Steve Borthwick last led England in last year's Six Nations © Getty Images

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Players/Officials: Steve Borthwick

Teams: England | Saracens

Steve Borthwick has revealed his disappointment at missing out on England's Elite Player Squad (EPS) after sitting out their June tour.

The 57-cap second-row led his country into last season's Six Nations, but after picking up an injury against Scotland he was left behind as Lewis Moody skippered the side to a victory over the Wallabies. He is now confined to the second string Saxons squad.

Borthwick is back captaining Saracens in the Aviva Premiership and is keen to win his England place back. And while he acknowledges that not going on the tour was the correct decision, he has lingering regrets.

"I wanted to go on that tour," he told The News and Star. "But not going was the right thing for me. I had played year-round rugby for many years. The stats showed I had had more minutes' rugby than anyone else in the elite squad. But it's terribly disappointing to be out of the squad. I'm not going to whinge about it. What I do is get on with working hard to be the best I can and helping those around me become the best they can.

"One of the many things I've learnt is that you can't control what others think of you. Can I improve? Yes. Right until my last game whenever that might be, I will honestly believe I can be better. Someone said to me the Northampton game would be a big one, but they are all big games. Every time you take the field it's a test of what kind of person and player you are."

And Borthwick, who courted controversy this week by missing the Heineken Cup launch to go to Oktoberfest with his teammates, is concentrating on playing for Saracens who sit fourth in the Aviva Premiership table after last week's win over Northampton. The 30-year-old is putting his disappointment at not being selected for the national team to one side.

"It's a real joy again to be playing rugby with me team-mates," he said. "The injuries mean it has been a testing time. In terms of proving a point, I'm passionate about playing for England but all I want is to play as well as I can for Saracens. What happens outside of that I have no control over, so I spend very, very little of my time thinking about it. I want to play good rugby and I believe when I am fit and healthy I will. I have done all my career."