The RFU has no plans to sack Steve Borthwick as manager despite England’s poor performance, according to reports. England have not won a single game in their last four games and suffered a heartbreaking loss to Australia on Saturday.
They will be hoping to avoid a fifth successive defeat when they face world champions South Africa next weekend. Another disappointing result will put more pressure on Borthwick to turn things around and get England back on their winning ways.
But according to The Telegraph, the 45-year-old will not risk losing his job if he suffers another defeat. Borthwick is said to retain the full support of his RFU bosses, who have no intention of sacking him anytime soon.
England’s senior players are also thought to be supporting Borthwick’s efforts to steady the ship. He is locked in until 2027 after signing a five-year contract at the end of 2022 to replace Eddie Jones.
It comes after Borthwick gave an honest assessment of England’s loss to Australia. Max Jorgenson scored the last-minute try to give the Wallabies the win despite Maro Itoje having just scored what he thought was the winner.
“I’m incredibly disappointed and upset,” the England manager told TNT Sports. “When you think there were that many mistakes, seven handling errors and 20 total turnovers, you’re giving the opponent space and an opportunity to score.
“I don’t think we gave the defense a chance to be in the right positions, give them a chance to turn the ball over and when the game is that loose, it’s very difficult to set up a defense.
“A lot of times attempts were scored too quickly behind turnovers or loose balls. We have to be better than that and not put ourselves in that position.”
Matt Dawson was quick to criticize Borthwick’s tactics after the final whistle at Twickenham, urging England to stop kicking and take a smarter approach when looking at the match.
He told BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra: “You can’t miss an incredible try when Australia were under pressure. England did it!
“How many times have England had a game under their control and then they reverted to these dreadful box kicks? It gets them into trouble every time. For 65 minutes England were fantastic. For the last 15 minutes they were rubbish.”
