England head coach Steve Borthwick has received a definitive vote of confidence from the Rugby Football Union. Despite a challenging run that has seen the team suffer five defeats in their last seven international matches, the RFU confirmed that Borthwick will lead the squad into next year’s World Cup, irrespective of the outcomes of the upcoming autumn Tests. “We just felt that going into a World Cup is a tough enough challenge anyway. Not be thinking about: ‘Oh, I don’t have a role lined up’ and be thinking about that in the buildup, we wanted our coaching team just to be focused on the World Cup.
RFU chief executive Bill Sweeney stated that there is no foreseeable scenario where Borthwick would be replaced before the tournament. The board’s commitment is underscored by an extension of Borthwick’s contract through to the middle of 2028, a decision taken in September to minimize external distractions. Sweeney noted that the goal was to provide the coaching team with stability as they transition toward the 2028 Six Nations, following a pattern similar to the support provided to the women’s team. According to “We’re committed to Steve, we’ve extended his contract to the middle of 2028,”, Sweeney. “We believe in what he’s doing. And take that same coaching team through into the transition into the Six Nations in 2028, it was to take away any distraction around that.
Acknowledging the team’s difficult performance during this year’s Six Nations, Sweeney described the post-championship review as a thorough, in-depth process. We accept that, but we just want to see continued progress and we’re backing him to get that done, we had a difficult Six Nations this year. “It was a really thorough in-depth review,” added Sweeney. “It happens after every competition. But we have a review after every comp, the mini version happens virtually after every single game. He looked very good today and I’m really looking forward to seeing him go.”.
He maintained that the RFU believes in Borthwick’s strategic direction and is focused on seeing continued progress on the pitch. While the review identified disciplinary issues—highlighted by 14 yellow cards and one red card recorded in 2026—Sweeney expressed confidence that the actions taken following the review have yielded positive adjustments. Thrash Fiji and edge past Argentina to sit third in the northern hemisphere Nations Championship pool but discipline – one of the few areas in need of improvement identified by the review that was made public – remained a problem with Borthwick’s side receiving 14 yellow cards and one red in 2026 to date, england proceeded to lose heavily against the Springboks. Were followed up on, and we’re confident that’s had an effect.”, it did highlight some areas that required action that happened.
This renewed support contrasts with the treatment of former coach Eddie Jones, who was dismissed nearly four years ago following an autumn series that included mixed results against Argentina, Japan, the All Blacks, and South Africa. Following England’s first defeat by Italy in March, the RFU initially offered conditional support, requiring specific performance improvements that were later monitored through subsequent reviews.
On the squad front, England received a significant boost as fly-half Fin Smith returned to training on Wednesday. The 24-year-old, who has missed time due to a calf injury, is being assessed for availability ahead of the opening autumn matches against Australia, Japan, and New Zealand, as well as the final rankings fixture of the Nations Championship. Defence coach Richard Wigglesworth described the staff as cautiously optimistic, noting that further training sessions would confirm Smith’s fitness. The 24-year-old fly-half has been nursing a calf injury but remains on track to give Borthwick a timely fillip. So obviously he’s got to train then, but we’ll know before then the state of availability, we’re training Friday. He deserves to be given the time to give himself the best chance to play.
Smith has become a central figure in Borthwick’s plans, starting the last five Tests. Teammate Ben Earl praised the fly-half’s influence, describing him as a high-caliber player whose form has remained consistent. As part of their preparation, the squad also hosted sprinter Amy Hunt, a five-time European champion and world silver medallist, during their Wednesday session at camp.
