Portugal Colonial - Borthwick to monitor Lawes as England great targets Test recall

Lawes, at home in either the second or back row of the pack, retired from Test rugby following the 2023 World Cup.

But he now has the chance to revive his England career, having joined Sale ahead of the new English season after a two-year stint at French second-division club Brive.

The 37-year-old, capped 105 times, is not being considered for England's opening July matches in the new Nations Championship against South Africa, Fiji and Argentina, even though he becomes eligible for selection once the Pro D2 campaign in France is finished.

Borthwick, however, is well aware of Lawes's quality and the former England captain will also be keeping an eye on centre Joe Marchant, another Sale signing following a spell at Stade Francais, in the run-up to the 2027 World Cup in Australia.

"I'm certainly looking forward to watching Courtney in the Prem against other players who are eligible, as I am with Joe Marchant," said Borthwick.

"Watching him in Pro D2, the context is sightly different but I know that Courtney is a proven Test match player and a proven leader.

"Courtney wanting to come back shows what an incredible character and fantastic leader he is."

- 'Character' -

If Lawes makes it to next year's global showpiece, it will be his fifth World Cup and his leadership skills could yet prove invaluable to England.

"When we took the lead against Fiji in the quarter-final of the last World Cup, Fiji threw everything at us," recalled Borthwick. "At a critical moment, Courtney stepped up to win a crucial turnover.

"When I talk about character, I'm talking about players who are tough enough to do exactly what the team needs to win that moment.

"Courtney is that type of character and he's done it so many times for England at the highest level."

In the more immediate future, England face a gruelling travel schedule of some 25,000 miles (40,000 kilometres) across three continents with a trio of matches on successive weekends.

Borthwick's men launch their Nations Cup campaign against world champions South Africa in Johannesburg on July 4 before returning home for a clash with Fiji in Liverpool and then heading to Santiago del Estero to play Argentina.

England head into the new competition on the back of a woeful Six Nations, where they suffered four defeats in five games and lost to Italy for the first time.

"Three matches in three weeks on three continents is... quite a challenge," said Borthwick, who has no plans to split his squad during the tour.

"I'm excited by challenges like this and I'm looking forward to learning even more about the players -- who gets enthused and loves a challenge like this and who steps up."

V.F.Barreira--PC