No Eddie Jones contract repeat for Steve Borthwick say RFU

The Rugby Football Union has no immediate plans to extend Steve Borthwick’s contract as head coach beyond the 2027 World Cup despite England’s success this year.

Borthwick has masterminded an 11-Test winning run that includes victories over heavyweights France and New Zealand and culminated in a first autumn clean sweep since 2021.

It completes a remarkable turnaround from 2024 when England lost seven successive matches against tier-one opposition and they enter the Six Nations as genuine title contenders.

However, RFU chief executive Bill Sweeney has revealed negotiations over a new deal will not happen for the “foreseeable future” even though Borthwick’s predecessor Eddie Jones had his reign extended in 2018 at a similar point of the World Cup cycle.

“We haven’t got into any discussions about post-2027. We haven’t had those conversations now and we are not planning to in the foreseeable future, no,” Sweeney said.

“It’s premature. There is no reason for him to think ‘go to 2027 and that’s it’. We just haven’t had those discussions yet.

“We’re delighted with the direction it’s going in. We obviously back this coaching group and are really happy with it.

“You’ve seen that squad depth is building and the style of play he is developing. We are really happy with that.”

Capacity crowds watched Australia, Fiji, New Zealand and Argentina fall at Twickenham this month but the RFU is seeking to add 15 non-rugby events to its schedule each year in order to increase revenue.

Sweeney met with Richmond Council interim chief executive Andrew Travers two weeks ago with the planning application for the £650million stadium redevelopment to be submitted in May.

“I’m confident. We’ve laid out very clearly for them that it’s essential for us if we’re to reinvest in the stadium – and the stadium needs reinvestment to keep pace with other stadiums,” Sweeney said.

“It’s not a grandstanding negotiation tactic. We need those in order to justify the investment into the stadium. They understand that. They want us to stay. And our plan A is to stay.

“We contribute over £90million to the local economy and well over £100millon to the greater London economy.”

In the event the RFU is not given the go ahead to hold additional events such as concerts, alternatives to remaining at Twickenham have been identified, including joint venture agreements with Wembley and Birmingham City.

“You can’t put all your eggs in one basket, so you have to have a plan B and even a plan C and D, which are viable,” Sweeney said.

“Our plan A is to stay here but as you’d expect we have to have a fallback position if things don’t go as we expect them to. I get challenged on that all the time by our board.”

The RFU has reported a small net loss of £1.9million for the 2024-25 financial year – a significant improvement on the £42m loss returned for 2023-24, which included the 2023 World Cup.

The total revenue of £228m is up from £175m in 2023-24 and is second only to the amount generated in 2015-16.