach those players very, very closely. We have two top quality players competing for that position and that is an enviable position that lots of people would look at.
"In Dylan we have a brilliant captain. I don't just mean match day, I mean every minute of every day he has been a brilliant captain for us."
George's inability to break into the starting XV despite being acknowledged as England's top performing hooker is not dampening his spirits, according to Borthwick.
"Jamie's attitude has been fantastic. What Jamie is doing is excellent, it's great for the team and he has performed well," he said.
