Rugby Union By Amanda Little

Last updated 05:33, Friday, 06 June 2008

CUMBRIAN Steve Borthwick admitted he was in dreamland after helping Bath end their 10-year wait for a major trophy.

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Borthwick brought the curtain down on his Bath career by lifting the European Challenge Cup following a punishing 24-16 victory over Worcester at Kingsholm last weekend.

The new England skipper and lock was named man-of-the-match in the triumph which clinched Bath their first piece of silverware since the 1998 Heineken Cup win.

It meant Borthwick could bow out in style as he is set to join Guinness Premiership rivals Saracens this summer in a £200,000-a-year deal.

The Carlisle -born lock and master line-out tactician said: “It has been a huge effort, a mammoth effort, by the guys this season, and to lift a trophy at the end of it is fantastic.

“I've had a great 10 years at Bath and I have been privileged to have had the opportunity to play alongside so many talented players."

“I'm just so happy for the guys who have worked so hard for so many years, and for the fans.

“It's been an honour for me to play with them. To win in the fashion we did was superb. It's a great team effort.

“I'm looking forward to what's ahead of me, the next couple of days I will enjoy the time I've had with these boys.”

Borthwick, capped 37 times, was recently named England captain for this month’s two-Test tour to New Zealand.

He has been handed leadership duties in the absence of Phil Vickery, who misses the matches against the All Blacks in Auckland and Christchurch with a knee injury.

A successful tour would see Borthwick, one of only two players to play every minute of England’s Six Nations campaign last season, pitch his claim for the job full time.