Steve Borthwick insists he has the backing of the Rugby Football Union’s management to help turn around England’s five-match winless streak.
England beat world champions South Africa 29-20 at Allianz Stadium on Saturday, their third defeat in as many international tournaments in the Autumn Nations Series, following narrow losses to New Zealand and Australia.
For the first time since 2018, England have lost five Tests in a row, including two defeats in New Zealand last summer, and in 2024 they have now lost seven of their last 11 Tests.
But a fired-up Borthwick dismissed suggestions that his position could be under pressure in the long term, despite a slump in results since reaching the World Cup semi-finals a year ago.
“The feeling I get from RFU is one of absolute support and absolute belief that this team is going in the right direction, and that’s from everyone within RFU,” he said.
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Sky Sports News’ James Cole has reacted to England’s defeat to world champions South Africa in the Autumn Nations Series international.
Those thoughts were echoed by his captain Jamie George, who highlighted the players’ disappointment with recent results.
“If you look at the three test matches individually, there are certainly a lot of areas where we can improve and we are disappointed with the results,” he said.
“But today I was really proud of how the team stepped up physically and Test rugby is such a great game and I think we created a lot of chances against a world-class team and two-time world champions. for a reason.
“What we have to do is find adjustments to help close out those games and I have confidence and faith in the players and the staff that we will do whatever it takes to be a better team next week (against Japan) , but also in the Six Nations.”
England to learn from ‘painful experience’
As was the case in defeats to the All Blacks and Wallabies earlier in the autumn, England led at times in their contest with four-time world champions South Africa, but ended up on the wrong side of the game and missed opportunities. close the victory.
“We’ll work through it, we’ll make sure we come out of it a better team,” Borthwick said.
England manager Steve Borthwick is confident he has the support of RFM despite five consecutive defeats.
“I think it’s important to realize that we’ve played test matches against some very good teams,” Borthwick said. “We have to understand how good a team South Africa is. They are two-time world champions, they have consistency. The experience they have in their team means that you have to earn every second of the test match.
“Especially in the last quarter we saw we had a lot of entries into their 22, a lot of chances to score. We’ve only seen those little moments, the small gaps in the greatness of the game, that end up being hugely significant.
“That’s what we’re working on and that’s what we’re working on developing with the players to ensure where we can go with this team over the next few years.
England’s Marcus Smith failed to lead his side to victory against South Africa
“These are painful experiences that we are going through as a team right now, but ultimately this adversity will be good in the long run and we will be a better team for these experiences.
“It’s just very, very difficult right now.”
What’s next?
England’s Autumn Nations series concludes next Sunday when they take on Japan, coached by former boss Eddie Jones, at the Allianz Stadium (kick-off 4.10pm).
Their Six Nations campaign kicks off in Ireland on Saturday, February 1, before three successive home matches against France, Scotland and Italy.
