Former England head coach Eddie Jones believes sacking Steve Borthwick would be “foolhardy” despite a poor Guinness Six Nations campaign.
England finished fifth after a dramatic 48-46 defeat by France, with the round-one win over Wales the only victory in a tournament that had promised more. The Rugby Football Union is set to review England’s worst Six Nations showing, but Borthwick retains player support and has been backed by RFU chief executive Bill Sweeney.
Jones, who coached England from 2015 until 2022 and worked alongside then-assistant Borthwick (who replaced him ahead of the 2023 World Cup), said now is not the time for another change as England prepare for the Nations Championship, which begins against South Africa on July 3, and the pathway to the 2027 World Cup.
“Steve’s done a good job with England,” Jones said on the Rugby Unity podcast, which he co-hosts with David Pembroke and Ewen McKenzie. “There is no doubt that they had a bad tournament, so he will need to show to the RFU that he knows why he has had a bad tournament, he knows how he is going to turn it around and I am sure he can do that.”
“I think [Borthwick] is the right man to coach England and I think they [RFU] should support him through this. Maybe he has got a few things wrong and they will need to help him rectify those errors, but they would be foolhardy to change. I think they are still struggling to find [their identity]. I think Steve knows how he wants to play and I think there is probably an internal battle going on within the players.”
Former World Cup winner Will Greenwood also expects the RFU to stick with Borthwick, anticipating he will lead England into the Nations Cup this summer and toward the 2027 World Cup in Australia. “Borthwick has beaten all the top sides but the worry for me is just the inability to go back to back. To go toe to toe and win consistently against the best sides, that’s the question mark hanging over his head,” Greenwood told Sky Sports.