RFU stops short of delivering full backing for Borthwick but denies Farrell talks

• Sweeney: ‘I see the outcome being … to support Steve’

• ‘We were very disappointed in the Six Nations’

The Rugby Football Union chief executive, Bill Sweeney, has provided another strong indication that the head coach Steve Borthwick will lead England in this summer’s Nations Championship fixtures pending the outcome of a formal review into their disappointing Six Nations campaign.

While Sweeney declined to state definitively that Borthwick will be in charge for a difficult run of Test matches against South Africa, Fiji and Argentina in July he said the RFU’s main focus in the review is providing additional support to the existing coaching team, as well as revealing that there have been no approaches made to Andy Farrell, the Ireland head coach whose contract expires after the 2027 World Cup.