Steve Borthwick is finished – and England’s Six Nations horror show has RFU scrambling | Rugby | Sport

England’s latest Six Nations humiliation was like watching a car crash in slow motion: you knew what was coming, but nobody was powerful enough to stop it. The good news is, by this time next week, the Six Nations will be over, and with a bit of luck, so will Steve Borthwick’s reign as England coach.

There is no excuse for what England have served up over the last five weeks or so of international rugby. Defeat against title favourites France in Paris next weekend would see them become just the third England team in the history of the Five or Six Nations to lose four games in the same tournament.

Just over a year out from a World Cup campaign, that’s where English rugby is at. England should’ve been going into the final match against France with the championship on the line; instead, their task is to avoid becoming the worst England team in half a century.

The irony is, of course, there is no shame in losing to Italy. They’re an ever-improving side and deserve all of the praise they get. The issue, once again, was how it came about. England can’t help itself at times, as they contrive to find new ways of being their own worst enemy.

England led by eight points with fewer than 30 minutes to play, and still lost. And to make things even worse, Italy also had a player in the sin-bin. It’s a funny old game, but England’s 2026 Six Nations campaign has been a comedy of errors.

Let’s get one thing abundantly clear, England aren’t winning the World Cup next summer with Borthwick in charge. They aren’t getting close to the final, or even the semi-finals, for that matter. If the tournament were played tomorrow, they’d be lucky to get out of the pool stage.

The alarm bells should be ringing, and the RFU can’t afford to twiddle their thumbs while waiting for a miracle to happen. Action needs to be taken, and it doesn’t matter how much Borthwick claims he’s the right man to lead England into the World Cup; it’s a matter of when, not if, his premiership will come to an end.

But part of the problem for the RFU is, they wouldn’t have seen this coming. England had been trending in the right direction in the build-up to the Six Nations, and therefore won’t have had a contingency plan in place, leaving those in charge scrambling to react.

Their communications following the Italy defeat have suggested just that, with Bill Sweeney, chief executive of the RFU, saying in a statement: “After a 12-match winning run, these past three results have been hugely disappointing, and we feel that just as much as everyone else.”

“Steve and his coaching team are working tirelessly to make improvements, and we remain fully committed to supporting them and the players as they face France this weekend and then look ahead to the Nations Championship.

“Part of that support is being open about what hasn’t gone right during this Six Nations and making sure everyone has a clear sense of how we move through those challenges together. That’s something we’ll be talking through and working on in the days and weeks ahead.

“We will work together to understand and rectify why we have been unable to meet the expectations and anticipation going into these games. England fans rightly expect a team that learns and grows through adversity, and we’re confident this group will do everything they can to deliver that.”