Borthwick revealed that Noah Caluori, the 19-year-old Saracens wing who has been called up to train with the squad after scoring five tries against Sale in his first Prem start, had been on his radar for some time.
“I think it’s probably over a year ago, I was getting sent footage of him and starting to get reports of him and his development plan,” said Borthwick.
“He’s a player that I think has a point of difference.”
Borthwick said that former England captain Owen Farrell – a notable absentee from England’s training group – is concentrating on playing for Saracens after his summer move back from Racing 92.
But Borthwick added that the question of whether the 34-year-old had asked to remain out of the England squad was “not really a discussion for right now”.
Farrell skipped the 2024 Six Nations to prioritise his and his family’s mental well-being before moving overseas and out of international contention for a year.
Borthwick also explained that Farrell’s fellow former England captain Chris Robshaw was due to visit the team as part of his filming with Strictly Come Dancing on Tuesday, only to be voted off the programme over the weekend.
“We were all looking forward to having him in camp tomorrow, so we were all voting with our push, we couldn’t quite get him over the line!” Borthwick said.
“Lots of respect to him for developing new skills and putting himself in uncomfortable situations.”
England’s autumn campaign begins against Australia on 1 November, before matches against Fiji, New Zealand and Argentina on the subsequent weekends.
