Hints of ex-All Blacks boss with Steve Borthwick reprieve as reasons for RFU’s huge decision emerge
England head coach Steve Borthwick and RFU CEO Bill Sweeney.
England’s players and coaches played a significant role in head coach Steve Borthwick keeping his job following an abject Six Nations Championship, according to reports.
The 46-year-old was saved from the sack on Tuesday after an RFU review determined that he should remain in his post until at least the 2027 Rugby World Cup.
Borthwick found himself under pressure after finishing fifth in the recent Six Nations. They won just one of their five matches and it included a historic first-ever defeat to Italy.
Despite entering the competition with 11 successive victories, that run of form put him back under pressure, but the governing body have opted not to wield the axe.
Support for Borthwick
According to the Telegraph, the England boss received support from both players and coaches, while the head of performance Phil Morrow was said to be “especially persuasive” in his defence of Borthwick.
In fact, the head honcho’s position now appears to be strengthened in the aftermath of this review with CEO Bill Sweeney backing his man heading into the World Cup next year.
Borthwick already had his support for the upcoming Nations Championship which starts in July, but that has been extended to include the matches leading into the global tournament.
There will also be no alterations in his backroom team with the RFU confident that the coaching group will ultimately get it right.
Particular pressure has come on Richard Wigglesworth, who has moved from attack to defence and oversaw a rearguard which leaked 151 points in the Six Nations, but he has also been backed.
“Four or five weeks cannot be allowed to derail the process. We know the talent of both the players and the coaching team; the worst thing to do would be to overreact,” an RFU source told the Telegraph.
All Blacks comparisons and contrasts
Borthwick’s position is comparable to that of former All Blacks boss Ian Foster, who found himself under pressure but was ultimately saved by the players and those involved in the set-up.
While the England man was not quite as close to getting the boot as Foster, with then-NZ Rugby CEO Mark Robinson effectively set to hand him his p45 before the intervention of a number of All Blacks stars, losing the playing group tends to spell the end.
That was shown by another New Zealand head coach recently with Scott Robertson getting sacked following a disastrous review which revealed a number of problems.
Although NZR chair David Kirk denied that a player revolt led to the departure of Robertson, it was quite clear that certain individuals were not happy within his set-up.
The 51-year-old was duly axed midway through January with Dave Rennie getting the nod to replace him heading into the next World Cup.
