Borthwick insists he remains focused on Leicester amid England links

Steve Borthwick insists he remains focused on his role as Leicester Tigers coach amid speculation over his future at the club, as the RFU enter negotiations to appoint him as head coach following Eddie Jones’ sacking

• Steve Borthwick has been head coach at Leicester Tigers since 2019 
• He has insisted he is focused on the role despite links with the England job
• It comes after Eddie Jones was sacked by the RFU as England head coach
• Borthwick worked with Jones for England and spoke highly of his ‘work ethic’ 

England candidate Steve Borthwick has addressed the speculation about his future with his Leicester Tigers squad but insisted he will not be leaving immediately.

The RFU are in negotiations with Leicester about a severance deal to appoint Borthwick after Eddie Jones was sacked on Tuesday morning.

Borthwick straight-batted questions about his future, insisting his focus remains on Sunday’s game against Ospreys, but answered ‘yes’ when asked if he will lead his side against Clermont next Saturday.

Steve Borthwick has insisted he is focused on Leicester Tigers despite England speculation

It comes after Eddie Jones was sacked from his role as England head coach

‘From when I started here I’ve always been very up front with the players about anything and everything,’ said Borthwick. ‘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 any time anything outside has potentially been a distraction the team concentrates on its performance in that week. That’s what we continue to do.’

Borthwick worked under Jones at Japan and England, before he joined Leicester after the 2019 World Cup.

Asked what Jones’s best qualities were, he said: ‘There are a huge number of them and we’d be here all day if I tried to talk you through all of them.

Borthwick worked with Jones for England and spoke highly of his ‘work ethic’ and ‘desire’

‘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.

‘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.’

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