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3 hours ago
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When Steve Borthwick is summoned to Twickenham to explain what will be England’s worst Six Nations campaign should they lose to France on Saturday, to effectively fight for his job, he would be well advised to give the Rugby Football Union’s strategic plan another read.
Released in January, the RFU made clear Borthwick’s aim “is not only to consistently win senior international competitions, but to do so in a way that inspires future generations”. He has failed on both counts but it is the second charge – that England have been thoroughly uninspiring – he must sufficiently answer if he is remain in place for next year’s World Cup.
Borthwick has said he knows why the wheels have fallen off so spectacularly and mentioned discipline, profligacy and injury absences among them. The reality is that he has two major problems to fix if he is to keep his job: image and imagination. The two go hand in hand and Borthwick must address both if he is to avoid the axe.
England have an image problem because there is a strong chance France will kick more than they do on Saturday but it is Borthwick’s side who will be billed as dullards who kick and clap. Therein lies the issue with imagination because, when they do go to the skies and win the ball back, they don’t look as if they know what to do with it. France, on the other hand, mesmerise.
The problem with image goes further. Some of the criticism that Borthwick receives is unfair, it becomes personal, but there is no doubting the majority of England supporters have not warmed to him. They see someone who is an innately conservative coach and someone who too easily applies the straitjacket.
And as England have nosedived over the past four weeks, Borthwick has narrowed the gameplan. He has doubled down on the kicking strategy and, whereas in previous campaigns Borthwick has shown himself able to cast off the shackles, he either would not or could not this time around. Think back to 2024 and how England reversed their fortunes with a thrilling win over Ireland before going down swinging against France in Lyon. There has been no such liberation of late.
Which brings us to Marcus Smith, who will win his 50th cap on Saturday off the bench. Smith was central to those two aforementioned performances, striking the winning drop goal against Ireland before igniting a thrilling comeback against France that ultimately just fell short. Significantly, supporters lapped it up regardless of the result.
In the ensuing two years, Smith’s decline in status has been stark. Supersub hardly applies any more after just six minutes off the bench against Italy. He remains a poster boy of this side, someone who can quicken the pulse of supporters, and it is no coincidence that when Nations Championship tickets went on sale on Wednesday, the two England players used to market them were Smith and Henry Pollock. Both are stuck on the fringes of this side at present, however.
Back in 2023, Eddie Jones suggested it was a “political decision” by Borthwick to start Smith, implying his successor had been influenced by the RFU board. That is unlikely but Borthwick has rarely given the impression he fully trusts Smith. It does not feel a stretch, however, to say that learning to do so may just keep him in a job.
For after Saturday’s defeat, Borthwick made a comparison with the 2018 Six Nations. England lost three of their five Six Nations matches that year before a summer tour against South Africa. After losing the first two Tests Jones was facing the sack until he finally turned to Danny Cipriani in Cape Town and in a monsoon, it was he who came up with the telling moment, teeing up the decisive try to save Jones’s bacon. Borthwick, lest we forget, was assistant coach on that tour.
While on the topic of trust, it is also time for Borthwick to empower Lee Blackett, his highly regarded attack coach. Sources have suggested there are training sessions in which Blackett is afforded as few as five minutes to work on the attack and that goes some way to explaining why England have been so inefficient in opposition 22s all tournament. Ben Spencer, the Bath captain, was this week asked why Blackett’s influence during his time at the Rec was not translating to the Test arena and his answer was less than convincing. “I don’t know. That’s a tough question to answer, I think,” he said. “I’m not sure, but what I do know is last year we had great results playing not too dissimilar to the way we do now.”
Borthwick has effectively been backed until the summer. A dismal thrashing by France may force Sweeney’s hand sooner but assuming he continues, he has fixtures against South Africa, Fiji and Argentina to save his job. For Bill Sweeney knows from experience that after the autumn is too late to act – if Borthwick is entrusted with England’s home Nations Championship fixtures then he must be backed through to the 2027 World Cup. The trouble is, Sweeney sees the Nations Championship as his baby, his shiny new toy, and the prospect of toxicity at Twickenham in November is something he will not countenance. Certainly not with around half a million tickets to sell.
Giving Blackett licence and returning Smith to the side can help change the mood if the latter can inject some colour into a monochrome attack. If that sounds like the sort of political decision that Jones speaks of then so be it – Borthwick must learn that playing politics comes with the territory as England head coach.
