Carlisle-born Steve Borthwick believes England’s rugby players enjoyed getting a surprise pep talk by former England football captain John Terry.

As Eddie Jones’ team prepare for their crunch Six Nations clash with Wales in Cardiff this Saturday, Terry spent yesterday morning at their Bagshot training base, exchanging ideas on issues such as leadership and motivation with both players and coaches.

England’s forwards coach Borthwick said: “To have the opportunity to speak to someone like him with his experience is excellent.

“It’s a different sport, yes, but you can still talk about the traits of successful teams.

"We’re trying to keep learning and keep developing to be a successful team. He talked about how the senior playing group led and drove the standards at training.”

Bath and Saracens favourite Borthwick, meanwhile, has also confirmed Maro Itoje will miss their clash with Warren Gatland’s Wales because of knee ligament damage.

Itoje sustained the injury in the opening weekend victory over Ireland and missed the rout of France a week later, amid a prognosis the Saracens lock would return for the later rounds of the tournament.

It was suggested on Monday he could recover in time for the title showdown at the Principality Stadium, despite not being named in England’s 33-man training squad for the game, although that unlikely prospect has vanished.

Borthwick said: “Maro is continuing his rehabilitation on a daily basis. He will not be available for Saturday’s game. He’s going well, just not quite well enough for this weekend.

“At the moment, he’s going through his running progressions and that’s being developed on a daily basis.”

After their match in Wales, England will play Italy (March 9) and Scotland (March 16), both at Twickenham Stadium.