Steve Borthwick has shrugged off renewed criticism of his captaincy and insists he is working hard to revive England's fortunes.
Borthwick still enjoying captain's role
Steve Borthwick has shrugged off renewed criticism of his England captaincy and insists he is working harder than anyone to try and ensure his side turn the corner.
The Saracens lock has presided over one of the most disappointing periods in England's recent rugby history with the team losing seven of their last nine games under his leadership.
England have now slipped to eighth in the world rankings - their lowest-ever position.
The ongoing RBS Six Nations campaign has been blighted by ill-discipline and underachievement with England receiving ten yellow cards and conceding over 60 penalties in their last four outings.
Borthwick has inevitably come in for criticism have overseen that hugely disappointing run of results, but the 29-year-old remains defiant and is adamant he is still enjoying the role despite the pressures it brings.
"I try and influence things in the most positive way I can to help this team's development," he stated.
"I am captain of England. It is fantastic. It has its challenges but millions of people want to be in the position I am in. It is a huge honour.
"Being a rugby player you have to be emotionally involved with the team you are in. You emotionally invest.
"I know the view of me as a captain is inextricably linked to the performance of the team and more specifically the results. That is reality.
"I am trying to influence as positively as possible with my actions, my training, working with the coach and how I address the group and individuals."
Support
England manager Martin Johnson has thrown his support behind under-fire Borthwick and rejected reports he had considered dropping his skipper from the side.
In the end it was Borthwick's second-row partner Nick Kennedy who made way for Simon Shaw for the clash against France this weekend - a move many felt harsh given the London Irish star's form.
Former captain Lawrence Dallaglio backed Johnson's decision to stick with Borthwick for the visits of France and Scotland over the next fortnight, but feels the Saracens man will face a battle to keep the captaincy once a review of the Six Nations is carried out.
"Martin probably feels at this moment in time that changing the captaincy in the middle of the championship would do more harm than good and he is probably right," said Dallaglio.
"I think it has been difficult for him because clearly your captain normally comes from one of the best two or three performers in the team.
"Steve hasn't hit those performance levels yet and so his selection is going to come into question.
"Having been someone who picked him as captain from the outset and said this is the way I am going to roll, to change it now would be a U-turn, whether he thinks it is right or not.
"There are plenty of people who don't think he's right - but the time to make those decisions will come at the end of the championship.
"The end of the championship will be a time to review lots of things. Clearly the captaincy would be one of them, the structure would be another. Have we got the right structure going forward to be the best team in the world?
"The time to reflect on these things will come after the last game."
