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What Tony Johnson is hearing about the vacant All Blacks assistant role
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What's been said about Steve Borthwick's England future behind closed doors
By PA
England head coach Steve Borthwick has the backing of the Rugby Football Union in response to Autumn Nations Series losses to New Zealand and Australia.
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The Wallabies’ 42-37 victory at Allianz Stadium on Saturday inflicted a fourth successive defeat on England and their fifth in six games, albeit three of them were to the All Blacks.
They have lost half of their 26 matches under Borthwick, whose 50 per cent win ratio since replacing Eddie Jones at the end of 2022 means only Andy Robinson has a lower success rate in the professional era.
However, the PA news agency understands the 45-year-old has the full support of the RFU, which sees the current campaign as very different to the 2022 autumn that resulted in Jones being sacked.
Jones’ seven years in charge were brought to an end after his side had lost to Argentina, drawn with New Zealand and been routed by South Africa.
A disappointing series continued a trend of ongoing decline under the Australian, whose record in 2022 was England’s worst since 2008, comprising of six defeats, a draw and five wins.
He also presided over three Six Nations that produced three losses, resulting in two fifth-placed finishes.
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The RFU believes that England are on a different trajectory under Borthwick, with the setbacks against New Zealand and Australia both narrow defeats that could have gone either way.
The way this month’s results have unfolded continues the theme evident over the last 12 months of the team proving unable to convert winning positions against top-tier opposition.
South Africa, France, New Zealand on three occasions and now Australia have all edged tight encounters that went down to the final whistle.
The Springboks are the next visitors to Twickenham, with their arrival on Saturday followed by Japan seven days later.
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