Borthwick breaks his silence
England won on the pitch at Twickenham, then Steve Borthwick had to deal with what happened off it. After the 45-22 victory over Australia in the Nations Championship, the head coach addressed for the first time a newspaper report published on Friday that described a fractured relationship with his players.
The Times reported that some squad members lost faith in Borthwick during the summer, a campaign that included a 45-21 defeat to world champions South Africa and a narrow win over Argentina. It alleged that players objected to how he treated them, that he had a training-ground bust-up with Ellis Genge, and that they wanted RFU chief executive Bill Sweeney to hear their complaints. Sweeney backed the coach unequivocally earlier this week.
Borthwick said the picture did not match what he sees every day: “It’s not an accurate reflection.” He added that several former England coaches had been in touch to offer support, with the same message each time. Focus on the rugby.
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Itoje: “That’s not the man I recognise”
Captain Maro Itoje sat beside him at the press conference and went further. He has worked with Borthwick since 2016, bar the years the coach spent at Leicester, and said the players have full support in him. Itoje pointed to the Lions players from the 2017 tour of New Zealand, Irish and Welsh among them, who would describe Borthwick’s influence very differently.
He also turned some of the blame back on the squad. In his view, too much criticism lands on the coach when the players are the ones who have to perform, and there have been moments when they did not. On Friday, hooker Jamie George had told Sky Sports the players were hurt by the report and called its timing shocking.
Japan next at Twickenham
The win over Australia, in which Henry Pollock starred off the bench on the wing, eased some pressure. England host Japan on Saturday, November 14, with a 4.40pm kick-off, and a second comfortable result would do more to quiet the debate than any press conference.
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