Is England Rugby Actually Improving Under Steve Borthwick? A Full 2026 Review
England's rugby team just wrapped up a punishing summer schedule, and the results leave fans with more questions than answers. After a rocky Six Nations campaign, head coach Steve Borthwick and his squad were under real pressure to show they belong among the world's best. So did they deliver? The answer is complicated — and if you follow England rugby closely, the summer tour raised as many red flags as it did reasons for optimism.
In this review, we'll break down exactly where England stands heading into the back half of the year: the discipline crisis that refuses to go away, the attacking upgrade sparked by one returning winger, the tension between Borthwick and the media, and what all of this means for England's realistic chances at the 2027 Rugby World Cup.
A Six Nations Campaign England Would Rather Forget
England's Six Nations campaign this year was widely seen as one of the poorest since the tournament expanded back in 2000. Only a single win came out of that stretch, and the pressure on Borthwick only grew heavier as each week passed. Fans, pundits, and even the Rugby Football Union itself made it clear that the upcoming summer tour would be the real test — a chance to prove the team was heading in the right direction rather than sliding backward into irrelevance on the world stage.
That summer tour turned out to be brutal in every sense of the word. England covered more than 25,000 miles across their fixtures, taking on Fiji, reigning world champions South Africa, and Argentina in quick succession — a travel schedule that would test the depth and fitness of any international rugby squad. A narrow, hard-fought win over Argentina and a dominant, one-sided victory against Fiji were enough to salvage some pride by the end of the tour. However, a heavy defeat to the Springboks in South Africa reminded everyone just how far England still has to climb before they can be considered genuine contenders against the very best sides in the world.
Taken together, the tour results paint a picture of a team capable of beating good sides but still not consistently competitive against the elite tier of world rugby — South Africa, Ireland, and New Zealand. That gap is exactly what Borthwick will need to close over the next twelve months if England are serious about making a deep run at the 2027 World Cup.
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England's Discipline Problem Refuses To Go Away
If there's one thing that hasn't improved under Borthwick, it's discipline — and this remains the single biggest obstacle standing between England and genuine top-tier status. England picked up the most cards of any team in a recent Six Nations campaign, a stretch that included two yellow cards combining into a red card during one match alone. Rather than fixing the issue over the summer, as the RFU had explicitly demanded, the team's card count for the year actually climbed even higher following a chaotic, card-filled finish against Argentina.
Analysts and former players have been blunt about it. Pundits have described the pattern as embarrassing rather than aggressive, pointing out that it isn't thuggish or violent play causing the problem — it's repeated, avoidable lapses in concentration under pressure. Across the year's matches, England has effectively played more than two hours of rugby a man down, a staggering total for a squad aiming to compete with the very best teams in the world.
This is a problem that senior players and coaching staff will need to solve quickly. Ill-discipline of this kind simply doesn't fly against elite opposition, and it's exactly the sort of habit that costs teams knockout matches at a World Cup. With England set to host a stacked home series in November and the 2027 World Cup edging closer by the month, cleaning up discipline needs to become priority number one.
Interestingly, the emphatic win over Fiji was the only match all year in which England avoided picking up a single card — a small but telling detail that hints the discipline issues tend to surface specifically when England are under real pressure against quality opposition, rather than in more comfortable, one-sided fixtures.
England's Attack Finally Looks Sharper
On a more encouraging note, England's attacking play has shown real signs of life over the summer, offering genuine hope after a stagnant Six Nations campaign. During the Six Nations, the team leaned heavily on kicking more than any other side in the competition, and while they got into the opposition's 22 often, they consistently struggled to convert that territory into actual points — one of the worst returns in the entire tournament. It was a clear sign that England had the territorial dominance without the finishing touch to match it.
That changed, at least in flashes, over the summer tour. The attacking setup clicked into gear against Fiji, and it looked especially dangerous during the opening half against Argentina, where England controlled the game from start to finish and looked like an entirely different attacking unit. Much of that spark came down to the long-awaited return of winger Immanuel Feyi-Waboso, who had missed the entire Six Nations campaign through injury and whose absence was arguably the single biggest reason for England's blunted cutting edge earlier in the year.
Feyi-Waboso was arguably the standout individual performer of the whole tour. In one match alone, he broke through more than a dozen defenders and racked up well over 100 metres of ground gained, creating multiple line breaks along the way and repeatedly putting the opposition defense on the back foot. Paired with fellow winger Tommy Freeman, England's back three finally started to look like the attacking weapon it's long had the potential to be.
Freeman himself has looked far more dangerous playing out wide on the wing than he has when shifted into the centre position, and how Borthwick manages both players' roles and game time over the coming year could genuinely be pivotal to England's World Cup ambitions. Keeping both fit and firing together, rather than rotating them out of position, may be the single easiest way for Borthwick to unlock more consistent attacking returns heading into 2027.
Borthwick Pushes Back Against Media Criticism
Usually calm and measured in front of the cameras, Borthwick showed a rare flash of frustration with the media during the trip to Argentina, pushing back openly against what he clearly saw as relentless negativity surrounding the team. It's a tactic he's leaned on before — England faced similarly harsh scrutiny heading into the 2023 World Cup after a string of losses, and that squad ultimately used the outside noise as motivation, riding it all the way to the semi-finals in France.
Former players have suggested that this "us against the world" mentality is one of Borthwick's most effective tools for pulling a group together and building resilience under pressure, even if it occasionally makes him look a little thin-skinned in public press conferences. Whether it's a genuine man-management masterstroke or simply a coach feeling the heat, it's clear Borthwick is willing to use every psychological trick available to keep his squad tightly bonded heading into a critical stretch of fixtures.
Where Does England Go From Here?
The current England squad blends battle-tested veterans, including captain Maro Itoje, with a wave of exciting young talent that's emerged over the past couple of seasons. This group has now experienced both a lengthy winning streak and an extended losing run within the space of a single year, which arguably makes them more battle-hardened and better prepared for whatever comes next on the road to the World Cup.
With Australia, Japan and New Zealand all set to visit Allianz Stadium in November, and a heavy schedule of fixtures still to come before official World Cup warm-up games begin, England currently sit close to the top of their section in the wider Nations Championship standings. There's real promise in this squad on paper — the attacking talent is undeniable, and the squad depth is the best it's been in years. But until the discipline issues are properly sorted, it's hard to call this a team that has fully turned the corner.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is England rugby improving under Steve Borthwick? In attacking terms, yes — particularly with Immanuel Feyi-Waboso back fit and firing on the wing. However, discipline remains a serious, unresolved issue, with England picking up more cards in 2026 than in any recent year, which continues to hold the team back against top-tier opposition.
Why does England keep getting yellow cards? Former players and analysts point to lapses in concentration under pressure rather than deliberate foul play. The pattern tends to surface specifically in tight, high-pressure matches against strong opposition rather than in more comfortable wins.
Who was England's best player this summer? Winger Immanuel Feyi-Waboso was widely regarded as the standout performer, making a huge impact with ball in hand after returning from an injury that kept him out of the entire Six Nations campaign.
What's next for England before the 2027 Rugby World Cup? England host Australia, Japan and New Zealand in November, with several more fixtures scheduled before official World Cup warm-up games begin. These matches will be crucial tests of whether Borthwick's side can fix their discipline problems in time.
The Bottom Line
England looked sharper and more dangerous going forward this summer, especially with Feyi-Waboso back on the wing alongside Tommy Freeman. But the same old discipline problems that plagued the Six Nations followed the team through their entire summer tour and show no signs of disappearing on their own. With the 2027 Rugby World Cup edging closer with every passing month, Steve Borthwick is running out of time to fix the one issue that could define whether this talented squad falls short again — or finally delivers on its potential.
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