Steve Borthwick has received backing from England’s 2003 Rugby World Cup-winning head coach Sir Clive Woodward, who insists that he should take them into the 2027 global tournament.
The current boss finds himself under severe pressure following a dreadful Six Nations campaign which saw them suffer four successive defeats to finish in fifth position.
That came after 12 victories in a row, which left many thinking they were in the hunt for a Grand Slam.
Ex-England players want Borthwick gone
It went badly wrong, however, and has led to some pundits calling for his head, with former England fly-halves Andy Goode and Stuart Barnes particularly scathing.
But Woodward, who is not afraid of voicing his opinion, is not one of them, though, and believes that Borthwick should remain in the post following the performance in the Six Nations finale.
“Last Saturday showed me Borthwick is good enough to lead England into the next World Cup.” he wrote in his Daily Mail column.
While England succumbed to an agonising defeat, the 48-46 loss suggested that the squad still believe in the head coach.
However, the criticism has been impossible to ignore and Woodward has told Borthwick to take a “good break” before focusing on the Nations Championship.
“That’s exactly what I did after England were knocked out of the 1999 World Cup,” he wrote. “Borthwick has been under a huge amount of pressure and that comes with the job. You need time to decompress.
“It can be incredibly tough to be England coach when things aren’t going right. When I took on the role in 1997, we didn’t win any of my first four games, and in the first match of the 1998 Five Nations, we were beaten by France.
“Our second game was against Wales and I remember ahead of that match, I was driving my daughter Jess to school. The radio was on in the car and Will Carling, the former captain, was on as a guest.
“He said if England lost to Wales, I should be sacked. Jess was 12 and in the back seat and my wife Jayne was in the front. I cannot repeat what Jess said about Carling, but it certainly was accurate and made us all laugh!
“That was a different time, but it shows how the England job is all-consuming and can affect you and your family. That is as true now as it was then.
“Borthwick needs an RFU review like a hole in the head. What’s best for him instead is a complete break and time away from rugby with his family.”
Borthwick’s crucial error
Despite receiving Woodward’s public backing, Borthwick was not absolved of criticism after the head coach talked his team up ahead of the Six Nations.
“Focus only on the next game. I was surprised Borthwick looked ahead to a potential Grand Slam game with France before a ball had been kicked. That was a big mistake. If I had anyone in my squad who looked past the next game, then they were gone,” he wrote.
“I do feel this England setup isn’t as focused on the task at hand as it should be and only Borthwick can sort that.”
Woodward also reckons that Borthwick could look at his backroom team. During his three years in charge, there have already been plenty of changes in the coaching staff and that has potentially led to confusion.
“My view from the outside is that Borthwick needs to empower his assistant coaches a lot more. England’s players lack for nothing. They have all the support they need to make them a successful team. But clearly, it’s not working,” he added.
“Who is in charge of defence? Is it Richard Wigglesworth, Joe El-Abd or Byron McGuigan? Why isn’t Lee Blackett being given enough of a chance to stamp his mark on the attack? A great skill of an international coach is to delegate.
“Borthwick is under a lot of pressure and the temptation in that situation is to take on too much yourself as the head coach to fix everything. The trick is to do the opposite and share the workload. If Borthwick feels he needs to make coaching changes, he should also be fully empowered to do so.”