Borthwick rejected Edwards' England job offer — SkimNews
Get the Sports newsletter
Daily sports — scores, transfers, the storylines from the leagues you actually follow. Free.
- Shaun Edwards says Steve Borthwick turned down his offer to join England's coaching staff for next year's Rugby World Cup, telling Rugby Union Weekly that Borthwick was "very, very honest" and "happy with his staff and the way things have been going".
- Wales — Edwards won three Six Nations Grand Slams during a 12-year spell with the national side, then helped restore France as a global powerhouse with three Six Nations titles, and won two Champions Cups and four English titles at Wasps, where he began as defence coach before taking the top job.
- Argentina — Edwards, 60, left France earlier this year after a short-term role with England's women's side and has signed to work with Argentina until the end of the tournament.
- Richard Wigglesworth already oversees defence in Borthwick's backroom for Australia 2027, supported by Byron McGuigan and Joe El-Abd.
- England — a 12-Test winning streak ended by Scotland in February was followed by five successive defeats, though they have since beaten Fiji and Argentina and now face Australia at Twickenham on Sunday 8 November, then Japan, New Zealand and a Nations Championship play-off on successive weekends through November.
- Red Roses — England's women completed 310 tackles and made seven 22m entries, against the Black Ferns' 15, in a 26-19 win over New Zealand at Allianz Stadium sealed by Zoe Harrison's last-play try, a total Edwards called the biggest stat of his career.
- Wayne Pivac — Edwards said he thought he might have won the Wales job when Warren Gatland left in 2019, but Wales appointed Scarlets coach Pivac; he has also been linked with the Fiji role secured by South African Jake White.
Why it matters: England's Australia 2027 backroom stays as Borthwick built it, with Wigglesworth already directing defence, while Edwards — winner of three Six Nations Grand Slams and three Six Nations titles with France — joins Argentina until the tournament ends, with England having declined even an assistant kit man role.
Ask SkimNews
