France are going to ’embarrass’ England as Wallaby great predicts Steve Borthwick sack after ‘losing the changing room’
England head coach Steve Borthwick and Wallabies great Jeremy Paul.
Ex-Wallabies star Jeremy Paul believes that Steve Borthwick will be sacked, having confidently predicted that England will be ’embarrassed’ by France.
The head coach finds himself under pressure following three successive defeats in the Six Nations Championship, which puts them down in fifth position in the table.
Their most recent loss came against Italy in Rome, which was their first-ever reversal against the Azzurri.
Pressure has therefore increased significantly on Borthwick, despite seeing his side go on a 12-match winning run heading into the Calcutta Cup clash against Scotland in mid-February.
Remarkable decline
It has been a staggering English demise and Paul reckons that only a victory against France will prevent the RFU from wielding the axe.
“That’s the only thing that’s going to save his job because it means then that he has the players. To me the losses suggest that he has lost the changing room – that’s what it suggests to me,” he said on the GBRANZ podcast.
“It’s their attitude on the pitch. We’re not talking about them getting ahead of themselves, we’re talking about them doing the basics.
“It goes back to defence. I said this two weeks ago, where has their defence gone? They were a very aggressive, off-the-line type of side. Again, it’s all attitude in defence.”
The RFU and its chief executive Bill Sweeney came out in support of Borthwick after the defeat to Italy, but that can mean very little in the grand scheme of things.
There is a reason why it’s called the ‘dreaded’ vote of confidence where a statement is sometimes followed by a changing of the guard.
“If they can go to Paris and beat the French, it means that he has the side and he can continue through to the Rugby World Cup,” Paul said.
“[But] I know that the French are going to absolutely smack them. We’re not just talking a little bit, they’re going to embarrass the English I believe. Then they will have to change coach.”
Short-term option
Should the governing body feel the need to sack the head coach, it would result in an untimely upheaval with the Rugby World Cup just next year.
But Paul feels that England have the perfect short-term option should Borthwick depart at the conclusion of the Six Nations.
“Why wouldn’t you look at a John Mitchell, who’s just taken the [Red] Roses to the World Cup? He’s someone that could fit in pretty quickly, a caretaker coach or such,” he said.
“You’ve still got a year, there’s still plenty of time for a coach to come in and to be able to get a side ready for the ’27 Rugby World Cup.”
While results and particularly performances have been unacceptable over the past few games, it would seem harsh to sack someone who before that had guided them to 12 wins in a row.
However, recent events in the southern hemisphere have shown that a good win percentage can mean little if the team is on a downward trajectory.
“I hate to say it, but it’s potentially a little bit similar to Razor’s position [at the All Blacks]. It didn’t seem like it was a fair call to get rid of him, I thought Razor could have continued being coach and it’s the same with Steve Borthwick,” Paul added.
“He could still continue to be the coach, I’m just saying if you look at the results, are you going to the Rugby World Cup to win or are you going there just to get some results?
“I just feel that you’ve got to make a change if he loses to France and loses to France in a bad way.”
