Under-pressure Borthwick faces decisive England summer

“Were the results what we wanted?” Steve Borthwick asked. It was hypothetical, otherwise you would have been concerned. “Absolutely not. But you would also accept that I was not getting too far ahead of myself when the results were a lot of wins in a row.”

Borthwick has a point. When England finished 2025 having won 11 Tests in a row with a victory over Argentina, there were few fireworks.

There is, however, a fundamental difference between not getting carried away with a double-digit winning streak, and providing limited answers when you are coming off your worst-ever Six Nations: one win, four losses. A few crumbs, maybe, but no thorough explanation offered publicly about what England will change. “We have never … no country ever does that,” Borthwick said. “We grab the lessons and we move forward.”

England’s coaching staff remains unchanged. Their performance in the mad-cap 48-46 defeat by France will be doing a lot of heavy lifting in the run-up to England’s July fixtures, with Borthwick stressing that was how this side want to play. Even though they lost, and conceded almost a half-century of points.

Back to those crumbs. Borthwick, as he will have no doubt stressed in the post-Six Nations review, highlighted that “half of the opposition tries in the Six Nations were scored when we had a man off the pitch”. England picked up at least one yellow in every match and nine overall. Pair that ill-discipline with a conversion rate in the opposition 22 that was “considerably down” on the previous year and England’s problems are clear.

Of greater concern was the way Borthwick discussed how England went into their shell during that disastrous three-game block against Scotland, Ireland and Italy, with the latter resulting in England’s first-ever defeat by the Azzurri.

“We worked really hard for the shirt not to feel so heavy on them, for them to go out and bring their talents, and you saw that through the try-scoring rate of 2025. And for some reason in the middle of this tournament, I think we went within ourselves a little bit.”

Unanswered there is whether the weight of the shirt can be linked to the weight of expectation. This, we assumed, was the year England would end their Six Nations title drought, possibly with a Grand Slam. No projection could have been wider of the mark.

There are certainly no expectations on England heading into this summer, a travel challenge on three continents in three weeks which begins with the toughest fixture against world champions South Africa at Ellis Park.

One player who will not participate in that fixture is Bristol’s Benhard Janse van Rensburg, called up by England for the first time ahead of qualifying on residency on July 8 this summer. Janse van Rensburg was an unheralded recruit by London Irish five years ago but has established himself as one of the Prem’s best centres, with Borthwick extolling his qualities.

“Every time I analysed them I saw this player who had this carry threat, then it was how much ground he covered in defence, what he did around the defensive breakdown, the amount of jackals he would win, then his distribution, which I think has got even better,” Borthwick said, before adding that everyone at Bristol raves about “what an incredible character he is”.

It has been a contentious call-up, with Janse van Rensburg in the squad ahead of Bath’s Ollie Lawrence and Max Ojomoh. Not that Borthwick has paid any attention, based on his response to being asked about any criticism.

“I pick the players I want to pick, that I think are the right players for us. You’ve got to remember when you’re saying things like that, that I don’t read things. I consult with my coaches and make my decision. I think he’s an outstanding player and an outstanding character.”

There are a few sub-plots before England dig into those summer Tests. How much will Maro Itoje play, given that there is an “ongoing conversation” between Itoje, Borthwick and the head of performance, Phil Morrow, over whether Itoje should take some time off this summer after a testing season on and off the field following the loss of his mother.

Centre, wing and scrum-half all feel like positions where selection is wide open, with No 9 Ben Spencer possibly another candidate for a summer off.

And what about Borthwick’s future? The suggestion is that he will have until the World Cup in Australia. But what if this summer is an unmitigated disaster, with England losing in South Africa and Argentina as well as against Fiji at Everton’s stadium?

“Having expectation on you, coaching against the best teams, being in the biggest tournaments – that is what is so brilliant about this job. Not many get that opportunity. That’s what enthuses me, what excites me.” Right now, nothing seems to be sticking to Borthwick. That may change by August. Or England will be back on track.

Photograph by Dan Mullan/The RFU via Getty Images