The England head coach, Steve Borthwick, retains the unequivocal support of the Rugby Football Union and has been given a vote of confidence by senior players despite a dismal run of four successive defeats.
The back-rower Ben Earl has admitted the team are “testing the patience” of their supporters after yet another last-gasp defeat – this time by Australia – on Saturday but the Guardian understands that despite England plummeting to seventh in the world rankings, the RFU has no intention of sacking Borthwick, whose contract runs through to the 2027 World Cup.
Next up for England are the back-to-back world champions South Africa – who have returned to the top of the rankings – next Saturday and avoiding a fifth straight loss has been made all the more difficult after Immanuel Feyi-Waboso and Tom Curry were on Sunday night ruled out after picking up injuries against the Wallabies.
England have won just four of their 10 Tests in 2024 – against Italy, Wales, Ireland and Japan. Since Borthwick took charge they have a 50% winning record from 26 matches and of late they have developed a worrying habit of losing close matches at the death.
Eddie Jones was sacked two years ago after a run of five wins in 12 matches but it is understood the RFU views England’s current slump as markedly different to that of 2022 and has “100% support” for Borthwick. Equally, the RFU can ill-afford a hefty compensation package after sacking Jones contributed to increased costs of £5m, according to their most recent accounts, not least because it emerged in September that the union was making more than 40 staff redundant.
Borthwick was forced to overhaul his staff over the summer after the head of strength and conditioning Aled Walters and the defence coach Felix Jones resigned within days of each other. Against the Wallabies, England missed a staggering 36 tackles in a demonstration of how keenly Felix Jones’s absence is felt. As is standard practice, Borthwick will face an RFU review after the Autumn Nations Series concludes with the visit of Eddie Jones’s Japan to Twickenham.
On the eve of this campaign, 5,000 tickets remained unsold for that fixture – a concern given the RFU relies on Twickenham sell-outs, which contribute more than 85% of total revenues.
The England captain Jamie George has urged supporters to keep faith in his side. Eddie Jones’s last match in charge – a 27-13 defeat by South Africa – was greeted by widespread booing, which was significant in his downfall. Recent defeats have been met with disbelief but there was a smattering of boos on Saturday when Borthwick introduced George Ford and Harry Randall from the bench. They soon dissipated when Marcus Smith was kept on the pitch at full-back rather than replaced.
Earl said: “We’re testing fans’ patience, testing our patience, testing your guys’ patience. It doesn’t feel like it’s a lack of effort, it really doesn’t.”
Both George and Earl, however, issued a staunch backing of Borthwick and his coaching staff. “[We have] the utmost belief, we’ve just got to go out there and execute. The players have got to hold their hands up in this situation,” said George. “We were very clear on the gameplan, we didn’t put that out on the field. That’s on us.”
Earl added: “I don’t think there should be any question about this project. I promise you, this team is going to do great things. This is the most enjoyable environment of professional sport I’ve been in. But at the end of the day, there still needs to be results. So it’s a fine balance, isn’t it? But this project – we’re only going to get better.”
On Saturday, England lock horns with the Springboks, who beat Scotland 32-15 on Sunday, for the first time since last year’s World Cup semi-final defeat. “There is always an edge to whenever we play against South Africa, it’s a big rivalry, we’re expecting a very physical Test match and I’m sure they will be too,” added George. “You don’t get over Test matches like that very well. We are able to use various different options to give us motivation going into this week. Off the back of that there will be historical things.”
