Ben Earl ‘happy’ to start in England center ‘anytime’

Earl, 27, believes that moving to the positions will not require major changes to his game.

“When you perform well as a 12th or 13th player and when you perform well in the back row, the performances look very similar,” he said.

“I think the only occasion where you would do something different is literally digging.

“I don’t want to be like that kind of leading man who did a little bit of everything, but I just try to stay true to who I am as a player.”

Earl covered 73 meters with the ball in hand – more than all but two of his teammates – in the 25-7 win over Australia on Saturday. The Saracens star ran in the opening try from inside the Wallabies’ half to help himself to that statistic.

He’s not the only striker Borthwick has indicated has the ability to play defence.

Pollock, who scored three tries in just over an hour of Test rugby for England, has been earmarked as a potential wing option.

“I think he’s faster than me,” Earl Bullock said.

“We haven’t done any racing, and maybe we should at some point, but he’s definitely one of the fastest in the team, let alone the strikers.”