The RFU has confirmed the appointment of Steve Borthwick as Eddie Jones’ successor.
Borthwick, 43, was the Australian’s forwards coach between 2015 and 2019, before he took on the head coach role at Leicester.
Joining Tigers when they had just registered a second-bottom finish, he guided them into the top six, before taking them all the way to the Premiership title in 2021/22.
Borthwick was hotly-tipped to succeed Jones, but this was widely expected to take place after the 2023 World Cup, when Jones’ contract was as initially due to expire.
But after Jones’ removal following a miserable 2022 for the national team Borthwick has been handed the top job, joining on a five year contract with defence coach Kevin Sinfield.
“To be appointed to this role fills me with incredible pride, and I’m honoured to take on this job.” Borthwick said.
“But I know that pride will count for nothing if we don’t deliver. I want to shape a team that wins, that this nation gets behind, and inspires our supporters and lots of young boys and girls to fall in love with rugby as I did.
“It’s 47 days till we play Scotland here at the start of the Six Nations, first and foremost we’ve got to be brilliant at the basics come that next game.”
As a player Borthwick captained England between 2008 and 2010, being appointed shortly after he confirmed he was leaving Bath after a decade to join Saracens.
Whilst at Bath he was a runner-up in the 2003/04 Premiership – a season in which he was nominated for the league’s player of the year award – the 2004/05 Powergen Cup and twice in the European Challenge Cup, before winning silverware in his final game for as the club finally clinched the Challenge Cup trophy.
At Saracens he was runner-up in the 2013/14 Heineken Cup and Premiership (having again been a runner-up in that competition as captain in 2009/10), but was victorious as skipper in the 2010/11 Premiership.
His time as England captain was less successful, with the team going through a turbulent transition as the final of its 2003 World Cup winners were hanging up their boots.
But Borthwick was determined to use his experiences from a decorated career to become a world class coach, and after training with the support of Saracens, joined Jones at Japan as their forwards coach in the run-up to the 2015 World Cup.
Helping them achieve enough parity with the South African forward pack to deliver their famous 34-32 at that tournament, he was soon appointed to join Jones at England after the RFU removed Stuart Lancaster and his coaching team from their positions.
In charge of the pack for two Six Nations titles – including a Grand Slam – and a trip to the 2019 World Cup Final, Borthwick then took his first top job at Leicester and oversaw an immediate transformation in form.
Starting the role in July 2020, he saw them through to the end of the 2019/20 season that had been truncated by Covid and finished with them recording a second consectutive second-bottom finish, before delivering a sixth placed finish with an equal number of wins and defeats in his first full campaign.
He then took the Tigers to the 2021/22 Premiership title after topping the table and navigating the play-offs, with the RFU chief Bill Sweeney revealing they had first made contact with Leicester about appointing Borthwick in August.
Sweeney said: “We are delighted to be welcoming Steve back to the RFU. He has been part of the England team for over 15 years and he is our first-choice successor to Eddie.
“Steve and Kevin’s insight and first-hand knowledge of the players will be a great asset and everyone at the RFU is right behind them with our full support.”
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