Steve Borthwick claimed on Tuesday he has created a positive, supportive working environment with England which is closely monitored, amid the fallout from Danny Care’s allegations about a toxic culture under Eddie Jones.
The national coach found himself facing questions linked to the conduct of his predecessor after naming an unchanged starting XV for Saturday’s clash with Australia at Twickenham.
Care’s new autobiography, Everything Happens for a Reason, has lifted the lid on how Jones was allegedly able to ‘rule by fear’, labelled him a ‘despot’ and explained that, for some players, time in camp could be like ‘being bullied at school’.
The testimony of the 37-year-old Harlequins scrum-half has sent shockwaves through the game and left the RFU facing uncomfortable questions about the way Jones was apparently allowed to operate with impunity. Borthwick would not address the accusations against his former boss directly – despite working in the set-up with him for several years – but Tom Curry did respond.
Asked about Care’s account of the seven-year regime, the flanker said: ‘He’s released a book and I can only give my opinion. Personally, I was OK. I had a lot of respect for Eddie.
Steve Borthwick (pictured) has insisted there is ‘growth’ in his England set-up as controversy surrounds Eddie Jones
Danny Care (left) has accused Jones (right) of ruling ‘by fear’ and compared his reign to ‘being bullied at school’
Jones led England between 2015 and 2022 but eventually departure to be replaced by Borthwick
‘He brought me in when I was 18. He worked me hard, but I always understood where he was coming from and I thought he tried to get the best out of me.’
Having announced a line-up for England’s second Autumn Nations Series fixture, featuring a recall for Luke Cowan-Dickie and Ollie Sleightholme among an amended cast of replacements, Borthwick was put on the spot about Care’s explosive book excerpt.
He said: ‘I’m not going to talk about somebody else’s experience and what they’ve found. My focus is on the environment and culture that we are building with this team, at this time. That’s where I put my attention.’
The upheaval caused by the sudden defection of Aled Walters and then Felix Jones – who is serving his notice period remotely – from England’s management team led to understandable concerns that there was unrest behind the scenes under Borthwick, as there had been under Eddie Jones. But the current head coach was at pains to portray a healthy culture now.
‘I’m trying to create an environment that is right for this group at this time,’ he said. ‘With respect, I finished with England very early in 2020 and now we’re here in 2024 and my focus and attention is on this team now and the environment I want to create. You can ask players, assistant coaches whatever you want to ask them about the environment now.
‘As we are developing this squad, we are building a process of the players leading elements of the game, the players discussing elements of the game.
‘In this campaign, we’ve had a notable step forward in terms of the players speaking in team meetings, sharing their opinions. It’s sign of the growth of this squad. It has been modelled by some of the senior players.’ So, would players challenge him on decisions and strategies? ‘There are plenty of times where we have ideas and we discuss them,’ added Borthwick.
‘It’s almost on a daily basis that I’ll be chatting with players and bouncing ideas round, then things get moulded, adapted and improved.
‘The players are the ones on the pitch who know the game better than anyone else. The best players are the best coaches and, luckily, we have some great, great minds in this group.’
The testimony of the 37-year-old Harlequins scrum-half has sent shockwaves through game
Borthwick talked up his players in response to questions over the allegations surrounding Jones
England have played one Autumn international so far and will face Australia this weekend
Long before Care’s account caused a storm, there had been a suspicion that Eddie Jones was given licence to run his whole England operation without interference, despite the exodus of staff and a mounting toll of injuries.
But Borthwick was adamant that his RFU employers, led by chief executive Bill Sweeney, and others are able to scrutinise his set-up now.
‘Bill and I speak every week in person or on the phone,’ he said. ‘Bill was in camp last week and he’ll be in camp at the end of this week. Conor (O’Shea, performance director) was in yesterday, spent half a day in camp.
‘There is a lot of interaction. Every Premiership club, if they want to come in, are very welcome. As for myself, I preview each series, I review in series.’
