Borthwick full of self-belief on the eve of deconstruction

Steve Borthwick, the man saddled with the responsibility for ensuring England's line-out behaves itself against Wales at Twickenham this afternoon, will never be quite as fit – or quite as good – as he thinks he ought to be. Obsessive perfectionists always fail to meet their own expectations, as that Wilkinson chap points out on an hourly basis. But those in the world champions' camp who have witnessed the Bath second-row forward pushing the boundaries of mind, body and spirit during umpteen weeks of ferocious training believe "almost" will be more than sufficient when Borthwick crosses the Channel and starts mixing it for real against the sundry Springboks and Samoans next month.

Always assuming, of course, that he survives the final 25 per cent cut in personnel due in 10 days' time and is awarded a place in the 30-man squad. The contest among the boilerhouse brigade is not as intense as that being fought out by the back-rowers and nowhere near as brutal as the one involving the midfielders, but all the same, there are some major obstacles in the Cumbrian's path. Ben Kay of Leicester was a World Cup winner in 2003, and if he has fired few bullets since that night of nights in Sydney, he remains one of the few people in Borthwick's class when it comes to constructing an England line-out and deconstructing everyone else's. And then there is the incumbent, Tom Palmer of Wasps. Palmer is a high-class operator on his day, and if those days happened just a little more frequently, he would be seriously good.

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Borthwick is the front-runner, though, and he intends to keep it that way. Having recovered from the knee injury that cost him his hard-won Test place last season – "Basically, I had my knee stitched back together," he said, as blissfully unaware as most surgically revamped players of how grisly these remarks sound to those whose experience of medical science extends no further than a dose of paracetamol – he is now in the best shape of his career. There is always room for improvement, naturally, but all things considered, he is well pleased with his progress.

"This has been a hard camp," he acknowledged after being named in the starting combination for today's warm-up international. "The camp in 2003 went on a little longer, but I'd say this one has been more challenging. All 40 of us – more at the start – have pushed ourselves just about as far as it's possible to go, but the support from the conditioning staff has been brilliant. There is so much emphasis on injury prevention now, and quite rightly so: there's no point being a professional sportsman if you spend your days watching others play, after all. As a result of the efforts of the players and the expertise of those around us, you'll see a very fit team take the field against Wales.

"I certainly feel fitter and stronger than at any point in my career and I'm reassured by it, because I feel I'm entering the beginning of my prime as a rugby player. I'm 27 now and it's important that I start making things happen. I went on my first England tour as a 20-year-old, I was capped at 21 and by the time I reached the 2005-06 season, I believed things were moving in the right direction in terms of this World Cup, which was my long-term goal. Then, the knee problem happened and I was faced with a big interruption I really didn't need. But it can happen to anyone in this sport – Pierre Spies [the sensational Springbok loose forward ruled out of the forthcoming tournament after developing blood clots on his lungs] has just discovered that, the poor bloke. The only thing to do is keep a tight hold on yourself, maintain your discipline and fight back as best you can."

In common with other World Cup contenders, Borthwick has had a chat or two with Dr Steve Peters, a forensic psychiatrist whose successful stint with the British cycling team brought him to the attention of the head coach, Brian Ashton, who justified his interest by pointing out that cycling was "streets ahead of other sports when it comes to winning medals for this country". There are those who believe Borthwick spends so much time analysing himself, there is little point other people joining in. Needless to say, he sees it differently.

"Do I buy into this stuff? Let's put it this way: I'd be a fool to close myself off completely from it," he said. "Those of us who are here, this close to World Cup selection, must be doing something right. We wouldn't be where we are if we were getting it all wrong, would we? But there's no harm in being open-minded about new approaches, and it would be silly to think that people with top-level experience of other fields have nothing to say to someone who plays rugby for a living. If you just get the germ of an idea from a person, one little gem of knowledge, it's worth taking the trouble to listen." Didn't Jack Rowell, the famously acerbic coach who had many dealings with Borthwick at Bath, fancy himself as a sporting shrink? "Yes he did, but I'm not sure we're talking about quite the same thing."

Talking of Bath, there has been some fairly toxic fallout since Borthwick took it upon himself as club captain to criticise the Recreation Ground management publicly for a blatant lack of ambition – views that struck a chord with pretty much everyone except Andrew Brownsword, the chairman, and his personal spear carriers. He made his pronouncement in the immediate aftermath of defeat in the European Challenge Cup final last May, a ruinous result that cost the West Countrymen a place in this coming season's Heineken competition. Within days, he found himself in a meeting with his employers, during which he stuck to his guns and redoubled the esteem in which he was already held by his playing colleagues.

Is it still rumbling on? And if it is, can he really hope to mix club concerns with World Cup business when the England training base is within walking distance of the Bath clubhouse?

"Yes, I said things," Borthwick acknowledged, "and yes, I followed them up. I felt I could justify my views, and did so to the management and coaching staff. But if anyone thinks my decision to speak out was driven by the disappointment of losing that final, they're wrong. Nothing was said in public that hadn't already been said in private, and my words were carefully considered. Do I regret the episode? No, quite honestly. I don't regret a thing. And over the last few weeks, I think Bath have shown some ambition by signing two very good South African internationals. I hope we sign some more, because Premiership rugby is growing so quickly, no club can afford to stand still.

"As for balancing the club-country thing, I can't just switch off from the things happening at Bath, even though I'm throwing everything at making the World Cup squad. I'm very conscious of the fact that in having the good fortune to be a part of the international set-up, I'm representing Bath as well as myself. The club has a wonderful tradition of producing players for England and we all want that to continue, to the extent that I enjoy tremendous support from my colleagues, whether they're English or not. I don't think I'm compromised in any way by my continuing involvement with affairs at the club, but even if I was, I'd find it difficult to turn my back on it. I'm not that sort."

This afternoon, he will be a pivotal figure in one of the biggest England packs ever to rumble their way out of the Twickenham tunnel. Andrew Sheridan and Phil Vickery, the props, are in the region of 20st apiece; Simon Shaw, the front-jumping lock, is up there in the same bracket; the back row of Martin Corry, Joe Worsley and Nick Easter are all 18st, give or take a few pounds. By comparison, Borthwick is less than a giant at 6ft 6in and 17st 8lb. There again, a successful forward unit requires brains as well as brawn. Among the line-out population, Borthwick is the equivalent of an astrophysicist.

"Down the years at Bath, I've played in some big packs," he said. "Stick Gareth Delve, Zak Fea'unati and Andy Beattie in the back row, with Danny Grewcock in the second row and Matt Stevens and Duncan Bell up front, and you have something going for you in the size department. Come to think of it, any pack including Duncan will be OK on the size front. But you'll certainly be seeing a big England unit in this game. And as I've said, you'll also see a fit unit.

"How much we get right in this game remains to be seen. This is about laying the foundations: the scrummaging, the line-out work, the restarts. Things will go wrong – it's bound to happen when people are playing together for the first time in ages, or in some cases for the first time – but we'll be on the right track. Whether or not I make the final 30 for France, I know the line-out will be functioning well by the time we get to play the United States in that first game. That's the challenge, isn't it? To ensure everything is in the best working order at the optimum moment. We've sweated blood on this for the best part of two months now. I think we're getting close."