RFU backs Steve Borthwick to lead England into next year's World Cup
The Rugby Football Union (RFU), the body that runs English rugby, has said Steve Borthwick will lead England into next year's Rugby World Cup even if the autumn does not go well. Chief executive Bill Sweeney said he could not see a situation in which Borthwick would be replaced, whatever happens in November. The Guardian reported the comments on 4 November.
That is a firm statement from a coach whose record has been bumpy. England have lost five of their last seven matches. Their 2026 Six Nations, the annual championship between England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland, France and Italy, was their worst in 50 years. Italy also beat them for the first time ever in March.
The debate about Borthwick has been loud all year. In March, former England player Austin Healey called for him to be sacked. The RFU would not give him full backing at the time, and Sweeney declined to say whether Borthwick would stay in charge for the summer internationals against South Africa and Fiji. England lost heavily to South Africa, thrashed Fiji and scraped past Argentina, finishing third in their pool of the Nations Championship, a new competition for the sport's leading nations.
The RFU then reviewed the Six Nations campaign and, in May, described the process as a "detailed and robust review" before backing Borthwick and his coaching staff to carry on towards the World Cup. In September, his contract was extended until after the 2028 Six Nations. The aim was to stop the speculation building up to next year's tournament.
The autumn gives England a chance to answer their critics on the pitch. They face Australia, Japan and New Zealand, and then play a ranking match at the finals weekend of the Nations Championship. Fin Smith, the fly-half who sets the team's attacking and kicking plan, came through a key training session on Wednesday.
Discipline is another thread. England have picked up 14 yellow cards this year, along with one red. A yellow card means ten minutes in the sin bin, and a red card means a player is sent off for the rest of the match, leaving his team a man down. Both swing games, and England have had too many of them.
The RFU does have a recent memory to think about. Eddie Jones was sacked after the 2022 autumn series, which included a defeat by Argentina and a loss to South Africa. Sweeney's latest message suggests the union would rather stay with a coach through the bad spells than start again mid-cycle. Whether that patience pays off will be settled over the next few months, starting with Australia.
