Steve Borthwick 's age could make him susceptible in the pressurised environment of Test rugby after stepping up to the role of England head coach.
That's according to the man he's replaced, Eddie Jones, who has predicted his successor 'will be fantastic' in the job despite his lack of experience. Borthwick has signed a five-year contract as England chief a little more than two years after taking on his first head coach position at Leicester Tigers.
Youth in a coach is something that can often work well given it affords those in charge added affinity with their players. However, Jones—who gave Borthwick his first coaching job as Japan assistant in 2012—has suggested a lack of experience could work against his old colleague should pressure start to turn.
“He’ll be fantastic,” he told the Sydney Morning Herald. “We coached together for nine years. I brought him into coaching with Japan and he’s a fantastic assistant coach. One of the things I look back with pride on was that one of my jobs was to create the next England coach, so I’ve done that.
“The difficult thing for him is he’s still quite young. He’s 41 (sic). But he’s quite mature. The test will be when the pressure gets on, when the media starts coming at him, maybe the support at the top starts to waver a little bit. How he can hold his nerve. But he’s a good man.”
Former Saracens and Bath lock Borthwick is in fact 43, which makes him a year older than Stuart Lancaster was when he was handed England's reins in 2011. The coach previous to him, Martin Johnson, was only 38 when he took over the team in 2008, although Borthwick will hope to achieve more than both of those predecessors.
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While he may be new to coaching in its most senior capacity, it's worth highlighting ex-England captain Borthwick has now worked on this side of the touchline for more than a decade. His tenure at Leicester was also not without pressure considering he came in at a time when the club languished at the base of the Premiership, propelling them to a first league title in nine years the following season.
Jones was fired after seven years at Twickenham following a sour downturn in results over the past two years, concluding with a dismal autumn series in which England won just one of four matches. The former Australia chief—who lost his first World Cup final to the Red Rose in 2003—has defended his record, however, and maintained England "were on the right track" to win next year's global contest.
Rather than hang hopes on the notion that all will magically come good in France, Borthwick has been petitioned to improve results here and now. His first taste of the Test arena will come at the 2023 Six Nations, where England host Scotland on February 4 in a swift examination of the new boss' credentials.
