Borthwick: The most expensive mistake in rugby history
Appointing Steve Borthwick, England’s coach, will become the most expensive mistake in rugby history because he isn’t up to the job and is out of his depth.
The decision to sack Eddie Jones under a year out from the World Cup was a risky strategy, but ultimately, it was correct. Something was needed to try and halt the downward slide.
Jones was just marking time after it was made clear that he would leave when his contract ended and was running out of ideas on how to turn things around with his abrasive management style.
Paying him off cost them between £700,000 and £1 million. Not putting him on gardening leave and leaving him free to walk into another job was a master stroke of mismanagement.
The RFU paid Leicester Tigers, who had them over a barrel, an estimated £1million for Borthwick, who, as a loyal lieutenant of Jones, and his right-hand man Kevin Sinfield.
Borthwick was nailed on for the job long before Freddie Burns’ dramatic drop goal against Saracens ended the Tigers’ nine-year wait for the Premiership trophy in June 2022.
The RFU gave him a five-year contract worth an eye-watering £700,000 a season now. Any savvy negotiator would have a break clause to limit potential damage.
So admitting it was the wrong appointment will be another expensive mistake in a country that has seen three Premiership teams go to the wall in under a year.
But they can’t afford not to do anything about it. Last week, Borthwick talked of ‘progress’, but it was a comment that was nothing short of laughable and is one of the silliest quotes of the year.
England’s World Cup preparation is a shambles. They have lost five of their last six test matches, conceding 23 tries and scoring just six themselves.
Forget the misguided PR guff – that isn’t progress. It’s a rudderless ship that can do nothing to stop itself from crashing onto the rocks.
And they are playing as someone so eloquently put it on X last night “with the intensity of a Borthwick interview”. A line so good it deserves to be stolen.
He has had eight months to get things moving in the right direction, and like with Jones. No expense is spared in terms of resources and coaches despite their pleading poverty.
The first World Cup preparation camp was in June, so what has everyone been doing this summer? There is no evidence that they have been working on anything meaningful.
In many ways, it perfectly mirrors England’s 2007 World Cup campaign when the players didn’t know the game plan and didn’t know what was being asked of them.
And it needed the players after their 36-0 drubbing against South Africa to sort themselves out and get their campaign back on track, which ultimately led to a World Cup Final defeat to the
That was a squad with leaders like Lawrence Dallaglio, Lewis Moody, Phil Vickery and Simon Shaw, to name a few, who could coerce Colonel Sanders into making them a Big Mac.
But I get the feeling this squad don’t have the same minerals as the 2007 lot to sort it out for themselves, and clearly, we have seen nothing from the coaching staff to say that they can.
Borthwick lacks the charisma and gave me the impression in his stumbling post-match interview after yesterday’s defeat over Fiji he is a rabbit caught in the headlights of a car about to squash it.
Let’s not take anything away from Fiji, who saw their opponents were on the ropes and could deliver the knockout blow with clinical precision. They fully deserved their historic win.
And maybe it will focus minds worldwide that the Island Nations fully deserve yearly home and away fixtures against the so-called big guns, but that’s a whole different argument.
England kick off their World Cup campaign in two weeks against Argentina in Marseille’s Stade Velodrome, and, make no mistake, a swift exit from the group stages is very much on the cards.
England’s players and coaches enjoy the five-star luxury that their leafy Surrey training base need what is commonly known as a short sharp shock.
A sporting version of Gilbert and Sullivan’s opera The Mikado, where the Emperor of Japan decided Titipu was behind on its quota of executions and that heads must roll.
Three government officials, Pooh-Bah, Ko-Ko and Posh-Tush, were sent in to sort out the mess, and the best man in rugby to do that would be one Steven Diamond, rugby’s very own Red Adair.
If you want quick results over a short space of time, there is nobody better in the game to get them, but it would be a very radical approach to find a solution to the problem.
Can England afford not to roll the dice? A decent World Cup campaign would be just the shot in the arm that rugby in this country badly needs during this time of crisis.
Borthwick’s buzzword this summer has been confident. Confident to be competitive. Confident to cope with the suspension of skipper Owen Farrell.
Confident in Billy Vunipola’s fitness and confident in the ability of everybody around the England team and that England will progress.
But let me share something with you, Steve, my old China. Most England fans aren’t confident in your confidence and would love to see the back of you ASAP.
I am not knocking Borthwick and England for the sake of it. I am desperate for them to do well. Look at the feel-good factor that surrounded football’s Lionesses recently.
It brought people together and new fans into the sport. Success at any World Cup shown on terrestrial television does that, but I just can’t see it happening.
Just as I can’t see anyone saying enough is enough, the Borthwick experiment has failed. Let’s pick up the phone to Diamond as a short-term fix while we find a long-term solution.
And what is the long-term solution? Someone who has been criminally overlooked at least twice before Shaun Edwards as head coach with someone such as Rob Baxter in a director of rugby role.
The above article is the opinion of the writer and not that of World Rugby.
Comments on RugbyPass
“Cortez Ratima is light years ahead of anyone on current form, while TJ Perenara has also skyrocketed into contention following the unfortunate injury to the talented Cam Roigard.” At last some sanity. Hitherto so many pundits have been wittering on about Finlay Christie to the point one wondered if they were observing a FC in a parallel universe where the FC they saw wasnt just the mediocre Shayne Philpott project of Fosters hapless AB reign in the real world. Ratima, Perenara and Fakatava are the ONLY logical 9s for Razor now Roigard is crocked.
2 Go to commentsThis game was just as painful as the Hurricanes game. It was real fork-in-the-eye stuff.
2 Go to commentsNow if they could just fire the Crusaders ground PA guy who likes to play his dance music and just loves the sound of his own voice the entire game, even when play is going on. And I thought their brass band thing of a few years ago was bad.
5 Go to commentsUnfortunately when you lose by far the two form players this season in Roigard and Aumua, you're left replacing two game changing Tanks with a couple of pea-shooters. Which is also about the speed of TJs pass.
2 Go to commentsBit rich coming from the guy with zero loyalty to anyone or any team, including happily taking a players place in a league world cup squad because well, SBW wanted to play in it and thus an already named player got told he was no longer going. And airing stuff like this, which may or may not be true, doesn't exactly say you're a stand up guy either SBW. Just looking to keep his name in lights as usual.
37 Go to commentsTamati Tua. …the Taniwha NPC midfielder. Ollie Sapsford, Hawkes Bay NPC midfielder…doing well
2 Go to commentsFiji deserve to be in the rugby championship, fans love seeing the Fijian national team play, the Fijian Drua is a wonderful idea but the players can still be stolen to play for NZ and AUS…
1 Go to commentsThe first concern for this afternoon are wheather forecast…
1 Go to commentsWhy cant I watch Rugby games please?
1 Go to commentsBeautiful shot from Finau, end of story. Gutted for Shaun Stevenson though.
4 Go to commentsThe Chiefs definitely didn’t win ugly. They had the superior scrum, a dominant lineout, and their defence was excellent once the Waratahs scored their two tries (thanks to some lucky refereeing calls mind you). They put pressure on the Waratahs lineout throughout the game, and the mind boggles as to why the referee did not award a yellow card or a penalty try against the Waratahs for repeated scrum infringements on their own try line before Narawa’s first try. And the Chiefs were slick with their passing and running angles on attack. It was a dominant performance all round, even with many questionable refereeing decisions.
1 Go to commentsWasnt late. Ref 2 assistants andTMO all saw it so who are you to say it was?
4 Go to commentsAre the Brumbies playing the Blues twice in a row?
4 Go to commentsBig difference from the Saders. Forwards really muscled up and laid a solid platform. Scooter brought some steel and I liked the loosie combination. Newell has been rather disappointing this season but stepped up big time - happy also to see Franks dot down. He should do that more often! Reihana had a good game and there seems to be more flair and invention with him in the saddle. McNicoll plays well from the back and is reliable plus inventive when he joins the line. Keep it up chaps!
5 Go to comments🤦♂️🤣 who cares who’s the best . All I know is the All Blacks have the star coach but have few star players now …
33 Go to commentsJe suis sûr que Farrell est impatient de jouer avec Lopez et Machenaud et d’être entraîné par Collazo… 🤭
1 Go to commentsAn on field red (aka a full red) in SRP must surely carry a bigger suspension than a red card given by the bunker as that carries a 20 minute team punishment. Had Damon Murphy abdicated his responsibility as a ref and issued both Drua players a yellow, which would have been upgraded to a 20 minute red by the bunker, that would have killed Australia and New Zealand’s push for the 20 minute red to be trialled globally from July this year.
11 Go to commentsEver so often you all post a Danny Care story that isn’t the announcement that he has finally re-signed for one more, victory tour season at Quins and I’m just like, “well you fooled me again!” My absolute favorite player ever, we need to make his final year at the Stoop (and Twickers) official already. I know he supposedly snubbed France but I won’t feel better until he signs.
1 Go to commentslate hit what late hit it wasn’t at all late and can clearly see he was committed before the tackle
4 Go to commentsChristian Lio -Willies 2 try perfomance was a standout. As was captain Scott Barrett. Up front was where the boys won it.They are a great team and players. Fantastic Crusaders , you can keep going.
5 Go to comments