Steve Borthwick: Contract bump falls short of vote of confidence

"Horrendous" is not a word anyone wants to hear in their appraisal.

It was, however, the word chosen by Conor O'Shea, the man responsible for overseeing England's international success, to describe the men's team's 2026 Six Nations campaign.

And many fans will find it entirely apt.

England won only one match, their worst return since the tournament's expansion a quarter of a century ago. They lacked cohesion, discipline and tactical variety. It prompted profound, widespread questions about the future of head coach Steve Borthwick.

But, O'Shea revealed to Rugby Union Weekly, it has also preceded a contract extension for Borthwick.

Borthwick's terms now extend beyond the conclusion of the 2027 Rugby World Cup in Australia to the end of the Six Nations the following year.

The contrast of O'Shea damning England's performances in one breath, while committing more time and money to the man in charge of them will be curious to many.

But there is logic to it.

"You don't want the coaches looking for a job going into tournament," O'Shea explained.

"If they have no certainty, that is the worst case.

"So we'll give that certainty to the group, but then that will give us time to be able to look properly when it comes to the World Cup."

While New Zealand's swift renaissance under new coach Dave Rennie might give pause for thought, only the most disastrous dip in form would shake England determination to stick with Borthwick for that tournament in a year's time.

The extra six months added to Borthwick's deal beyond it is no fresh or significant vote of confidence though.

Nothing like the five-year extension that Ireland locked Andy Farrell into in June.

The RFU has instead just expanded a holding pattern.

It hopes to dampen the speculation that would surround Borthwick if the end of his contract was tied to that of England's World Cup campaign. It has also bought some time for a decision after the tournament.

It was a tactic that worked with the Red Roses.

As they closed in on their own World Cup title in 2025, the possibility that either a shock defeat or the satisfaction of lifting the trophy would prompt coach John Mitchell to walk away was tempered by the fact his contract had been similarly extended.

In the wake of victory, the RFU was able to take its time and tie him down to another four years.

On this point, O'Shea interestingly revisited another home World Cup.

In 2015, England were humiliatingly knocked out of the pool stages of their own tournament.

But, amid the hand-wringing and reviews, O'Shea believes the RFU was bounced too quickly into jettisoning a coaching group, which was led by Stuart Lancaster and also contained Farrell, Graham Rowntree and Mike Catt.

Their exit paved the way for Eddie Jones and Borthwick, fresh from shocking South Africa with Japan at the same World Cup, to come in.

"Nobody had the gumption to say they are the right people," O'Shea recalls of the Lancaster-led group.

He contrasted the RFU's decision at the time with New Zealand's faith in a coaching ticket that suffered a shock exit from the 2007 Rugby World Cup, but went on to lift the next two titles.

Click here to read article