The RFU are in danger of sleepwalking into a scenario where they miss out on Andy Farrell once again.
Irrespective of Steve Borthwick’s immediate job security as England coach, the admission from CEO Bill Sweeney that he has made no contact with Farrell is startling.
Farrell is the standout candidate as Borthwick’s successor. He is a proud Englishman who won a British & Irish Lions series last year. No active English coach comes close to his standing, so the RFU should be doing everything they can to bring him back from Ireland.
Like Borthwick, Farrell is under contract until the 2027 World Cup. He will not be on the market before then yet discussions about his next move will already be happening. Few would be surprised if the IRFU are not already in talks to lock him in for another term.
Yet Sweeney was short and direct when asked about the prospect of missing out on Farrell, who last coached in England as an assistant coach to Stuart Lancaster in 2015. ‘We’re not in a dialogue,’ admitted Sweeney. ‘We’re not in a discussion with him at present.’
It would have been easy for Sweeney to skirt around the issue with a non-committal response. But there were no diversion tactics or flattering praise in an attempt to dodge the issue.
Project Everest is the name given to England’s succession planning programme. It was widely discussed during the Eddie Jones era, when the Twickenham executives made no secret about their ‘war room’ of candidates ready to take over from the Australian.
‘That’s an ongoing process,’ admitted Sweeney. ‘You’d have that regardless of how we’d perform in the Six Nations. You’ve got to have that in place, not just in terms of the head coach, but we’ve got succession planning for every senior exec in the RFU, including myself. That would continue and does continue regardless of the outcome of one tournament.’
It is an uncomfortable position to speak about succession planning without undermining the current coach but that did not stop the RFU when Jones was in charge.
Farrell has turned down the RFU before, committing himself to the Irish cause, and has won six out of his last seven Tests against England.
The Six Nations review is ongoing and Sweeney’s public support for Borthwick has been carefully worded.
‘No one was more disappointed than we were,’ said Sweeney, reflecting on England’s woeful campaign that finished with four defeats from five.
‘There was a lot of expectation going in coming off a run which was really strong. That was not how we expected it to go, so we were very disappointed. We still have absolute confidence in the squad we have got and the talent we have got in there.’
He stopped short of offering his full support to Borthwick, as the post-tournament review remains ongoing.
‘After each major tournament we have a review with a panel,’ he added. ‘In a situation like this, where we have had a result in the Six Nations which was not anticipated, then there’ll be a deeper dive into certain areas to understand what some of the issues were. We need to really understand and drill down deeply into what caused that and find solutions for it.
‘We have kicked it off. Conversations are taking place with players and coaches. We will get full feedback from the players and coaches as well as you would expect us to do. We would anticipate having the whole process wrapped up by the end of April. I see the outcome of that being for us to make sure we have got the right support mechanisms in place to address that and support Steve to get that right going forward.’
Borthwick is expected to lead the team in this summer’s Nations Championship Tests against South Africa, Fiji and Argentina. Performances and results will be heavily scrutinised. Asked if the fans speak warmly to him about Borthwick, Sweeney answered: ‘It depends who you talk to.’
Popularity points are important because positive support lifts the entire game. The RFU are trying to drive ticket sales for the Nations Championship finals in London this autumn and the gloomy mood music around England’s campaign will not help.
‘I think it gets coloured through the lens of whether you’re winning or not,’ said Sweeney. ‘When you’re winning, it’s less of an issue. If you’re losing matches, then it becomes more of a focus point. But Steve is calm, he’s considered, he’s analytical, and that’s his persona. That’s his personality.
‘I can think of some of the coverage around him prior to the Six Nations being extremely positive about that side of his nature. So, it gets coloured a lot by what actually happens on the results page.’
If results do not improve this summer then Sweeney will face a stick-or-twist decision on whether Borthwick leads England to the World Cup.
Farrell’s contract with Ireland, however, means he does not factor into any immediate decision making. The likes of Michael Cheika and Joe Schmidt would be the short-term candidates.
Yet when it comes to longer term planning, the RFU should be picking up the phone to Farrell. In theory, they could reach a confidential arrangement with a hefty termination clause to ensure the option remains on the table.
Borthwick could win the World Cup next year and emerge as an unlikely national treasure, yet that does not mean the RFU should not be exploring every possibility behind the scenes.
