The Rugby Football Union (RFU) has said it is “fully committed” to Steve Borthwick despite England’s first-ever defeat to Italy.
Borthwick saw his side suffer a third successive loss as the Azzurri made history in Rome, leaving the visitors facing the prospect of an unprecedented one-win Six Nations campaign.
England go to Paris on the final weekend to face a title-chasing France as huge underdogs and needing a shock victory to even salvage a two-victory tournament.
The positivity forged on a 12-match winning run that continued into the round one success over Wales has dissipated quickly across defeats to Scotland, Ireland and Italy, but the RFU believes that Borthwick is still the man to lead England into next year’s Rugby World Cup in Australia.
“After a 12 match winning run, these past three results have been hugely disappointing, and we feel that just as much as everyone else,” said Bill Sweeney, chief executive of the RFU, in a statement.
“Steve and his coaching team are working tirelessly to make improvements, and we remain fully committed to supporting them and the players as they face France this weekend and then look ahead to the Nations Championship.
“Part of that support is being open about what hasn’t gone right during this Six Nations and making sure everyone has a clear sense of how we move through those challenges together. That’s something we’ll be talking through and working on in the days and weeks ahead.
“We will work together to understand and rectify why we have been unable to meet the expectations and anticipation going into these games. England fans rightly expect a team that learns and grows through adversity, and we’re confident this group will do everything they can to deliver that.”
After facing France on Saturday night, England’s next fixture is a daunting trip to Ellis Park in Johannesburg to take on world champions South Africa.
Sweeney parted ways with Eddie Jones after a home defeat to the Springboks in November 2022, installing the Australian’s former assistant Borthwick with less than a year to go until the last World Cup after feeling that Jones’s tenure had run its course.
England captain Maro Itoje insisted, though, that they still back their head coach as the lock and the players took responsibility for defeat at the Stadio Olimpico.
"As players we have to own it,” Itoje said. “We're the ones on the pitch. We're the ones doing what we're doing on the pith.
"It's our responsibility to make sure that we apply Steve's vision, we apply Steve's gameplan, because he's been very clear and very thorough, as he always is.
"It's on us. We need to be better. Steve can't play the game for us. Myself as captain and the rest of the senior guys, we take responsibility. Steve is definitely the right guy for the job. He's a fantastic coach."
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