Given what Maro Itoje has been through since the death of his mother in December, it is the right decision by Steve Borthwick not to include him in the starting XV against Wales.

Itoje, 31, had missed the start of England’s training camp in Girona in Spain to attend the funeral of mother Florence in Nigeria last Monday – last Wednesday’s training session was particularly intense – and one can only imagine what an emotional day it will be for the Saracens lock at Twickenham on Saturday.

You have to go back to 2019 for the last time Itoje did not start a Six Nations match for England and even then, it was only because of a knee injury he sustained in the opening-round win against Ireland in Dublin that would rule him out of the remainder of the championship.

Since 2020, when England last won the Six Nations, the Saracens lock has remarkably not only started every game but also played every minute of every game.

You expect the minutes he is on the field from the bench this weekend will be the most emotional of them all, and both England and Wales supporters will no doubt give him a rousing reception as a mark of respect. It is what the game is all about.

The England squad have rallied around their captain, and pointedly Borthwick confirmed that Itoje will assume the armband when he comes off the bench.

At a personal level, one hopes that Itoje gets through the day. I have no doubt that he will. That England now have the strength in depth to cope with starting their captain on the bench – with Jamie George stepping up to lead the side in the starting XV – is a further indication of the strength of the leadership group, something that Borthwick has prioritised. He could easily have turned to Ellis Genge or George Ford to captain the side.

“We’re very fortunate to have such strength of leadership that Jamie can captain the team so ably supported by Ellis and George, who at different times have also captained the team,” Borthwick said. “I’ve talked to you in the past about building a density of leadership and I think that’s what we are developing here.

One wonders what Wales will make of seeing a bench that includes Itoje, Luke Cowan-Dickie, Tom Curry, Henry Pollock and Marcus Smith. Talk about “Pom squad”. All five are Lions.

Starting Itoje on the bench also provides an element of scenario planning. England have to be prepared should he suffer an injury during next year’s World Cup, and Saturday will provide a brilliant opportunity for Alex Coles to shine off the back of a tremendous run of form with his club Northampton Saints.

“We want depth across the team and we want competition for places across the team and I think we have got that in many positions,” Borthwick added. “We have a number of leaders now in diverse positions also that help us and I think the squad is, whilst across the autumn we have had a couple of injuries and have players unavailable so we have new players in camp this week, I am very confident the depth in the squad is going to continue to develop throughout this. There are one or two players we have only just been getting to know over the last two weeks, and I think they are going to be in the England squad for a long time.”