Eddie Jones' 'foolhardy' message to RFU on Steve Borthwick and England
REACTION: Eddie Jones believes it would be “foolhardy” for the Rugby Football Union (RFU) to replace Steve Borthwick as England head coach before next year’s World Cup in Australia.
Borthwick led England into the Six Nations on a run of 11 wins and extended that to 12 in the opening game against Wales.
But they then lost four matches – the first time England had lost four games in a single Six Nations – including a maiden defeat by Italy in any competition, to finish fifth in the table.
Veteran coach Jones took charge of England after their first-round exit on home soil at the 2015 World Cup and was sacked at the end of 2022.
For successive championships, England had won only two of five games, and a 13-27 defeat by South Africa proved to be the Australian’s last match in charge.
Former England captain Borthwick, 46, an assistant coach under Jones with Japan and England, replaced him months out from the 2023 World Cup and led the Red Rose brigade to third place in France.
“Steve’s done a good job with England, they’ve just come off a string of 12 wins,” Jones said on Rugby Unity, the podcast he co-hosts with David Pembroke and former Australia international Ewen McKenzie.
“They’ve had a bad tournament,” added the 66-year-old Jones, now in his second stint as coach of Japan.
“There’s no doubt that they had a bad tournament, so he’ll need to show to the RFU that he knows why he’s had a bad tournament, he knows how he’s going to turn it around, and I’m sure he can do that.”
Jones, coach of his native Australia when they were beaten by England in the 2003 World Cup Final in Sydney, added that any RFU review of the Six Nations had to be conducted by someone who had seen Borthwick at work and understood the selection and personnel issues confronting the coach.
“The last one I did, I knew it was a waste of time,” recalled Jones. “I was gone. I was ‘brown bread’ [‘dead’].”
And with England ending the Six Nations by scoring seven tries in a thrilling 46-48 loss away to eventual champions France last weekend, Jones insisted: “I’ll say it again — I think [Borthwick is] the right man to coach England and I think they should support him through this.
“Maybe he’s got a few things wrong, and they’ll need to help him rectify those errors, but they’d be foolhardy to change.”
