Borthwick captaincy 'an option'

The 28-year-old ended his ten-year association with Bath on a high after skippering them to European Challenge Cup glory against Worcester Warriors last Sunday.

It was the West Country outfit's first trophy in a decade and was the latest string to lock Borthwick's bow just weeks after he was named England captain for next month's summer tour of New Zealand. He is now being tipped to reprise his role at Saracens but director of rugby Jones said the issue of captaincy has yet to be discussed.

South African scrum-half Neil de Kock was the unanimous choice amongst his peers to take the team captain armband last season and he led the club to a brace of cup semi finals. At the time de Kock admitted he was surprised to be offered the role but the mild-mannered number nine has no qualms stepping aside for a man described by new England supremo Martin Johnson as the "obvious choice" to succeed the injured Phil Vickery as Red Rose commander.

"It (the captaincy) is not something I've put a massive amount of thought into at this stage," said Sarries boss Jones, who made Borthwick his first signing. "We will get everyone together at some point, sit down and work out what is best for the squad. It may be that we have one captain or a couple of co-captains.

"Neil de Kock did a very good job last season and there is no reason why he can't be captain again. However, we know Borths (Borthwick) is an option as is Andy Farrell. We need to look at how everyone stands up and at the end of July we should be in a position to announce something."

De Kock was pragmatic as ever when questioned on the matter. "In all honesty I will do whatever is best for the team," he said. "Eddie Jones will sit back and do a bit of thinking as he singles out his leader. He has brought in new faces and maybe has some new ideas but I will stand by whatever decision he makes."

"I enjoyed the captaincy in what was a very up and down season," continued the former Springbok. "The role comes with the good and the bad and I was fortunate enough to have a lot of good support from the guys around me. There are a lot of leaders in the team now and I'm very excited for next season."

Jones will also need to decide upon a club captain following Richard Hill's retirement while it will take a brave man to wrestle the team vice-captaincy away from Kevin Sorrell. Sarries' Mr Consistent has made the number 13 shirt his own over the years and became so dependable and durable Sarries rarely felt the need to provide adequate cover for him.

However, the one club wonder suffered an ankle injury during their history making Heineken Cup win at Glasgow in January which forced him to miss the next seven games - his longest spell on the sidelines since a groin injury in 2003 prompted a four month lay-off. In his absence Sarries laboured to three unconvincing league victories and lost four before he returned in the EDF Energy Cup semi final defeat to Ospreys.

While Rodd Penney, Adam Powell, Francisco Leonelli and Dan Scarbrough all filled the void admirably Sarries boss Jones is taking no such chances.

Last week he captured outside centre Ben Jacobs on a three year deal from Super 14 finalists NSW Waratahs. Jacobs has been capped at A level by Australia and was named the Waratahs best back of 2007.

"He is a good solid outside centre who can play at 12 as well," commented Jones. "He is only 26 and is a good hard runner and strong tackler. Kevin Sorrell is our starting outside centre but as we saw last season it was difficult filling that position when he was out. Ben gives us another option there and is a good addition to the squad."

"He has got seven good years of rugby ahead of him," added Jones of his new acquisition. "But what also pleased me is that he is a really good team player who is very hard working.

"One thing we are trying to do here is provide a competitive edge in every position. Kevin Sorrell has played more years than he will in the future but he still has plenty left in him. For the guys we have in their thirties we've got to be bringing young guys through in those positions."

Jacobs becomes Jones' fourth signing, joining Borthwick and fellow forwards Michael Owen and Wikus van Heerden at Vicarage Road. So are their any more new faces on the horizon?

"We're still looking but there is nothing concrete at the moment," said Jones. "We're putting building blocks in place to make the squad stronger. We've got to improve all over the park."

Meanwhile, Jones has made Peter Horne the Men in Black's General Rugby Manager. Horne will leave his position as High Performance Manager of the Samoan Rugby Union and take up his new post in July.

His role will include the duties of team manager while also overseeing the talent identification, recruitment and contract processes at the club. He will also work closely with Academy boss Mike Hynard to ensure that Saracens create the best possible environment for its players.

"Peter's background in working with and getting the best out of world class athletes will be a valuable asset to Saracens," said Jones.