Ralph Ellis / 28 January 2010 Free Bet View Market

"England are [1.83] to launch their Six Nations campaign with a win and at Twickenham that’s a pretty safe bet."

Being England captain is a big deal. It's what schoolboy dreams are made of and it's worth a fortune commercially in advertising, book, media and appearance contracts. It's considered the pinnacle of any sport.

Maybe that's why choosing the leader in football, rugby, or cricket always sparks such debate. And it's also probably why we so often get ourselves into a right old pickle when the appointed captain loses form or fitness.

Would there be a debate over Andrew Strauss taking a rest from the cricket trip to Bangladesh if he wasn't supposed to be the skipper? And would John Terry's various arguments with referees be under such spotlight if he didn't wear the captain's armband for the football team?

It's that attitude which has left Martin Johnson in a dilemma after refusing to confirm Steve Borthwick's position as his captain beyond the opening match of the Six Nations against Wales next weekend. Johnson went to yesterday's tournament launch and gave the less than ringing endorsement: "Steve is our captain until . . . he's our captain."

Johnson's critics will tell you it hardly boosts Borthwick's confidence to know his position has no permanency. But then at 30-years-old and with 50 caps behind him, the Saracens lock is experienced enough to know that no position in a sports team should have any guarantee beyond how you performed in the previous game.

Johnson is watching closely the growing status of Northampton's towering 20-year-old Courtney Lawes, who is almost certainly the future of the position. But the youngster has got to earn his promotion rather than be given it just because he shows promise, and that is inspiring Borthwick to produce some of his best form.

He's been outstanding for his club in the early part of the season, inspiring the long unbeaten run which took them to the top of the Guinness Premiership table. They are still sensational value at [5.0] to be regular season winners. And he was also one of the few players to emerge with real credit when England lost to New Zealand two months ago, as the dominant line-out figure for Johnson's side. There is talk that the new Australian Super-14 franchise, Melbourne Rebels, have him at the top of their wishlist of foreign signings and could give him a lucrative payday near the end of his career.

But that's waiting only if Borthwick doesn't rise to the challenge of making Lawes wait for his England chance. And Johnson's mantra, that every player must be worth his place regardless of titles, will make sure he stays that way.

There are maybe too many other uncertainties about the line-up at the moment to take either the [6.4] for Johnson's team to be outright winners, or [12.5] for a Grand Slam. But England are [1.83] to launch their Six Nations campaign with a win and at Twickenham that's a pretty safe bet. When Johnson was England captain nobody could ever have questioned whether he deserved his place in the team. His insistence that his own captain should meet the same criteria is absolutely the right way forward.

Five things you might not know about Courtney Lawes

1. He's billed as a true local boy by Northampton, brought up in a house round the corner from their Franklin's Gardens ground - but he was actually born in Hackney in East London.

2. Now 6ft 7ins tall, he played basketball for his school and county and didn't take up rugby until he was 15

3. He got given the nickname Bob - as in The Builder - when first at Northampton Saints because he was still doing a course in construction management at nearby Moulton College

4. England captain Martin Johnson said of him: "Someone sent me a text saying he's a bit like I used to be, except more athletic, funnier and better looking!"

5. He has tattoos on both arms - a Japanese symbol on his left and a Maori warrior on his right.