World of Boxing and Rugby Union
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10. Steve Borthwick
It was a close race between Bill Beaumont and Borthwick to take up the rear guard on this prestigious list. Very much a case of 'head or heart' ruling my decision. Head won.
Borthwick's career span 16-years that saw him go from Preston, to Bath and then Saracens while winning 57 caps for England, of which 21 came as captain. He is one of rugby's great unsung heroes, He is an unassuming man, very quiet but he's Jekyll and Hyde on the pitch and turns into this great leader. He was very intelligent, and very balanced. From an early age he would study the lineout, he would train hard and was a professional guy right from the early age of 18. You could tell he was a natural leader and had all his ducks in line. I was really impressed by him even back then but he was and still is a quiet bloke. When he was coming through into the first-team at bath he established himself as a complete team man.
When Borthwick eventually went to Saracens, It was the right decision to move and you could almost see that Saracens team was built around Bortherwick.
The great Danny Grewcock said, "Borthers is the true professional. He was someone all the players looked to as someone who did all the right things on and off the field. He was definitely the thinking man's player and I think he put a lot of detail and thought into planning his lineout and it worked well for him. He does a lot of analysis work, talks to the coaches and players and the lineout was his area
and he set the standard there. I played against him when he was at Bath and I was at Saracens. He was a dominant force and even though he was a young lad, he caused me a few problems. He is also a great captain. Borthers computes all the information and makes smart decisions and stays calm throughout. He's very suited to the captaincy and I dare say a lot of success at Saracens is down to his work as a player and his leadership. Everyone who played alongside Borthers will have appreciated everything he did for the team and it was very nice to play in the same team for the number of years we did."
In 2008, when Borthwick left Bath for Saracens they underwent a huge restructuring. During his time there he has seen Saracens reach a Heineken Cup final and three Premiership finales. They have gone from mid-table obscurity to perennial title challengers.
"The thing that has always struck me about him was the extraordinary contrast from the press he received when he captained England in a difficult period and then got dropped or left out to the universal acclaim he gets from every single player from every time as being an outstanding leader and person. The respect from your peers is the most important of the lot, it's from those who are in the arena with you. He's very much his own man. It might surprise people to know he's a very good speaker, in the formal sense. He's a great speaker and communicator. If you ask anybody at Saracens they will say Steve has been huge in everything they've achieved. He's different, he will play through pain and has had a terrific last five or six years of his career.
Since his first international cap in 2001 his England career has reaped 57 caps, however, injury and poor results meant he has been side lined more than he should have. In a stronger team he would have flourished and been recognised as one of the true greats. Picking up international duties after the dismantling of the victorious 2003 World Cup winning team wasn't a fair backdrop to his immense talents...Just ask his peers who know best.