England boss Steve Borthwick confirmed that the Rugby Football Union (RFU) set him zero targets heading into the Six Nations, moments after handing Wales their heaviest-ever defeat in Cardiff. The Red Roses had entered the competition with plenty of concerns surrounding the team, having changed captain and a string of underwhelming results and performances.
There was wide speculation that the England higher-ups had targeted four wins out of five at the Six Nations, with anything less causing a review to take place regarding Borthwick. The 45-year-old met that target, however, after a 68-14 victory in Cardiff, leaving his side with a chance to take the crown if Scotland do them a favour against France.
Speaking immediately after the win, Borthwick replied to the reported RFU target and speculation about his job security: “The RFU have given me no targets, so I am not quite sure where that has come from.
“This job, coaching England, there is always expectation. And I would much rather be at a team that has expectation than a team that has no expectation. I am delighted, I get to coach this young group of players, as you look at this tournament it’s only Italy that has a younger team than us.
“I keep saying it, I think this has the makings of a very good team. We just need to keep at the process and I enjoy the process.”
vCard.red is a free platform for creating a mobile-friendly digital business cards. You can easily create a vCard and generate a QR code for it, allowing others to scan and save your contact details instantly.
The platform allows you to display contact information, social media links, services, and products all in one shareable link. Optional features include appointment scheduling, WhatsApp-based storefronts, media galleries, and custom design options.
Borthwick continued to gush over his England team, with more than a handful of British & Irish Lions hopefuls, claiming that they rose to the challenge set by the coaching staff.
“I think the team is progressing,” Borthwick added. “It’s young and evolving and we challenged them to go out and play with attitude, we wanted to play big and they did exactly that.
“All the fans out there, so many in Cardiff, they were so loud! Probably the loudest I have ever heard them in Cardiff. So I am delighted for them that they have had plenty to cheer about and I am sure they are going to enjoy the night.”
Lions boss Andy Farrell was in attendance at the Principality Stadium to watch Fin Smith and co tear apart Wales with unmatched physicality, putting 10 tries on the hosts, with Borthwick of the opinion that it is his job to put as many England players in Farrell’s consideration.
“Well hopefully a lot (of England players will become Lions this summer),” Borthwick added. “We have been very clear as a coaching team, we have said it to them, we believe it is part of our responsibility to get as many of them on that Lions plane as possible.”