Former Wales international Jonathan Davies has questioned whether England are being held back by Steve Borthwick's 'controlling' nature and suggested that the head coach could clash with Shaun Edwards if he was ever brought in by the RFU.
England's disastrous Six Nations
Borthwick found himself under immense pressure following a disastrous Six Nations, which saw his side record their worst ever campaign as they lost four out of five games - including a first-ever defeat to Italy - despite being hailed as potential Grand Slam winners prior to the tournament.
While he was ultimately backed by the RFU to continue as head coach into next year's Rugby World Cup, many fans have called for Edwards, who is leaving the France set-up and has long been linked with an England role, to be brought on board.
Edwards' pedigree and the coaching clash
The defence guru has an illustrious reputation, having helped Wales to win four Six Nations titles - including three Grand Slams - before winning three further titles, and another Grand Slam, with France. He previously turned down the opportunity to coach England 20 years ago, but rumours linking him to a role with the country of his birth refuse to go away.
However, Davies - who worked with Edwards during his Wales career - has questioned how any potential appointment to Borthwick's team would work in practice, with the current England boss said to be "very controlling and risk-averse". Speaking to The Rugby Paper, the 96-cap Wales international called for Borthwick to give his coaches greater autonomy, having been surprised by the lack of recent progress in England's attack despite the appointment of former Scarlets backs coach Lee Blackett.
Davies on Blackett and Borthwick
“I worked with Lee, and he was one of the best coaches I’ve ever had," said Davies. “When England signed him, I thought that with the talent they have, England would really go to the next level. Before the Six Nations, I thought England would be favourites to win and be strong contenders for the World Cup next year, but I just haven’t seen an evolution in their attack. I wonder if there is a leash being put on Lee. I hear that Steve is very controlling and risk-averse. Sometimes giving coaches more autonomy gets more out of them. I am wondering if Steve is trying to control too much.”
Edwards' potential fit
As for the links between Edwards and a role in the England set-up, Davies hailed the Wigan-born coach as "world-class" but questioned whether he would be able to work alongside Borthwick in practice, due to the head coach's nature. “He is a world-class coach," he said. “Just look at what he has achieved throughout his career. It is remarkable. The question, if England were ever interested in him, would be whether Steve Borthwick would be comfortable giving Shaun full control of that side of the game. I know Shaun would want autonomy and Borthwick appears to like having control."
However, Davies did not hold back in his praise of Edwards, as he added: "Shaun makes every rugby environment he works in much, much better. I remember in 2019 when Wayne Pivac was about to take over Wales. He called me into his office at around the time Shaun had agreed to coach Wigan. Wayne told me there was an opportunity to buy Shaun out of that contract and keep him with Wales. I said to Wayne: ‘If the union won’t pay it, if I were you I’d pay it myself because he will repay you and then some’. That is how highly I rate him," the Scarlets great continued. "I loved playing for Shaun because he cared so much about his players. You could feel how invested he was in the team and that always brought the best out of people."
