France Secure Title After Thrilling Victory Over England
A review into England's Six Nations performance is set to commence in the coming days as coach Steve Borthwick and Rugby Football Union (RFU) officials investigate the team's historically poor campaign.
England secured only one win in their five matches—a commanding 48-7 victory against the Wooden Spoon 'winners' Wales in the opening round—ultimately finishing fifth in the table.
This solitary victory marks England's worst return from a Six Nations campaign since Italy joined the tournament in 2000.
A significantly improved England side came within a final play of defeating eventual champions France in Paris on Saturday, only to be denied by Thomas Ramos' match-winning penalty deep into injury time.
A panel of senior rugby figures, drawn from both within and outside the RFU, will gather feedback from coaches and players over the next few weeks to analyze the factors contributing to the team's performance.
Borthwick Receives Strong Support from Team Leadership
Veteran England hooker Jamie George, a member of the senior leadership group, expressed full confidence in Borthwick, describing him as
"one of the best coaches I've ever worked under".
"Under Steve I think we will be right up there with the favourites to win the World Cup," said George. "We're a great team, a great group of players and he's the perfect person to take us there.
He has been unbelievable for English rugby. It's crazy what has been happening over the last few weeks and he is absolutely the right man to lead us forward for a long time.
That's because he's an English coach who cares so much about this game but he's also a very, very good coach who has created an excellent programme. When you combine that with a good group of players it's a recipe for success.
It hasn't been where it has needed to be over the last few weeks, but the excellent thing about Steve is that we will have answers."
England's Six Nations Performance Under Review
While a review is standard procedure, the findings are highly anticipated following England's rapid and dramatic exit from title contention, especially after entering the tournament on an 11-match winning streak.
Following their first defeat by Italy in 33 Test meetings last weekend, RFU chief executive Bill Sweeney stated the organisation
"remained fully committed to supporting"Borthwick and his staff despite the
"hugely disappointing"results.
"We will work together to understand and rectify why we have been unable to meet the expectations and anticipation going into these games," he added.
Borthwick's predecessor, Eddie Jones, received endorsement after a similar investigation into England's last fifth-place Six Nations finish in 2021.
At that time, factors such as Covid isolation protocols, the inability of some assistant coaches to join due to restrictions, and Saracens players like Maro Itoje and Owen Farrell lacking match sharpness after relegation to the Championship, as well as a lack of alignment with top-flight clubs, were cited as challenges.
Current Challenges Differ from Past Issues
Five years later, many of those factors are no longer relevant to the 2026 underperformance.
Borthwick now leads a large backroom staff, including senior assistant coach Richard Wigglesworth overseeing defence, and Lee Blackett—recruited from Premiership champions Bath—in charge of attack.
Additional staff members involved in the Six Nations setup include Kevin Sinfield (kicking and skills), Tom Harrison (scrum), Joe El-Abd (forwards), and Byron McGuigan (contact and back three).
The Professional Game Partnership, launched in 2024, has provided England with greater control over their top players' preparation and medical treatment.
However, 15 England players participated in the British and Irish Lions' demanding summer tour to Australia.
Itoje, who exceeded guideline limits on player minutes in 2023-24, captained the Lions to a 2-1 series victory in another intense campaign.
In contrast, France, who adopt a policy of resting key players during summer tours, have won five of the seven Six Nations tournaments immediately following a Lions summer.
Discipline and Player Leadership Highlighted
The 2021 review recommended increased refereeing input in England's preparations due to issues with indiscipline. England again faced disciplinary challenges this year, receiving eight yellow cards across five matches.
Former England players Matt Dawson and Paul Grayson, both members of the 2003 Rugby World Cup-winning squad, suggest that resolving inconsistencies lies within the players themselves.
"I would direct it all at the players," Dawson told Rugby Union Weekly.
"They were accountable against France, they took responsibility for that and got themselves into a frenzied, physical state to take France apart.
I saw the players owning it today."
Grayson added: "The best teams are player-led, not coach-led.
They have to set the culture, agree some standards and a framework, and then the players take it on because they want to win, not because they are concerned about proving critics wrong or anything else."
