- Unlock more of the best of our rugby coverage with a DailyMail+ subscription – brilliant exclusives, in-depth insight and the writers you love every day
Good news has been in short supply for Steve Borthwick over the past few months but the latest update on Benhard Janse van Rensburg offers some cause for cheer.
The Bristol Bears centre, who hails from South Africa, was expected to become eligible for England selection during the autumn internationals. However, after months of administrative paper trails, Borthwick has now been told that he can select Van Rensburg for Test rugby as soon as July – and the Nations Championship clash with Fiji.
Borthwick will announce his training squad next week and the powerful 29-year-old from Pretoria is now eligible for a call up. July 8 is the date marked in the calendar, meaning Van Rensburg will not be available for their opening Test of the summer against the Springboks in Johannesburg.
He could play in the uncapped warm-up game against France XV and he will be free to make his full debut at Everton’s Hill Dickinson Stadium against Fiji on July 11.
Following a woeful Six Nations campaign, yielding just one win from five, Borthwick is under fierce pressure to improve England’s style and results.
No 12 has been a long-term problem position for the national team, who have flitted between Fraser Dingwall, Seb Atkinson and Max Ojomoh in recent months.
After months of administrative paper trails, Steve Borthwick has now been told that he can select Benhard Janse van Rensburg for Test rugby as soon as July
The Bristol centre offers both power and ball-playing ability – he has been one of the PREM’s most consistent operators and is worthy of a shot in England’s inside centre berth
Van Rensburg offers both power and ball-playing ability. He has been one of the PREM’s most consistent operators for Bristol Bears and is worthy of a shot in England’s inside centre berth.
He is eligible for England after five years of living here, and having not played for the double World Cup-winning Springboks.
You do not need to look beyond the likes of Bundee Aki, Duhan van der Merwe and Pierre Schoeman to see the success of southern hemisphere Project Players.
Time is running out for Borthwick to form a stable midfield partnership for next year’s World Cup. Desperate times call for desperate measures so, as Borthwick looks to steady his English ship, then do not be surprised if Van Rensburg is deployed at the first opportunity.