Steve Borthwick is set to be given a helping hand by Premiership clubs as he bids to revive England's fortunes.
Amid much speculation, the former Leicester man was officially confirmed as his country's head coach on Monday, following the sacking of Eddie Jones. Borthwick, who also won 57 international caps as a player, previously served as forwards coach to the Australian for five years.
But initially, his task of picking a squad for the 2023 Six Nations looked a difficult one. After being unveiled, Borthwick acknowledged that he could be hamstrung by the current deal between clubs and the RFU over player release.
As it stands, only a handful of amendments are allowed to be made to the existing 45-man ‘elite player squad’. On the issue, Borthwick said: "The EPS (agreement) allows five changes to be made in January. I need to study that and prioritise where the changes are allowed to be made."
However, a report in the Daily Mail has said that Premiership Rugby is now open to accommodating a bigger number of alterations. Sources have seemingly indicated that whilst there has been no official request yet from the RFU, there is likely to be a willingness to adhere to any proposed amendments.
This could prove pivotal to Borthwick's hopes of hitting the ground running, with the World Cup following the Six Nations in 2023. Otherwise, he would be forced to work with a squad essentially assembled by Jones.
In his first media briefing as England coach this week, Borthwick didn't show any intention of hiding from his task, saying: "Forty-seven days I think it is until we play Scotland here at Twickenham at the start of the Six Nations.
“Right now, if you look at the autumn series, I don't think England are ranked in the top-three [in the world] in any one particular facet of the game. We have a lot of work to do. I think everyone can see that.”
Despite his relationship with RFU bosses seemingly breaking down before his departure, Jones too has come out fighting this week. He claimed he had the squad on the right track to peak in the World Cup in France in nine months' time.
