Borthwick adds ambition and anger to red rose mix

"The thing you have to remember about Steve Borthwick," said Kevin Maggs, the former Ireland centre who spent several seasons playing alongside England's new captain at Bath, "is that the poor sod doesn't have a life. Anyone who knows that much about line-outs should get out more." It is some years since Maggs made his views known over a beer in the Recreation Ground clubhouse, and Borthwick's line-out expertise is greater now than it was then. Is it possible to imagine a rugby player more dedicated to his art? Probably not.

Yesterday's confirmation that Borthwick would succeed the ailing Phil Vickery as red rose captain marked a triumph of application over adversity. The 28-year-old Cumbrian narrowly missed the cut for the 2003 World Cup and was mishandled so badly during last year's tournament that no sentient follower of English fortunes could even begin to understand why he was left out of the squad for the final against South African opponents armed with the most potent line-out in Christendom. "It was," he said afterwards through gritted teeth, "a missed opportunity."

He had been rather less diplomatic a few months earlier when, following Bath's defeat by the French club Clermont Auvergne in the final of the European Challenge Cup, he tore several strips off the men who paid his wages by questioning the breadth of their vision and the depth of their ambition. There was an almighty rumpus behind closed doors, and it was no particular surprise when he announced earlier this year that he would be moving to Saracens. A graduate in economics and politics, he understood both well enough to know the consequences of telling it how it was.

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Borthwick has not always been everyone's cup of tea. He may stand 6ft 6in and weigh the best part of 18st, but there are bigger locks around. He is not a truly dastardly sort, like the Springbok enforcer Bakkies Botha or, dare one say it, the Martin Johnson of yore. He is not a punishing driving forward like Simon Shaw, still less a footballing genius like John Eales. But he is famously assiduous in his preparation, plays a high percentage of his rugby at somewhere close to the maximum – coaches crave consistency of performance far more than occasional brilliance – and boasts the best line-out game in Europe.

That much was obvious when he saw off Italy virtually single-handed in this season's Six Nations match in Rome. He led his country for the first time that day – Vickery cried off shortly before the game – and if there has ever been a better performance from a new captain, it has long since slipped from the memory. Twice in the closing few minutes, the Azzurri had attacking line-outs from which they threatened to record a first ever victory over England. Twice, he pilfered the Italian throw with a combination of physical athleticism and uncanny prescience.

Like the Lions lock Wade Dooley before him, he learnt his rugby at Preston Grasshoppers. Good enough to break into an England Under-18 side who boasted some serious talents – Andrew Sheridan, Iain Balshaw, Mike Tindall, some bloke called Wilkinson – and played rugby of such a standard that they even prevailed over a Wallaby age-group side on Australian soil, he was recruited by Bath and picked for the first team while in his teens. Strange to relate, he made his Premiership debut against Saracens.

For much of the season, he has been proving himself, to himself, all over again. "There was a lot of frustration running through me during the World Cup," he admitted in February, "and it wouldn't have been me had I not felt some anger. I'm fiercely committed and I'm very ambitious, so when things go badly, I take it to heart. That's my personality. But I'm dealing with that anger as I always deal with it: by analysing my performance, identifying the things I should have done better and resetting my goals."

If one of those goals was to lead England into All Black country, he could hardly have made a better job of it.