Steve Borthwick v Andy Farrell: England and Ireland bosses clash in heated half-time exchange
Ireland head coach Andy Farrell (left) and England head coach Steve Borthwick (right) at half-time during the Six Nations.
Well, you don’t see this too often. England head coach Steve Borthwick and Ireland boss Andy Farrell were spotted clashing at half-time of the Six Nations match at Twickenham.
Tempers looked to have boiled over as the two level-headed coaches angrily exchanged words en route to the changing rooms after the final whistle of the first half.
It is not clear what started the debate between the ex-Saracens teammates, but the pair did continue to discuss their disagreement as they trotted side-by-side back down the tunnel.
The pair’s disagreement led to fans calling for a fight between the two head coaches.
There seemed to be a bit of a disagreement between Steve Borthwick and Andy Farrell 👀#ITVRugby | #GuinnessM6N pic.twitter.com/YvDJIWSH8x
— ITV Rugby (@ITVRugby) March 9, 2024
Steve Borthwick and Andy Farrell address heated Six Nations half-time spat as tempers boiled over
“If Andy Farrell and Steve Borthwick want to fight, I say give the people what they want and let them at it,” EK Rugby joked on social media platform X, formerly Twitter.
“Now that’s a scrap I’d like to see…..Borthwick v Farrell! Better than AJ against that wooden MMA bloke,” another fan wrote.
Another onlooker added: “Watching Farrell and Borthwick have a tiff is quite entertaining.”
“Watching Farrell and Borthwick have a tiff is quite entertaining,” Freddie Davies wrote.
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England staying in the fight
A bonus-point victory for Ireland would seal back-to-back Six Nations titles, but England did not make it easy for them in the first half despite being written off by most pundits and fans.
Ireland went ahead by a Jack Crowley penalty in the opening two minutes, but England grabbed the game’s first try through Ollie Lawrence.
The centre looked to have doubled up soon later, but his brace was chalked off as referee Nika Amashukeli and his assistants ruled out the score after consulting with the TMO.
Crowley kicked Ireland back into the lead with two more penalties as they led 12-8 at the break.
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