The prospect of England facing Australia at Twickenham in just under three weeks with a backline in which their 2025 Lions contingent of Tommy Freeman, Fin Smith, Alex Mitchell, Marcus Smith, and Elliot Daly will have had very little game time, might be considered to be a difficult dilemma for Steve Borthwick.

However, head coaches like Borthwick plan so far ahead that they know what’s coming, and the pitfalls they need to avoid.
The only factors that cause a selection rethink are usually big shifts in form, or injuries.
Form is a variable, because when you have an old hand at international...