RFU gives backing to Steve Borthwick after review of England’s worst-ever Six Nations campaign

England are due to return to action in July as they embark on their inaugural Nations Championship campaign. Borthwick takes his side to Johannesburg to face South Africa, before facing Fiji at the Hill Dickinson Stadium and Argentina in Santiago del Estero.

Bill Sweeney (right) has given his backing to England head coach Steve Borthwick (Getty)

While Sweeney had appeared to give Borthwick those fixtures to find an improvement in a statement released following the Italy loss, an encouraging performance, albeit in defeat, against France in the final round of the Six Nations and subsequent review appears to have given the chief executive renewed confidence that the former lock remains the man to lead England forward.

“This has been a thorough and honest review, and it is clear that improvement will come from addressing several areas rather than chasing one simple answer,” Sweeney said.

“We’ve all seen what this England side is capable of - most recently in the performance against France, and during the strong winning run before that.

"That doesn’t disappear overnight. The challenge now is delivering that level consistently, and we are confident this group can do that, supported by the insight and feedback this review has surfaced. This is a young England team that is still growing and developing, and we understand progress in international sport is rarely linear.

“Steve has engaged in this process with full openness and has clear plans in place to address these findings. We are all behind him and his coaching team going into the Nations Championship and the series of matches leading into Rugby World Cup 2027.”