England Rugby: Steve Borthwick’s Priorities for Improvement This Winter

Steve Borthwick previously served under his predecessor Eddie Jones for both Japan and England. He then achieved a Premiership title as head coach of Leicester before taking on the national team’s top coaching role. England’s recent performance statistics show five victories in 12 Test matches, five consecutive losses against Rugby Championship opponents, and a decline in world ranking from fifth to seventh within a year. These figures indicate that England’s performance has fallen short of expectations. Despite reaching the semi-finals of the 2023 Rugby World Cup, the anticipation of achieving stability and a clear identity in 2024 has not materialized. Consequently, with the demanding Six Nations tournament commencing in just over two months with an away fixture against Ireland, head coach Steve Borthwick faces numerous challenges requiring his team’s attention and improvement. Australia’s significant autumn victory marked only their second triumph in their last 12 encounters with England. Throughout a significant portion of their 2023 campaign in France, England’s team emphasized the importance of results. Despite a series of unconvincing performances that saw them progress through the less challenging side of the draw, overcoming Samoa, Japan, and Fiji, the coaching staff highlighted that winning was paramount. This approach was justified in a knockout competition, especially with limited preparation time under a new coach. However, this year, the situation has frequently been reversed, with England often highlighting positive aspects of their performance despite unfavorable match outcomes. While England’s victory against Japan broke a sequence of five consecutive losses, upcoming Six Nations matches against Ireland and France necessitate rapid improvement to prevent this win from being merely a temporary interruption in a broader losing trend. Following the summer tour of New Zealand, Borthwick pledged that England would start winning close matches. To date, however, the team has struggled to convert narrow defeats into wins. Former England fly-half Paul Grayson stated on Rugby Union Weekly, “The next step for this England team is to work out how do you win the Six Nations.” He continued, “How do you get over the hump of playing Ireland away? Coming close against them or this France side is OK, but the next step is you have to beat those teams.” Grayson added, “You don’t have to win a Grand Slam but you have to be in the conversation to win the championship in the last round.” He concluded, “England have not been in that position in recent times and genuine progression is knocking on the door for silverware.” Given that the draw for the 2027 Rugby World Cup is scheduled for early 2026, an improvement in England’s world ranking during 2025 would be advantageous. Their current standing implies they would be drawn against a higher-ranked team in one of the six four-team pools in Australia. Will Jordan’s try for New Zealand exemplified multiple instances during the autumn where England’s defensive edges were penetrated. Captain Jamie George addressed the challenging autumn period with candor. When questioned if defense represented the primary issue requiring resolution before the Six Nations, he responded directly. He stated, “If I’m honest, yeah.” He elaborated, “We’re pretty clear on how we want to be but executing it… I think we’re probably 80% of the time doing it and 20% of the time we’re not. We need to find a solution as to why.” In their autumn fixtures against New Zealand, Australia, and South Africa, England allowed an average of four tries per game. Even Japan, currently not considered among the world’s top teams, managed to score two tries, penetrating England’s seemingly organized defense with surprising ease. Japan concluded the match having gained more ground with possession and having equaled England in line breaks, with six apiece. This year, among 10 teams from the Rugby Championship and Six Nations, only Argentina and Wales have allowed more points than England whenever opponents entered their 22-meter zone. Grayson further commented, “England just get done in defence too easily. Japan didn’t have a lot going for them other than energy and some decent shape.” He continued, “They were underpowered in virtually every element on the field and still conjured up line breaks.” England appears committed to a high-tempo defensive strategy, characterized by line speed and pressuring opponents’ skills. The question arises whether these are merely initial difficulties as the system is implemented, or if it is inherently incompatible with England’s players and their limited time together. Joe El-Abd’s Oyonnax team is aiming for an immediate promotion back to the Top 14 following their relegation last season. Joe El-Abd is responsible for addressing these defensive concerns. El-Abd, aged 44 and a former university housemate of Borthwick, assumed the role of defense coach just over a month ago. However, with the autumn international matches concluded, his attention has shifted. On Friday, he will perform his duties as head coach for the French second-division team Oyonnax in a match against Stade Montois, an arrangement facilitated by a job-sharing agreement with the Rugby Football Union. This unconventional setup stems partly from the Rugby Football Union’s urgent need to replace Felix Jones, who resigned as defense coach in August after only seven months in the position. As Jones is subject to a 12-month notice period, England currently has two defense coaches: one, lacking prior international experience, managing two roles, and the other, with experience of winning consecutive Rugby World Cups, appearing under-utilized as he provides remote input to England’s analysts. On Rugby Union Weekly, former England wing Chris Ashton commented, “Joe El-Abd’s appointment was left field and his team [currently 14th out of 16] is not doing that well in the second division of France.” Ashton added, “He is part time and England’s defence is not looking great.” Grayson suggests that England is partly responsible for this situation, noting that change has been a constant in the coaching structure since Borthwick succeeded Eddie Jones two years ago. He stated, “There has been so much change with England in terms of backroom staff that it is very difficult to stay on message when the message changes all the time.” He questioned, “How can you get consistency?” He further asked, “And do you get any dispensation for the amount of change? Or do you look and say why have those people gone?” He concluded, “Clearly in any business the turnover of that many staff will have an impact on the output of the people doing it.” Marcus Smith has consistently posed a threat when in possession of the ball. Marcus Smith served as England’s primary creative player this autumn. The fly-half acts as the first receiver and the initial option for generating attacking opportunities. This year, only Beauden Barrett of New Zealand and Dylan Riley of Japan have contributed to more tries for top-tier Test nations than Smith. The Harlequins player also presents an impressive running threat. In 2024, only wings Mark Telea (New Zealand), Damian Penaud (France), Malo Tuitama (Japan), and the Scottish duo Duhan van der Merwe and Kyle Rowe have surpassed Smith’s rate of beating 4.5 defenders per 80 minutes. Despite this, England’s overall attack has not achieved fluidity or accuracy under his direction. It remains unclear whether this is attributable to Smith, his teammates, or a combination of both factors and a conflict of playing styles. Ben Youngs suggested on the For the Love of Rugby podcast, external, that England’s attack showed improvement in certain areas with Fin Smith of Northampton playing at fly-half, and speculated whether Marcus Smith might be more effective at full-back. Danny Care, a former England scrum-half and Smith’s Harlequins half-back partner, expressed a differing opinion. He informed Rugby Union Weekly, “The attack will take time.” He added, “The backline have had those four games now which is perfect, so they know what went well and what didn’t.” Care concluded, “I think England have the potential to have one of the best backlines in the world with time and the guys they’ve got.” Marcus Smith has become a significant favorite among the Twickenham spectators, and the suggestion of his replacement caused audible dissatisfaction during the loss to Australia. Therefore, moving him from the fly-half position, let alone benching him, would represent a major decision.