Steve Borthwick and his coaching staff are to remain in charge of England’s men’s team despite the squad’s worst Five or Six Nations for 50 years. The Rugby Football Union has opted to back Borthwick and his lieutenants through to next year’s Rugby World Cup in Australia having completed what it described as “a detailed and robust review” of England’s latest campaign.

Despite having lost four Five or Six Nations games in the same season for the first time since 1976, the RFU has chosen to keep faith with the Borthwick regime in the belief that things can only get better. The union has decided that sacking the head coach is not the optimal solution, having previously dispensed with Eddie Jones’s services nine months prior to the 2023 World Cup.

“This has been a thorough and honest review, and it is clear that improvement will come from addressing several areas rather than chasing one simple answer,” said the RFU’s chief executive, Bill Sweeney, in a statement.

“We’ve all seen what this England side is capable of ­– most recently in the performance against France, and during the strong winning run before that. That doesn’t disappear overnight. The challenge now is delivering that level consistently, and we are confident this group can do that, supported by the insight and feedback this review has surfaced.

“This is a young England team that is still growing and developing, and we understand progress in international sport is rarely linear. Steve has engaged in this process with full openness and has clear plans in place to address these findings.”

There had been speculation that the future of Borthwick and his assistants might hinge on the outcome of this summer’s Nations Championship Tests against South Africa, Fiji and Argentina. The RFU, however, insist that both the head coach and his staff have their full backing for the next 18 months. “We are all behind him and his coaching team going into the Nations Championship and the series of matches leading into Rugby World Cup 2027,” said Sweeney.

Much of the finer detail of the review has been withheld on performance grounds, the RFU citing a desire not to offer insight that might help other international teams. Several independent rugby figures were involved in the process which also featured in-person one on one interviews with players, coaches and the wider back-room team.

The review concluded that England’s underperformance across the Six Nations was “not the result of a singular failure or issue”. Instead, it highlighted a number of interconnected performance areas, such as discipline, execution of opportunities and making the most of key moments.

The RFU statement acknowledged, however, that “improvement is required if England are to consistently perform at the level expected” and expressed sympathy with the team’s fans. “Steve Borthwick has engaged in the review with honesty and rigour, and he and his coaching team are already addressing issues identified. We recognise why supporters felt frustrated and that they expected more. That disappointment was shared internally, and it underpinned the seriousness with which everyone engaged in this process.”

England will kick off their Nations Championship programme against the Springboks in Johannesburg on 4 July. They will then face Fiji in Liverpool the following week before boarding another long-haul flight to play Argentina in Santiago del Estero on 18 July.