Steve Borthwick: 'Nobody can doubt how committed I have been to Leicester'

Steve Borthwick has insisted that no one should doubt his commitment to Leicester Tigers amid speculation that he is to succeed Eddie Jones as England's head coach.

The Leicester head coach said: “I don’t think anybody could possibly doubt how committed I’ve been to this club from the minute I’ve walked in this door to giving the best I can for this team.

“That’s my intention again this week. Right from day one I’ve talked about the only thing that matters is the week we’re in to get the performance we want.”

'I have always been very up-front with the players'

Borthwick revealed he has discussed the speculation linking him to the England head coach role during a team meeting with his Leicester players at the start of the week.

He did not confirm whether or not he had opened negotiations with the Rugby Football Union, only reiterating the message that he delivered after a 26-26 draw with Bristol Bears last Saturday: that he has retained “an incredibly close relationship” with the union.

He added that he will remain in charge of the club until at least the home game against Clermont on December 17.

Borthwick said: “From when I started here, I’ve always been very up-front with the players about anything and everything," added Borthwick, who has been in touch with Jones this week. "In terms of preparation, because I keep being asked about preparation this week, this team has had all kinds of challenges in terms of preparation over the last two years.

“We’ve had lots of potential obstacles and anytime anything outside has potentially distracted the team from concentrating on its performance in that week. That’s what we continue to do.”

Tigers begin their Champions Cup campaign by facing Ospreys in Swansea on Sunday evening with  their figurehead insisting the fixture has been given his full focus.

Leicester enjoyed a promising Champions Cup campaign last season, beating Union Bordeaux Bègles, Connacht and Clermont on the way to the quarter-finals. At that stage, though, they suffered a slow start and were beaten 24-13 by Leinster at Welford Road.

'Ospreys will be a great challenge'

Borthwick has rested a large contingent of regulars and internationals including Dan Cole, Jasper Wiese, Ben Youngs, Freddie Burns and Freddie Steward. Conversely, Ospreys have selected a strong starting pack that features Alun Wyn Jones, Adam Beard and Justin Tipuric as well as Jac Morgan, a stand-out for Wales despite a difficult autumn.

“We want to be competing in big games throughout the season,” Borthwick said. “That’s what Leicester Tigers have done historically. Clearly different teams and different countries prioritise different competitions, given the resources, salary cap and squad size they have. That leads to a different situation in this competition.

“We want to go into this game and play as well as we possibly can. I think it’s going to be a really tough encounter playing against the majority of the Welsh team. It’s a great challenge for our players and for our young team.

“They [the Ospreys] have got the best scrum in the URC and they’ve got an all-international front five…that is always fundamental, especially at this time of the year.”

Borthwick answered in the affirmative when asked whether he expected to be in charge of Leicester for round two of the Champions Cup, which will see Clermont visit the East Midlands.

Jones, dismissed by the RFU on Tuesday after a review into England’s autumn series, which ended with a 27-13 loss to South Africa, has been an influential mentor to Borthwick. The pair joined forces with both Japan and England, and Borthwick outlined the quality that he most admired in his long-time acquaintance.

“There are a huge number of them and we would be here all day if I tried to talk you through all of them,” he said. “I could talk about the work ethic and the desire to learn, how he never ceases to want to be better and improve the players and help them achieve their dreams. I could talk about all of those things.

“What I’ll talk about, which I don’t hear talked about very much, is the generosity of the guy whenever I’ve heard a coach ask a question. I’ve seen him help coaches from all around the world because we’re all trying to coach as well as we can to help this great game. He loves the game and he’s an incredible coach.”