England’s 2026 Six Nations campaign was their worst ever. But I don’t see only doom and gloom for Steve Borthwick and his players, despite the immense pressure that has now built up on the coach. The way England played in their defeat by France showed me there can be a very positive future for Borthwick’s team.
A few people say my comments on England are me angling for a job at the RFU. Maybe that could have happened 10 years ago, but I can assure everyone that’s not on my agenda whatsoever and that ship has long sailed!
Like any England fan, I’m very passionate about the national team doing well.
Here’s my nine-point plan for how they can get back to winning ways…
Steve Borthwick has overseen the worst Six Nations campaign in England’s history, winning just one of their five matches and losing to Italy for the first time in any Test
England conceded their most points and tries in a single campaign, rounded off by a 48-46 defeat in Paris
| Team | W | L | PD | BP | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. France | 4 | 1 | 81 | 5 | 21 |
| 2. Ireland | 4 | 1 | 38 | 3 | 19 |
| 3. Scotland | 3 | 2 | -1 | 4 | 16 |
| 4. Italy | 2 | 3 | -38 | 1 | 9 |
| 5. England | 1 | 4 | 2 | 4 | 8 |
| 6. Wales | 1 | 4 | -82 | 2 | 6 |
1. Stick to Paris template in attack
Yes, England lost their fourth straight match in Paris and yes, they conceded 48 points. But the performance was some of the best attacking rugby I’ve seen from them since the 2019 World Cup semi-final win over New Zealand.
To me, it showed that Borthwick and this England team can achieve success, so long as they can play with the pace and intensity that they did at the Stade de France consistently.
2. Get rid of ridiculous review
Bill Sweeney and the RFU have begun the process of reviewing Borthwick and the Six Nations campaign. The process should be binned entirely. It’s totally pointless.
As I have long said, there is no one at the RFU with the adequate rugby knowledge to carry it out. Equally, you cannot ask someone from outside to review because they are not close enough to it. Can you imagine Sir Alex Ferguson allowing a bunch of suits or outsiders to review how he ran Manchester United? It simply wouldn’t happen and Borthwick needs to stand firm.
It is Borthwick who should lead the review of his own team and share his thoughts with Sweeney as chief executive and move on. Knowing him as I do, he is a pragmatic enough coach to know where he went wrong and make the necessary adjustments. If he doesn’t, then changes need to be made.
But that can wait until after the World Cup. Last Saturday showed me Borthwick is good enough to lead England into the next World Cup. Please, no ridiculous review!
Bill Sweeney and the RFU have begun the process of reviewing Borthwick and the Six Nations campaign. The process should be binned entirely. It’s totally pointless
3. Give Borthwick a break
I would advise Borthwick to take a good break. That’s exactly what I did after England were knocked out of the 1999 World Cup. Borthwick has been under a huge amount of pressure and that comes with the job. You need time to decompress.
It can be incredibly tough to be England coach when things aren’t going right. When I took on the role in 1997, we didn’t win any of my first four games, and in the first match of the 1998 Five Nations, we were beaten by France.
Our second game was against Wales and I remember ahead of that match, I was driving my daughter Jess to school. The radio was on in the car and Will Carling, the former captain, was on as a guest. He said if England lost to Wales, I should be sacked. Jess was 12 and in the back seat and my wife Jayne was in the front. I cannot repeat what Jess said about Carling, but it certainly was accurate and made us all laugh!
That was a different time, but it shows how the England job is all-consuming and can affect you and your family. That is as true now as it was then. Borthwick needs an RFU review like a hole in the head. What’s best for him instead is a complete break and time away from rugby with his family.
Christophe Dominici goes over as France inflict a 24-17 defeat on my England team in Paris in 1998
4. Empower the coaches
My view from the outside is that Borthwick needs to empower his assistant coaches a lot more. England’s players lack for nothing. They have all the support they need to make them a successful team. But clearly, it’s not working.
Who is in charge of defence? Is it Richard Wigglesworth, Joe El-Abd or Byron McGuigan? Why isn’t Lee Blackett being given enough of a chance to stamp his mark on the attack? A great skill of an international coach is to delegate.
Borthwick is under a lot of pressure and the temptation in that situation is to take on too much yourself as the head coach to fix everything. The trick is to do the opposite and share the workload. If Borthwick feels he needs to make coaching changes, he should also be fully empowered to do so.
Borthwick should be empowering coaches like Richard Wigglesworth (centre)
5. Forget the World Cup (for now)
Focus only on the next game. I was surprised Borthwick looked ahead to a potential Grand Slam showdown with France before a ball had been kicked. That was a big mistake. If I had anyone in my squad who looked past the next game, then they were gone.
England’s next game is against South Africa in July at the start of the Nations Championship. That will be an incredible challenge but must now be Borthwick’s sole focus. Forget talk of the World Cup.
I do feel this England setup isn’t as focused on the task at hand as it should be and only Borthwick can sort that.
England’s next game is against the Springboks in July – every bit of their focus must be on that game now
6. Ruffle feathers – and get rid of excuses
Borthwick doesn’t need to totally start again with England, but he has to clear his mind and really nail down his selection. He has to have an open mind about the potential to bring in new players.
No 8 Hoskins Sotutu and centre Benhard Janse van Rensburg will soon become eligible to switch nationality to England from New Zealand and South Africa respectively. If Borthwick feels they can add to his squad, he must bring them in immediately.
If that ruffles a few feathers, then so be it. As England coach, you’re not in a popularity contest. I’ve seen some commentary that Borthwick may upset the team environment by bringing in players born abroad. That is a nonsense. If they’re eligible for England and can improve the team, they must play.
I think the England camp has become too comfortable with the introduction of enhanced player contracts from the RFU. It needs shaking up and new players will add an edge.
Look at France. There was an outcry when their star wing Damian Penaud was dropped for the Six Nations, but their team reacted well and won the tournament again. It is unlikely to happen, but if I were Borthwick I would also get Sweeney to ditch the RFU’s foreign rule which stops him picking players based in France. In fact, I would demand it.
The fact Borthwick can’t select someone like Jack Willis just gives him an excuse and as a Test coach, you can’t live with excuses. Ideally, Sweeney would do this off his own back and actually deliver something positive to Borthwick and all England fans.
If Borthwick believes former All Black No 8 Hoskins Sotutu is the answer, he should go for it and back himself
It’s the same for Bristol centre Benhard Janse van Rensburg (left), who will be eligible to switch his allegiance from South Africa next season
7. Hit Pollock with some home truths – or he’ll be a liability
I mentioned this in my post-France column, but England have to learn how to handle international rugby’s pressure moments. Only by mastering ‘TCUP’ – thinking correctly under pressure – can you have Test success. This applies for 80 minutes, not just the last 10.
England clearly aren’t focusing enough on how to do this, as was shown by their ill-discipline (nine cards in five games, tying the tournament record) and the way they lost to France at the death. Intriguingly, the exact same thing happened a day later when England’s Under 20s were beaten by France. It’s down to Borthwick to sort this out. I know he knows how.
For example, I would definitely sit down Henry Pollock for more than a chat. All players have to do their talking on the pitch. Pollock’s baiting of the French crowd would have been fine if he had been on from the start and was delivering a world-class performance. But he hadn’t, and then he threw a silly pass which gave France the ball back, and from it Thomas Ramos’ penalty won them the game.
He is a brilliant player and I would want the real Pollock in the team, but not the current one who is fast becoming a liability. That has to change and quickly.
Henry Pollock’s baiting of the French crowd would have been fine if he had been on from the start and was delivering a world-class performance…
…but he hadn’t, and then he threw a silly pass which gave France the ball back, and from it Thomas Ramos’ penalty won them the game
8. Fin, meet Jonny
England have to find a world-class goalkicker. Last weekend they did not have one and France did. End of story. It’s one of the basics of the game but England aren’t good enough at it yet and they can’t win a World Cup without a top marksman.
When I was England coach, I hired the best kicking coach in the world in Dave Alred full-time and he got to work with one of the best with the boot the game has ever seen in Jonny Wilkinson. Paul Grayson, who was back-up to Wilkinson, was just as good off the tee.
Jonny works in camp with England today on a part-time basis. Could further expertise be added in this area? It’s harsh to single out Fin Smith, but he missed three kicks at goal in Paris which were costly.
I brought in Dave Alred (left) to work with Jonny Wilkinson (right) full-time. It paid off
9. Get physical!
This is perhaps the most important point. Rugby is an emotional and physical game. Against Scotland and Ireland, England were blown away in this area and the same could be said for Italy, too.
England were too focused on a game plan. But as Mike Tyson put it: ‘Everyone has a plan until you get punched in the mouth.’ In rugby you can have the best plan in the world, but unless you turn up emotionally, you’re going to lose.
Winning that emotional physical contest is easier when your game plan is also ambitious and aggressive. England have learned this lesson the hard way.
