Stephen William Borthwick (born 12 October 1979) is an English

rugby union Rugby union football, commonly known simply as rugby union in English-speaking countries and rugby 15/XV in non-English-speaking world, Anglophone Europe, or often just rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that orig ...

coach and former player, who is currently the

head coach A head coach, senior coach, or manager is a professional responsible for training and developing athletes within a sports team. This role often has a higher public profile and salary than other coaching positions. In some sports, such as associat ...

of the England national team. As a player, he played as a

lock Lock(s) or Locked may refer to: Common meanings *Lock and key, a mechanical device used to secure items of importance *Lock (water navigation), a device for boats to transit between different levels of water, as in a canal Arts and entertainme ...

for

Bath Bath may refer to: * Bathing, immersion in a fluid ** Bathtub, a large open container for water, in which a person may wash their body ** Public bathing, a public place where people bathe * Thermae, ancient Roman public bathing facilities Plac ...

and

Saracens file:Erhard Reuwich Sarazenen 1486.png, upright 1.5, Late 15th-century History of Germany, German woodcut depicting Saracens ''Saracen'' ( ) was a term used both in Greek language, Greek and Latin writings between the 5th and 15th centuries to ...

. At international level, he played for England 57 times from his debut in 2001; he served as

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

from 2008, until he was dropped from the side in 2010. Borthwick was appointed as England's forwards coach in December 2015, a role which he left in mid 2020 to become head coach of

Leicester Tigers Leicester Tigers (officially Leicester Football Club) are a professional rugby union club based in Leicester, England. They play in Premiership Rugby, England's top division of rugby. The club was founded in 1880 and since 1892 plays its home ...

instead. In December 2022, he was appointed as the England head coach.

Club career

Born in

Carlisle Carlisle ( , ; from ) is a city in the Cumberland district of Cumbria, England. Carlisle's early history is marked by the establishment of a settlement called Luguvalium to serve forts along Hadrian's Wall in Roman Britain. Due to its pro ...

, Cumbria, Borthwick was captain of the Hutton Grammar School rugby team, with whom he went on a tour to Australia, and captained to the semi finals of the Daily Mail Cup in 1998.

Bath: 1998–2008

Borthwick joined

in 1998 from Preston Grasshoppers, making his debut against

in December 1998. During this time, he was balancing rugby commitments with study, and graduated from the

University of Bath The University of Bath is a public research university in Bath, England. Bath received its royal charter in 1966 as Bath University of Technology, along with a number of other institutions following the Robbins Report. Like the University ...

in 2003 with a degree in economics with politics. Borthwick had, arguably, his best season for

in the 2003–04 season. A central figure in the absence of many senior players due to the

2003 Rugby World Cup The 2003 Rugby World Cup was the fifth Rugby World Cup and was won by England national rugby union team, England. Originally planned to be co-hosted by Australia and New Zealand, all games were shifted to Australia following a contractual dispu ...

, he set about making his mark on the English Premiership. Bath made the League Final that season, losing to London Wasps. He was one of the three nominees for the Premiership Player of the Year award. In his final game with the club, Borthwick captained Bath to victory in the 2007–08 European Challenge Cup. In January 2008, Borthwick announced that he would be leaving Bath at the end of the 2007–08 season for

Saracens: 2008–2014

Following his switch to

, Borthwick was named co-captain for the 2008–09 season, alongside Andy Farrell. In the 2009–10 season, he was named as the club captain. Injury prevented him from playing for much of the season – he returned for the Premiership final, but not as captain, as Saracens were defeated by

. However, in the 2010–11 season, he started the final – a rematch against the Tigers – as Saracens won their first Premiership title. On 28 November 2013, Borthwick announced he would be retiring at the end of the 2013–14 season.

International career

Borthwick first emerged during England's 2000 tour of South Africa. Despite his presence in the line-out, he was not considered heavy enough for international rugby, but later bulked out. A regular choice as the England A team captain, from his debut against Wales A at Wrexham in February 2001, he had already played on the full tour of South Africa the previous summer. Borthwick made his debut for

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

against

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

in the 2001 Six Nations. Injury prevented him from being considered for the 2002 trip to Argentina. He came on as a blood replacement for Ben Kay in the 25–14 win over

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

in Melbourne in June 2003, his sixth cap. A member of England's wider 2003 World Cup squad, he narrowly missed selection to the final 30. He regained his place in the

squad after the 2003 World Cup and despite England's disappointing results, Borthwick was given credit for his solid play. Borthwick initially failed to make England's squad for the 2005 Autumn internationals, with

Gloucester Gloucester ( ) is a cathedral city, non-metropolitan district and the county town of Gloucestershire in the South West England, South West of England. Gloucester lies on the River Severn, between the Cotswolds to the east and the Forest of Dean ...

forward Alex Brown seemingly poised for a start instead, but injury ruled Brown out of contention and Borthwick stepped in, playing a significant role against

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

and

Samoa Samoa, officially the Independent State of Samoa and known until 1997 as Western Samoa, is an island country in Polynesia, part of Oceania, in the South Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main islands (Savai'i and Upolu), two smaller, inhabited ...

. Borthwick was selected as a member of England's 2007 Rugby World Cup squad. He played in three pool stage matches, starting against

Tonga Tonga, officially the Kingdom of Tonga, is an island country in Polynesia, part of Oceania. The country has 171 islands, of which 45 are inhabited. Its total surface area is about , scattered over in the southern Pacific Ocean. accordin ...

. He did not participate in the knockout games.

Captaincy

On 10 February 2008, Borthwick was named

for England's 2008 Six Nations match against

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

in Rome, and on 13 May 2008, he was chosen to captain the full England squad on their 2008 summer tour of New Zealand. In October 2008, he was named as Martin Johnson's first England captain for the 2008 Autumn Internationals. Borthwick came in for a lot of criticism after England's disappointing 2008 Autumn Internationals in which they suffered heavy defeats to

and

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

. However, Johnson kept faith in him. In the 2009 Six Nations, Borthwick came under more criticism as England's discipline cost them victories against

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

and

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

. However, after performing much better against

and

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

in the last two weeks of the tournament, Borthwick's critics seemed to leave him alone.

End of international career

In January 2010, Borthwick was confirmed as England captain for the 2010 Six Nations. After England's 15–15 draw against

in the 2010 Six Nations, Borthwick aggravated an ongoing knee injury. This meant he was unavailable for selection against

, so Tom Palmer was bought in as cover and Lewis Moody was given the captaincy. Due to injury, Borthwick was not a member of the 2010 England rugby union tour of Australasia. On 1 July 2010, he was dropped from the Elite Player Squad by Martin Johnson.

Coaching career

Borthwick trained as a coach whilst playing with

, taking his initial position at the club's academy from 2012, and also attending the

University of Hertfordshire The University of Hertfordshire (UH) is a Universities in the United Kingdom, university in Hertfordshire, United Kingdom. The university is based largely in Hatfield, Hertfordshire, Hatfield, Hertfordshire. Its antecedent institution, Hatfield ...

. From 2012, he was forwards coach alongside Eddie Jones for

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

up to and including the

2015 Rugby World Cup The IRB 2015 Rugby World Cup was the eighth Rugby World Cup, the quadrennial rugby union world championship. The tournament was hosted by England from 18 September to 31 October. Of the 20 countries competing in the World Cup in 2011, there was ...

, after which he was confirmed as forwards coach for

Bristol Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, the most populous city in the region. Built around the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by t ...

, under former

colleague

Andy Robinson Richard Andrew Robinson Order of the British Empire, OBE (born 3 April 1964) is an English rugby union coach and retired player. He was the director of rugby at Bristol Bears, Bristol until November 2016. He is the former head coach of Scotland ...

. On 15 December 2015, he was confirmed as the new

forwards coach. In October 2019, it was reported that Borthwick's next role would be with

following the

2019 Rugby World Cup The 2019 Rugby World Cup () was the ninth edition of the Rugby World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for men's rugby union teams. It was hosted in Japan from 20 September to 2 November in 12 venues all across the country. The opening matc ...

. It was later confirmed he would join the club as

for the 2020–21 season. Borthwick led the Tigers to their eleventh Premiership title during the 2021–22 season. On 19 December 2022, it was announced that Borthwick would take over as head coach of the England men's rugby team, replacing Eddie Jones.

International matches as head coach

Personal life

Borthwick is married to Beth Borthwick, an

Australian Australian(s) may refer to: Australia * Australia, a country * Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia ** European Australians ** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists ** Aboriginal Aus ...

. They have two sons together.

References

External links

Saracens profile

Bath profile

Premiership profile

England profile

Steve Borthwick photo 1 by sportingheroes. net

Steve Borthwick photo 2 by sportingheroes. net
{{DEFAULTSORT:Borthwick, Steve 1979 births Living people Alumni of the University of Bath Alumni of the University of Hertfordshire Bath Rugby players England international rugby union players English people of Scottish descent English rugby union coaches English rugby union players Lancashire County RFU players Leicester Tigers coaches People educated at Hutton Grammar School Rugby union locks Rugby union players from Carlisle, Cumbria Saracens F.C. players Team Bath rugby union players England national rugby union team coaches 2007 Rugby World Cup players