Borthwick says it’s not a question of if he will turn up and succeed at Test level, but when.
“Henry is a great player,” Borthwick said of Pollock.
“We want to make sure this player is an England player for a very long time. It’s not necessarily this week or next week, but we want to make sure this player is in an England shirt for a very long time.”
Prop Dan Cole is on the other side of his career. The 37-year-old was left out of the squad, with Leicester team-mate Joe Hayes and Sale youngster Asher Opoku-Porjour favored as tighthead options, but Borthwick insists Cole can still feature in 118 games.
“There’s always been a desire for Dan to be involved with England and help England,” he said.
“I know he’ll be disappointed, but I also know that if we need him, he’ll come right over and be ready.”
Overall, Borthwick rejected any widespread changes, with 32 of the 36-strong group included in the squad for the autumn internationals or eligible for the campaign had they not been injured.
He said continuity was vital for England to develop the entertaining, attacking games they want to play and that they were taking lessons from their first opponents in this year’s Six Nations.
“You can see the cohesion and consistency they have had over the years in the Ireland team – many of them have played together at Leinster,” added Borthwick.
“We need to build cohesion and the way we want to play. I think the difference will be in the way we attack and move the ball.
“Look at the athleticism and speed the England team has developed going into 2024.
“How well we know each other, how cohesive we are and how many games we’ve played together helps us be more effective as an offensive team.”
Hear detailed analysis of England’s Six Nations squad from Ugo Monye, Chris Ashton and Chris Jones in the latest episode of Rugby Union Weekly, out on Tuesday evening.
