Steve Borthwick has cast his view upon the appointment of Thomas Tuchel, following the announcement of Tuchel as head coach of the England national football team from January 2025. Whilst Borthwick admitted to not yet meeting with the former Chelsea FC manager, the England Rugby head coach expressed how the German could face some challenges in charge of Gareth Southgate’s former squad.
Borthwick was asked as to whether the nationality of a head coach matters, when taking over the reins of the England team. The 57-capped England lock delved into the history books for his response, and expressed how that success has rarely followed an England side with a foreign coach. The likes of Swedish Sven-Goran Erikssen and Italian Fabio Capello failed to capture major trophies, whilst they were heading up the England team.
“First and foremost it is having the best coach for the team that you have.” Borthwick said at the Allianz Stadium, Twickeham. “Different coaches, different teams. What a team needs at any one point in time is going to be really, really clear. What we have also seen is that not too many major trophies have been won by teams coached by a coach from another nation. That is just fact. The key point is, get the right coach. That is the most important thing.”
Borthwick’s overall verdict on Tuchel’s position was an optimistic one, and the former lock is eager to one day meet with the German, the same way that he shared coaching advice and motivational messages with his predecessor Gareth Southgate. The England Rugby head coach held his hands up in not being overly familiar with the former PSG manager, yet backs the response of the players to determine the success of a coach.
“I have not (met Tuchel). I have read a lot about him, and probably in the last 12 hours read more about him. I would look forward to hopefully having the opportunity at some stage to learn more from him. The players speak really well of him. The players are the best judges. You hear them and read what they say, good players say good things about him. Hopefully we will have an opportunity to meet him in the future.”
Whilst Tuchel is now a coach that Borthwick wants to meet with in the future, a more immediate associate the England head coach is eager to engage with is Phil Morrow. It is no secret that Borthwick is eyeing up the Saracens Head of Performance as a recruit to his England coaching staff, with the initial approach halted by the London club following recent reports. Borthwick provided an update on the status of Morrow’s pending recruitment, and explained how only time will tell for his possible arrival at the Allianz.
“Well, I think the timescale is to be defined. It’s clear my focus now is to switch right into the Autumn Nation series, but it still stands. He wishes to be part of this team. I wish him to be part of this team.
“I think he’s world class. I’m really pleased that we have Dan Tobin (Strength and Conditioning coach), but I’m also constantly looking. Even referring to the last question, I’m always looking at how we get better, how we evolve, how we improve.
“If there’s a coach of that level available to join in some way shape or form, then I’ll look to bring him into this team. So what it looks like is to be determined, but I think in principle, I’d love him to be part of coaching team.”
Whilst the RFU were originally told ‘no’, in terms of bringing Morrow onto their coaching team, Borthwick is keen to explore every possible avenue to get the Saracens coach on board. With the answer still a disappointing decline for the England team, Borthwick has no option other than to turn his attention to the upcoming Autumn Nations Series for now, with the timeline uncertain for Morrow’s recruitment ahead of the 2025 Six Nations.
“We tried a couple of different ways. We went through a very transparent and open process with the clubs, and clearly the PRL clubs decided that they stood against it. I think we are still intent on finding a way to make this work. You’ve proposed a couple of solutions there. I think we’ve got to try to be respectful there so that we are not disrupting any one of our clubs.
“The whole of the rugby ecosystem in England is important for the success of the England team. Timescales would probably be really relevant to that to ensure that, if there is a possibility of Phil joining, it is done in a way that allows the club to do things right. This is something I wish to revisit. We go into camp on Monday, so 100% of my energy and focus needs to be on this autumn series. I intend to revisit this and come to a solution post-that.”
“I think that would probably be quite a tight timescale to operate to (before 2025 Six Nations). I’ll praise the RFU again here for trying to do this in a way to minimise any disruption to our clubs. All those clubs are important to the English rugby system. I think the timescale might be a little bit longer than you suggest, but the intent is to find a solution will be key. Hopefully we will.”
With coaching staff firmly at the focus of today’s press conference, Steve Borthwick was also asked a series of questions about the recent departures from his own backroom team. The duo of Head of Strength and Conditioning Aled Walters and defence coach Felix Jones, quit the England set-up after the Summer tour to Japan and New Zealand. Borthwick gave an insight into how it all played out after their return to England, with Walters since taking up a role amongst the Ireland national set-up.
“Clearly, Aled making a decision to go and join Ireland was a surprise. He talked about wanting a different challenge. We have worked together for a number of years already – more than four years – and we’ve already done a World Cup with England. Coaches normally come in and build towards a World Cup, but we came in before a World Cup and coached at it.
“He (Aled Walters) made that decision, a very personal decision and I wished him well with it – not against us, clearly! He’s a coach I have a lot of admiration for and we’ve worked together for a long time so I’m disappointed by it.
“It was a few days later that Felix told me, having had the Aled news, that he didn’t want to work with the team and he wanted to move in a different direction. The two of them are close, but it was still disappointing and surprising. I hadn’t anticipated it.”
Understanding that such is the way within professional sport, Borthwick soon set to work in recruiting his replacement coaches. Former Gloucester and Leinster coach Dan Tobin took over the vacancy left by Walters, and Oyonnax Director of Rugby Joe El-Abd was assigned to the void left by Jones.
“Felix is a top-quality coach who has added a lot to this team.” Borthwick continued. “As ever, it’s professional sport; things change and things move on. I feel fortunate that we have Dan Tobin who is a really quality coach. I first met him a few years ago, he’s really highly regarded and he knows the players really well from being in the Premiership for such a long time. He’s also operated in the Irish system as well after being at Leinster, so he’s worked with really high-level players for a long time.
“Then there’s Joe (El Abd)… To be able to bring Joe in was really pleasing. To be able to do that so quickly, ahead of this Autumn Nations Series, so that we are able to move on with Joe in place, at the alignment camp last week, already coaching the players – it feels like we are moving forward.”
