03 February 2023 , 15:32
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Steve Borthwick's removal of a contentious Eddie Jones coinage marked the end of an era and the start of a new one ahead of England's Six Nations opener.
Borthwick recalled several Jones rejects as he named his first England side for the blockbuster Calcutta Cup showdown against Scotland at Twickenham on Saturday.
Joe Marchant, Ben Curry, Max Malins, Ben Earls and Ollie Lawrence were so often snubbed during the Australian's regime but Borthwick has put faith in the starting quintet to revive the Red Rose.
Centre Manu Tuilagi was dropped with Borthwick opting for Harlequins star Marchant outside the midfield axis of Marcus Smith and Owen Farrell.
But what was also notable in Borthwick's team sheet was that Jones' divisive buzzword for his substitutes has now been ditched.
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Jones called his subs 'finishers' in an attempt to elevate them to an equal footing with his starting team during his time as England boss.
Borthwick, however, has now abandoned the jargon that Jones hoped would motivate his players to decide the game from the bench, returning to the norm of 'replacements'.
Jones' 'finishers' term has now been ditched (Alastair Grant/AP/REX/Shutterstock)And rugby pundit Ian Stafford shared the view of many England fans in his response to the disposal of the "nonsense" term.
He wrote on Twitter: “Do you know the biggest take away for me from the England squad named today to play Scotland. That we don’t have the “Finishers” nonsense anymore.
"We’re back to the XV and ‘replacements,” as it should be. You can’t kid anyone. Nobody prefers to be a “finisher” over a starter!”
Borthwick, meanwhile, has no interest in causing a stir with mind games ahead of his bow as his country's head coach.
"I don't get too obsessed with things that don't add value to the side," he said. “The people who are the replacements, who are on the bench at the start of the game, know their jobs and the positions they need to cover and the roles they will have to play within it.”
England: Steward; Malins, Marchant, Farrell (capt), Hassell-Collins; Smith, Van Poortvliet; Genge, George, Sinckler, Itoje, Chessum, Ludlam, B Curry, Dombrandt.
Replacements: Walker, M Vunipola, Cole, Isiekwe, Earl, Youngs, Lawrence, Watson.
Scotland: Hogg; Steyn, Jones, Tuipulotu, Van der Merwe; Russell, White; Schoeman, Turner, Nel; R Gray, Gilchrist; Ritchie (capt), Crosbie, M Fagerson.
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Replacements: Brown, Bhatti, Berghan, J Gray, Dempsey, Horne, Kinghorn, Harris.
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