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The England boss came under fire following his side’s worst ever Six Nations performance
The Rugby Football Union has concluded its review into England’s dismal Six Nations campaign, announcing that it has decided to back head coach Steve Borthwick to continue leading the team and turn their form around.Borthwick’s side went into the tournament earlier this year billed as potential Grand Slam winners but, after thumping Wales in the opening round, lost every one of their next four games. That run of defeats included a first ever loss to Italy and meant that they had their worst-ever campaign since the tournament expanded from the Five Nations in 2000.
With Borthwick finding himself under mounting pressure, a statement was issued after the defeat to Italy that indicated he would be given the upcoming summer Nations Championship campaign to save his job.
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But after an RFU investigation was launched to identify exactly what went wrong during the Six Nations, the England boss will now remain head coach until next year’s Rugby World Cup.
The precise findings of the investigation have been not been disclosed because “performance confidentiality in a competitive international sporting environment limits the level of detail that can be shared publicly”.
However, the union has provided a broad overview of the findings, while recognising “why supporters felt frustrated and that they expected more”.
“The review concluded that, despite coming off a 12-game winning run, England’s underperformance across the Six Nations was not the result of a singular failure or issue,” a union statement read.
“Instead, it highlighted a number of interconnected performance areas such as discipline, execution of opportunities and making the most of key moments, where improvement is required if England are to consistently perform at the level expected.”
RFU chief executive Bill Sweeney said the review had been “thorough and honest”, adding that it is “clear that improvement will come from addressing several areas rather than chasing one simple answer.”
“Steve has engaged in this process with full openness and has clear plans in place to address these findings,” he continued. “We are all behind him and his coaching team going into the Nations Championship and the series of matches leading into the 2027 World Cup.”
It is believed that players, coaches and backroom staff involved in the review process, which was overseen by Sweeney, supported Borthwick staying on as England boss.
“We’ve all seen what this England side is capable of – most recently in the performance against France, and during the strong winning run before that,” Sweeney added. “That doesn’t disappear overnight.
The challenge now is delivering that level consistently,” Sweeney added. “We’re confident this group can do that, supported by the insight and feedback this review has surfaced.
“This is a young England team that is still growing and developing and we understand progress in international sport is rarely linear.”
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