Former England head coach Eddie Jones believes sacking Steve Borthwick would be “foolhardy” despite a poor Guinness Six Nations campaign.
England finished fifth in the table following a dramatic 48-46 defeat by France on Saturday night, with the round-one victory over Wales the solitary win from a tournament which had promised so much.
The Rugby Football Union is set to review England’s worst performance in Six Nations history, but head coach Borthwick continues to have the support of his players and has already been backed by RFU chief executive Bill Sweeney.
Australian Jones took on the England role from 2015 until his departure in 2022 and worked alongside then-assistant coach Borthwick, who replaced him ahead of the 2023 World Cup.
Jones feels now is not the time for another change as England regroup for the build-up to the Nations Championship, which begins against South Africa on July 3, and on towards next year’s World Cup.
“Steve’s done a good job with England,” Jones said on the Rugby Unity podcast, which he co-costs 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.”
Jones, now in his second spell as Japan head coach, added: “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.”
Greenwood: England will stick with Borthwick
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Former England international and World Cup winner Will Greenwood expects the RFU to stick with Borthwick for the time being
Former World Cup winner Will Greenwood expects England to stick with Borthwick.
Despite England’s turbulent campaign, Greenwood expects Borthwick to be in charge of the Nations Cup tournament this summer, then lead England into the World Cup scheduled to take place in Australia from October 1 to November 13 2027.
“I would be reasonably confident that the RFU will make a decision that they see enough that he will lead England to the World Cup in 2027,” he told Sky Sports.
“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.”
