Former Bristol coach and Bath player Steve Borthwick new RFU head coach
Steve Borthwick has been appointed England Rugby men's head coach on a five year contract
Last updated 19th Dec 2022
England Rugby have announced their new head coach - and it's the former player and coach Steve Borthwick.
He's been appointed to the role alongside Kevin Sinfield OBE as defence coach, whose playing career took him to the Leeds Rhinos, as well as the England, Lancashire and Great Britain teams - and for one season, Yorkshire Carnegie in rugby league.
Borthwick started his playing career at Preston Grasshoppers, he represented England Schools, Colts U21 and Saxons. He captained both teams he played at and became a Premiership winner in 2011 making 265 Premiership appearances, a record at the time.
He played for Bath Rugby between 1998-2008, where he made nearly 250 appearances for the club, before moving to North London, where he joined the Saracens.
He played there for six years - with the latter part of his career there also seeing him be the assistant coach for Japan.
He left Saracens back in 2014, and the next year he went on to be the Forwards Coach for Bristol Rugby. It wasn't long before he was confirmed as the England Forwards coach, though, and moved on that same year.
In his playing career, Steve also played for England - making 57 appearances between 2001 and 2010, debuting against France for the 2001 Six Nations series. He captained the side 21 times in that time.
He holds the record for the highest points-scorer in Super League history and earned many individual accolades including the Lance Todd Trophy (2005), Harry Sunderland Trophy (2009, 2012) and the Golden Boot (2012).
Steve Borthwick's coaching career has included positions with Saracens and Leicester Tigers, where he led the team to winning the 2021-22 Premiership title.
He was also recognised as the season’s Director of Rugby, having spearheaded the club’s best winning run for 25 years.
Working alongside Eddie Jones in two World Cup cycles for Japan from 2012 to 2015 and for England between 2015 and 2020, he also coached on the British and Irish Lions’ tour of New Zealand in 2017 which saw the side draw the Test series against the All Blacks.
He has now signed a five-year contract.
Steve Borthwick said: "I'm deeply honoured to be appointed England head coach, and I am very excited by the challenge.
"The English game is full of talent and I want to build a winning team which makes the most of our huge potential and inspires young people to fall in love with rugby union the way I did. I want the whole country to be proud of us and to enjoy watching us play.
"The hard work starts now and planning for the Guinness Six Nations and Rugby World Cup begins today. I will give it everything.”
RFU CEO, Bill 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.”
Sinfield was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2014 Birthday Honours for services to rugby league and Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2021 Birthday Honours for services to rugby league football and charitable fundraising.
He has raised over £7m for charity and championed research in support of ex-Leeds teammate Rob Burrow, who was diagnosed with Motor Neurone Disease (MND), his fundraising also honours former rugby union player Doddie Weir and former footballer Stephen Darby, both of whom were diagnosed with MND.
Sinfield said: “It is a special moment to join England as a coach. I know what representing your country means and to get the chance to do it as a coach is a real honour.
“There is so much player talent in England and I am really looking forward to working with the wider squad of players to see what we can achieve together, especially with such a massive year ahead of us.
“I’d like to thank everyone at Leicester Tigers, the players, staff and supporters, for welcoming me to the club. I’ve loved my time there and wish them all the best for the rest of the season.
“I’m looking forward to getting started and there’s no better opening campaign than the Guinness Six Nations.”
The wider coaching team to support Borthwick will be announced in the coming weeks.