Steve Borthwick: New England coach signals new era
- Published
Steve Borthwick, left, won 57 England caps before retiring for playing in 2014
Sitting beside a new head coach as they faced the media at Twickenham on Monday, Bill Sweeney declared this was the "launch of a new age of England rugby".
Steve Borthwick's appointment, as Rugby Football Union chief executive Sweeney suggests, is about more than just a change of personnel.
With a new head coach, there is a new attitude and approach too.
After years of Eddie Jones framing everything in the context of the 2023 Rugby World Cup, the tournament in France barely got a mention all day.
Instead, there were other messages. Pride. Performance. Winning. Reconnecting a weary rugby public with its national team. Focus on the next game; nothing else matters. Turn the boos to roars.
"I am privileged to be England head coach," Borthwick told the Rugby Union Weekly podcast, shunning his usual tracksuit to make a rare outing in a suit.
"I was the little kid who fell in love with the game watching the England rugby team play on the TV.
"This England team has incredible power, the power to inspire kids and the power to move people."
Borthwick wouldn't look too far ahead; he refused to let the narrative drift even as far as England's second Six Nations match against Italy in mid-February, let alone the World Cup in September.
"I want to maximise every minute that we have. The World Cup is just on the horizon, it is not far away at all," he added.
"But I want to be really clear. That first game of the Six Nations, I want to us to be working for that game.
Eddie Jones has been linked with the United States and Australia after being sacked by the Rugby Football Union
"Our responsibility is to make sure we play and fight and work, so our supporters can see how much our players care, and how much they are hurting about what has happened previously."
The RFU, which hitherto supported Jones and his 'World Cup or bust' policy, seems to have performed something of a 180 itself.
"The World Cup is not the entire focus," stressed Sweeney.
"We have fans who want to see us competitive in the Six Nations as well. A balance is needed."
While Sweeney admitted this was never the masterplan, instead hoping Jones would hand over the reins to his successor along with the Webb Ellis trophy, he was adamant the decision to change head coach was made for the right reasons, at the right time, after five wins in 13 matches in 2022 and a poor autumn campaign.
"The results were not what we expected," he added.
Borthwick appointment is not a knee-jerk reaction - RFU CEO Sweeney
"Eddie is a tournament animal. But you make decisions based on your information. You sit down and analyse it and you make a decision whether it was the right thing to do.
"We believe it was the right thing to do."
But after previously supporting Jones' vision to build a World Cup-winning outfit over a number of years, the RFU's timing means Borthwick will have little time to make his mark.
"The time is what the time is, it is neither short nor long," Borthwick said.
"We think there is plenty of time now for us to continue on our goal for the World Cup," Sweeney added.
The last two weeks have been tough for Borthwick, as the RFU and Leicester negotiated both his contractual exit, and that of his right-hand man Kevin Sinfield.
Straight and honest, Borthwick had been uncomfortable with constantly having to evade questions about his future while on Leicester duty.
"It's been tough leaving that group of players," he added.
"For the last two and a half years, they have come together and grown.
"I have asked them to work hard, and they have worked hard to try and achieve something special."
Borthwick will have to hit the ground running, finalising his coaching team and his Six Nations squad by mid-January, and he warned against any England fans expecting overnight fixes.
'Right now, the England team is behind' - new head coach Steve Borthwick
"We have got a lot of work to do. A lot of people have said we are behind other nations, and we are," he said.
"In 47 days' time when we play Scotland, we won't be perfect, but what everyone needs to see is just how much these players are going to fight for this team, and inspire this crowd so they are so proud of this team."
Never one to bask in the limelight or make wild public pronouncements, Borthwick nonetheless struck an authentic tone throughout his first day in the job, while showing his lighter side as he recalled how one of his sons made it a condition he selected Wales' Tommy Reffell.
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But after seven years of the highs and lows, ups and downs, fun and games, and smoke and mirrors of the Eddie Jones reign, it's clear the Borthwick era will be very different - "calm and focused", according to Sweeney.
"Steve is his own man, he is extremely authentic and full of integrity," he said.
"We just want to encourage him to be himself and I am sure that will be fine.
"We are absolutely confident Steve knows how to get his own message across."
Those that have worked with Borthwick and Sinfield, have no doubt the pair have the attributes to revive the England side.
"Steve will lay a plan out for you, with the right players involved, and it's a case of 'go do this, and we will win the game,'" Leicester's Chris Ashton told Rugby Union Weekly.
"As a player you think: 'Right, I can follow that.'
"Throw in there Kev Sinfield leading the defence and it is a recipe for success."
As Borthwick repeated throughout his first day, the hard work starts now.
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