Borthwick has been in fine form since his move to Saracens

England manager Martin Johnson has named Saracens lock Steve Borthwick as captain for the autumn internationals.

The 29-year-old retains the role he was given for the ill-fated summer tour of New Zealand, when previous skipper Phil Vickery was unavailable after injury.

With the Wasps prop not certain to start given the form of Matt Stevens, Borthwick was the logical choice.

He first led England in this year's Six Nations match in Italy, but his latest appointment is not for a fixed period.

"Firstly, I’d like to thank Phil Vickery for everything he did for the team while he was captain," Johnson said of his World Cup-winning team-mate.

"Like Phil, Steve is a good leader and always prepares thoroughly for all his matches at club and international level and I’m looking forward to working with him.

"I won’t be giving Steve a specific amount of time in the job. I just want to support him as much as possible and I know he will enjoy all the responsibility and work that comes with being captain of England."

My three games as England captain have been away from home so to lead the team out at Twickenham will be a special moment Steve Borthwick

His credentials for the England job have been frequently endorsed by Sarries director of rugby Eddie Jones, most recently after their EDF Energy Cup win over Northampton on Sunday.

"He has done a marvellous job for us, just with his competitiveness," Jones said. "He is so serious about his rugby."

Borthwick, who has won 39 caps since his debut in 2001, will lead out England for their opening autumn Test against the Pacific Islands a week on Saturday, 8 November.

They then face southern hemisphere heavyweights Australia, South Africa and New Zealand on successive weekends.

STEVE BORTHWICK FACTFILE 1979: Born 12 Oct, Carlisle 1997: Product of Preston Grasshoppers; plays for England U-18s with Jonny Wilkinson 2001: Now at Bath, makes England A debut, then wins first cap v France 2003: Plays in World Cup warm-up games but misses out on final squad of 30 2004-05 Starts all England's autumn Tests 2006: Starts all England's Six Nations matches, but misses summer tour and autumn series 2007: Not selected for Six Nations. Makes World Cup squad but only starts one game 2008: Plays every minute of Six Nations. Captain v Italy. Leads England in summer Tests in NZ

"But my overriding aim is to help England get off to a winning start.

"I really enjoyed the week we had together in August and it showed what a good squad we have and that will hold us in good stead as we prepare for four very challenging games starting with the very tough Pacific Islanders.

"The squad and the coaching team is excellent and I'm really looking forward to our preparation and the games over the next four weeks."

One of Borthwick's former team-mates, Bath hooker Lee Mears, is one of several fitness concerns in the England squad who gathered at their Bagshot base on Sunday to begin preparations.

Mears sustained a rib injury in Bath's win at Sale on Friday, while Newcastle centre Jamie Noon was carried off in a neck brace in their defeat by Wasps.

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Sarries boss Jones was furious that Hartley, who has banned for six months for eye-gouging last season, escaped with only a lecture.

"He took the head of the player away from the ball, and it is a serious misdemeanour," Jones observed.

"He has tended to have a reputation off the ball. We are certainly not happy with it.

"He seems like a good kid - he can play a bit - but you don't want to see players doing those sort of things. If he's doing it in a club game, then you would worry about him in a Test match."

Jones's Northampton counterpart Jim Mallinder said he "didn't think it looked that bad, actually".

"He is aggressive, but he's controlling himself and I think the referee probably made the right decision,' Mallinder added. "It wasn't the best challenge and he got penalised for it."

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