The Rugby Football Union has no immediate plans to extend Steve Borthwick’s contract as England head coach beyond the 2027 World Cup despite the team’s strong form this year.
Borthwick has overseen an 11-Test winning run that includes victories over France and New Zealand and delivered England’s first autumn clean sweep since 2021. The run marks a sharp recovery from 2024, when England lost seven successive matches against tier-one opposition, and leaves them entering the Six Nations as genuine title contenders.
RFU chief executive Bill Sweeney said discussions about a post-2027 deal have not begun and are not planned “in the foreseeable future,” despite Borthwick having been appointed after an extensive process and the organisation being pleased with the current direction. “We haven’t got into any discussions about post-2027. We haven’t had those conversations now and we are not planning to in the foreseeable future, no,” Sweeney said. “It’s premature. There is no reason for him to think ‘go to 2027 and that’s it’. We just haven’t had those discussions yet.”
Sweeney added the RFU is “delighted with the direction it’s going in” and praised the building of squad depth and the style of play under Borthwick. Speaking to Sky Sports News reporter James Cole, he noted: “All coaches are under pressure but he was never under pressure to the point where it would be a difficult situation. We had faith and confidence and we went through an extensive process to appoint him in the first place. We had every confidence in his capability and what he can do. He’s proving that now and we feel we’re in a good place.”
RFU keen to increase revenue
Twickenham drew capacity crowds as England beat Australia, Fiji, New Zealand and Argentina this month, but the RFU is looking to add up to 15 non-rugby events a year to boost revenue. Sweeney recently met Richmond Council interim chief executive Andrew Travers, with a planning application for a proposed £650m stadium redevelopment due to be submitted in May.
Sweeney stressed the need for additional events to justify investment in the stadium and to keep pace with other venues. “It’s not a grandstanding negotiation tactic. We need those in order to justify the investment into the stadium. They understand that. They want us to stay. And our plan A is to stay,” he said, adding the RFU contributes more than £90m to the local economy and well over £100m to the greater London economy.
If permission to stage extra events is not granted, the RFU has identified alternatives, including joint-venture options with Wembley and venues in Birmingham. “You can’t put all your eggs in one basket, so you have to have a plan B and even a plan C and D, which are viable,” Sweeney said. “Our plan A is to stay here but as you’d expect we have to have a fallback position if things don’t go as we expect them to. I get challenged on that all the time by our board.”
Financial position
The RFU reported a small net loss of £1.9m for the 2024-25 financial year, a marked improvement on the £42m loss in 2023-24, which included the 2023 World Cup. Total revenue rose to £228m from £175m the previous year, the second-highest amount recorded after 2015-16.