New head coach Borthwick will be allowed to radically overhaul England squad before Six Nations

Steve Borthwick’s quest to launch an England revival is set to be boosted by support from the Premiership clubs to radically overhaul the squad if he wishes.

When he was unveiled as the successor to Eddie Jones on Monday, Borthwick revealed that he would have a tricky selection dilemma ahead of the Six Nations. 

The current deal between clubs and the RFU governing player release only permits a handful of amendments to the existing 45-man ‘elite player squad’ (EPS). 

Addressing the awkward issue, Borthwick said: ‘The EPS (agreement) allows five changes to be made in January. I need to study that and prioritise where the changes are allowed to be made.’

However, Sportsmail understands that Premiership Rugby – which represents the elite clubs – would be open to accommodating a larger number of alterations to the EPS squad, to assist the man who was in charge of Leicester until last weekend. 

Sources have indicated that there has been no official request yet from the RFU, but in the event of a request being received, there is likely to be a willingness to relax the restrictions, on the basis that ‘Steve needs all the help he can get’.

This would be a hugely significant development for Borthwick as he gears up for a major salvage operation going into World Cup year, with the Six Nations looming in early February. 

Borthwick could call up prop Dan Cole, centre Ollie Lawrence or wing Ollie Hassell-Collins

Instead of being forced to inherit the vast majority of the squad assembled by Jones, it appears that he will be able to start with a clean slate.

The former national captain is bound to have differing views to Jones on certain players, so backing from the clubs would free him up to set his own plans in motion without delay. There has already been speculation about improved prospects for certain Tigers, such as rookie centre Dan Kelly, flanker George Martin and even veteran prop Dan Cole.

Others who could come into the selection equation include Bath centre Ollie Lawrence, London Irish wing Ollie Hassell-Collins and Northampton scrum-half Alex Mitchell. Jones often made clear that he saw the Premiership as a limited guide to Test credentials, whereas Borthwick has already made clear that he has a high regard for the league after working in it for the last few years.

It is understood that last season, a total of 16 changes were made to the EPS squad and there were 17 the season before. While the identity of the wider group is no longer made public, it allows clubs to forward-plan and there are central funding implications.