England hoping Girona's surprise success rubs off as Steve Borthwick tries a change of scenery with camp in Spain ahead of Six Nations

England will hope for positive omens and a break in the grim cycle of Six Nations false starts, when they start training on Thursday at the home of Spanish football’s surprise league leaders.

Steve Borthwick and his national squad are holding their pre-championship camp this year in Girona, north of Barcelona and close to the border with France. The head coach is convinced that a change of scenery – away from their familiar base in Surrey – can create a change of fortune for England.

‘The Girona facilities are good,’ he said. ‘It’s only just started as a base to host teams. Girona FC train there and they move out for the week. They are currently sitting top of La Liga.’

During Eddie Jones’s tenure, England would often relocate to the Algarve for a week before autumn or Six Nations campaigns, but Borthwick has opted for the far end of the Iberian peninsula. 

‘It’s a different venue where the team hasn’t been to before,’ he added. ‘I’m intent that the team has a base that we can go to regularly to train and offers what we need.

Steve Borthwick and his England squad are holding their pre-championship camp in Girona

‘There are lots of things we are trying to do differently to what we’ve done before, you can see that with the way the playing squad has changed and the coaching team has changed. The programme is run a little bit different. Girona fits within that. I want to make sure that we train exceptionally hard.

‘Make no bones about it, we are going to train exceptionally hard, but off the field, you need to be able to relax, recover and enjoy each other’s company. Girona is a great venue for that. When we are “on”, I want the intensity, focus, concentration and intent to be as high as possible, but if I want to keep increasing that level, you’ve got to relax in between those moments.’

Girona FC are currently riding high in La Liga, ahead of mighty Real Madrid and Barcelona. Their base is linked to the Camiral Golf Resort, which has hosted the Spanish Open. While Borthwick is unlikely to allow himself too much down-time, he is happy for his staff to facilitate rounds of golf for those Red Rose players who enjoy swinging a club – and there are several of them, including new captain Jamie George.

‘I’ve been very clear with the players, saying, “Your job is to perform on the pitch. If this helps you perform then brilliant. They did the same when we were in Le Touquet (base during the World Cup). It was a strange one where players were bringing their golf clubs.

‘The players have changed. They’re different and need to be able to relax and enjoy each other’s company. That is a real challenge, it’s something we take very seriously and we encourage them to do it. Girona offers us that opportunity. I trust the players.’

When England hold their first training session, Borthwick wants his squad to be primed and ready to go, after a few days of rest. 

‘I want the players desperate to get on the grass and throw themselves into this,’ he said.

The aim is to hit the ground running, ahead of the clash with Italy in Rome on February 3, to avoid a fifth successive opening-weekend defeat in the Six Nations, after three losses to Scotland and one to France in the previous four campaigns.

‘We need to be jumping right into this tournament,’ said the head coach. ‘At times we have not jumped into this tournament and have been caught in that first game. We are playing against an Italy side that is tremendously dangerous so we need to bring tactical alignment and incredible intensity to the game.’