Owen Farrell will leave a “strong legacy” on the England team during the upcoming Six Nations, says head coach Steve Borthwick.

Courtney Lawes is also unavailable after retiring from England duty.

Borthwick, however, says “without question” he has players to fill the leadership void.

“I think we have a multitude of leaders across the squad,” he told BBC Sport.

“I look at how the leaders grew during that World Cup. And I’ll be very clear, you need that leadership density, and I think one of the things Owen did really well was having key lieutenants around him.

“What they did, and the experiences they shared [at the World Cup], tells me this is a group that cares so much and wants to drive this team forward.

“I think we have a lot of leaders who will be able to take that on.”

Ellis Genge and George Ford are among the current England players with experience of captaining their country, while it is thought Jamie George is also a strong contender to lead the side.

And Borthwick says Farrell’s influence will be felt, whoever ends up in charge.

“Owen is not going to be with us during the Six Nations, but his legacy during this Six Nations is going to be strong,” Borthwick added.

“The foundations we have been trying to build, the way the environment is and the way the players are of the field, he has been integral within that. And [in terms of] growing leaders and bringing other leaders through, Owen has been magnificent there.”

England to offer support in face of ‘horrendous’ abuse

Borthwick says he is full of “admiration and respect” for Farrell after England’s record points scorer decided to make himself unavailable in order to protect his and his family’s mental wellbeing.

And the England boss says the Rugby Football Union will be examining how to support players in the face of “horrendous” online abuse.

“To make the decision he has would have taken a lot of courage,” Borthwick said.

“We spoke at the end of the World Cup and he shared some of the thoughts, and he wanted some time to go through those thoughts and spend time with his family, and a couple of weeks later he told me his decision to step away, which I fully respect and support.

“But we’ve also seen there is a wider issue here and we have seen it with two top match officials [Wayne Barnes and Tom Foley]. We are seeing the online hate and abuse that is spread – it’s not ok, that people can be able to be saying that stuff, and it can affect people’s lives.

“What was seen at that World Cup was horrendous. These people aren’t rugby fans, as true rugby fans aren’t saying that kind of stuff. These issues are bigger than rugby, [they are] societal.

“We have been spending time looking at this, and thinking how do we ensure we give all the support that is needed.

“This has changed very fast. So what we are doing is ensuring that we are trying to get ahead of it and understand what people need. And not just the players, but the management team, and not just the people directly with the team, it’s their families [too].”

New coaching team a ‘brilliant blend’

Meanwhile, Borthwick is confident he has assembled a coaching team with a “brilliant blend” of perspectives and experiences.

Felix Jones, the former Ireland wing and double World Cup-winning coach with South Africa, will run England’s defence, with Kevin Sinfield moving into a skills role before leaving the set-up in the summer.

Kiwi coach Andrew Strawbridge has also come on board on a temporary basis after two years with the All Blacks. Richard Wigglesworth and Tom Harrison will continue their roles with the attack and scrum respectively.

“You look at this, and you’ve got guys who understand English rugby, guys who were coaching in the Premiership six months ago,” Borthwick said.

“[We have coaches who] understand European rugby, while Felix brings his Irish experience and his experience in the southern hemisphere with South Africa, and Straws brings that New Zealand perspective.

“I think it is a brilliant blend of coaches and expertise in the room. I think it is a real position of strength and I value that diversity of experience a lot.”