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Borthwick to lead England

Tuesday 13th May 2008

Johnson's man: Borthwick will lead England in New Zealand

Steve Borthwick will captain England on their New Zealand tour next month.

Bath lock Borthwick has been handed leadership duties in the absence of regular skipper Phil Vickery, who misses appointments with the All Blacks in Auckland and Christchurch due to a knee injury.

Borthwick, capped 37 times, has recent experience of the role after acting as captain for England's Six Nations victory over Italy three months ago.

He takes charge of a 32-man squad - the first of Martin Johnson's reign as England Manager - that includes six uncapped players.

The newcomers are London Irish wing Topsy Ojo, Harlequins scrum-half Danny Care, Bristol prop Jason Hobson, Northampton hooker Dylan Hartley, Irish hooker David Paice and his club colleague, lock Nick Kennedy.

Vickery apart, other absentees from the Six Nations campaign include fly-half Jonny Wilkinson, who is absent through shoulder surgery, Wasps lock Simon Shaw and Bristol hooker Mark Regan.

But the major selection casualties appear to be Gloucester backs Iain Balshaw and Lesley Vainikolo.

Full-back Balshaw started all five of England's Six Nations Tests, while former Bradford Bulls wing Vainikolo made his debut off the bench against Wales and then kept his place for the remaining four fixtures.

Wasps wing Paul Sackey, meanwhile, has been named in the squad despite suffering a knee injury during his club's Guinness Premiership victory over Leeds last weekend.

Gloucester wing James Simpson-Daniel looks to have missed out due to pending shoulder surgery, but England will still travel with a strong blend of youth and experience.

Among those players with points to prove will be 65-times capped Wasps flanker Joe Worsley, who missed the entire Six Nations campaign.

And his injury-hit Wasps team-mate Tom Rees must look to put recent injury problems behind him and mount a challenge for the number seven shirt currently worn by Bath's Michael Lipman.

There is also a welcome recall for Gloucester centre Mike Tindall, whose season appeared to be over after he was seriously hurt during England's Six Nations opener against Wales at Twickenham.

Tindall spent three days in the intensive care unit of a London hospital with problems to his liver and internal bleeding.

But he returned to action in Gloucester's Heineken Cup quarter-final defeat against Munster last month, and he would undoubtedly have been among the captaincy candidates considered by Johnson.

Of the uncapped brigade, much interest will revolve around the selection of Hartley.

The New Zealand-born prospect was on course to make England's World Cup squad last year, but he was cited and then banned for 26 weeks after being found guilty of gouging during a club game.

Despite playing the whole of this season in National League One with the Saints, he has maintained a high level of form and is likely to gain a place in England's Test 22 for the All Blacks opener on June 14.

Ojo produced an outstanding try-scoring display during Irish's Heineken Cup semi-final defeat against Toulouse last month, while Care inspired Harlequins to the brink of this season's Premiership play-offs.

Vainikolo and Balshaw though, two consistent selections during the reign of former England Head Coach Brian Ashton, clearly now both face tough challenges for further Test recognition, despite the Johnson era being in its early stages.

England fly to New Zealand on June 2 without Johnson, who is staying at home to be with his pregnant wife, with the Rugby Football Union's elite rugby director Rob Andrew taking on tour manager responsibilities.

England:

Backs: Mike Brown (Harlequins), Paul Sackey (Wasps), David Strettle (Harlequins), Topsy Ojo (London Irish), Mathew Tait (Newcastle), Mike Tindall (Gloucester), Jamie Noon (Newcastle), Toby Flood (Newcastle), Olly Barkley (Bath), Danny Cipriani (Wasps), Charlie Hodgson (Sale Sharks), Richard Wigglesworth (Sale Sharks), Peter Richards (London Irish), Danny Care (Harlequins).

Forwards: Andrew Sheridan (Sale Sharks), Tim Payne (Wasps), Matt Stevens (Bath), Jason Hobson (Bristol), Lee Mears (Bath), Dylan Hartley (Northampton), David Paice (London Irish), Steve Borthwick (Bath) (c), Ben Kay (Leicester), Nick Kennedy (London Irish), Tom Palmer (Wasps), Tom Croft (Leicester), James Haskell (Wasps), Joe Worsley (Wasps), Michael Lipman (Bath), Tom Rees (Wasps), Nick Easter (Harlequins), Luke Narraway (Gloucester).