Ugo Monye: I don’t think there is a single person who doesn’t think Steve will be a success
Monye was captained by Steve Borthwick during their England days
©Leicester Tigers
Two weeks ago, Eddie Jones was sacked by the RFU leaving the international team without a head coach nine months before the Rugby World Cup.
The headlines over the past fortnight have been dominated by Steve Borthwick and whether the RFU could come to an agreement with Leicester Tigers to prize their frontman away from Mattioli Woods Welford Road.
And on Monday, Bill Sweeney and the RFU got their man. Borthwick was unveiled at Twickenham and will be joined by Kevin Sinfield as England look to pick themselves up ahead of the Six Nations.
Borthwick's last hurrah with Leicester was a 23-16 victory over ASM Clermont-Auvergne in the Heineken Champions Cup, with the Tigers now set to begin their latest chapter under the stewardship of Richard Wigglesworth.
"English rugby is in a period of transition isn’t it?" former England international Ugo Monye tells TRU. "Without stating the obvious, there’s never an ideal time to move on from someone.
"I heard Owen Farrell and lots of other players saying they’re upset with the way it [Jones' tenure as England head coach] all finished because I guess the plan was for them to go to the World Cup and for there to be some genuine success, to go one step further than they did in Japan.
"Obviously that hasn’t happened, they clearly identified the coach that they want. They are the reigning champions so you can totally understand why they’d want somebody like Steve Borthwick. I guess when you look at him, you can see why they wanted him.
"He’s a former England international, England captain and someone who’s been part of the England international regime working under Eddie for years. Having experienced that and totally understanding the domestic game, it makes sense. As a player, as a coach, and now a successful DOR, I don’t think there’s a single person out there who doesn’t think he’ll be a success, not just because of what he can bring, but also because of the incredible talent that the English game has as well."
Leicester Tigers currently sit fifth in the Gallagher Premiership and made it back-to-back wins in Europe at the weekend too. Borthwick has been influential in the turnaround in fortunes at Mattioli Woods Welford Road and Monye feels the East Midlands club will be keen to continue building in a positive direction.
"Leicester Tigers will want to continue the project which he’s built the foundations from. I think everyone at Leicester will admit the success of becoming Premiership champions perhaps happened quicker than what they anticipated but that’s just one metric of success and it’s an obvious one.
"You look at the young English talent that he’s brought through as well. Not just English talent, Welsh talent as well, Tommy Reffell. You look at the season he had. He went off to South Africa and really went toe to toe with the best in the world and came out with massive credit so that’s always been part of the plan at Leicester in producing local lads that have become local heroes and he’s been able to do that.
"Jack van Poortvliet, Freddie Steward getting named in World Rugby’s Team of the Year which is just phenomenal, considering the year he has had.
"As to what they do next, they are currently sat fifth in the Gallagher Premiership, we’re at the midway point of the
season - how do they continue to build upon the work that Steve has set in place? It’s difficult for everyone, whether it’s Steve, whether it's the coaching staff he’s bringing in, the RFU, Leicester Tigers, it’s been no different to any coaching reshuffling regime that’s taken place over the last few years."
Since it became clear the RFU were targeting Borthwick to replace Jones, a lot has been written and said about the characteristics and attributes of England's new boss.
Monye was skippered by Borthwick during their England playing days together: “Steve Borthwick was my captain and he’s a man of integrity. He’s not someone that craves attention and wants headlines. He just wants to go about his business and do the best job he can do.
"He’s incredibly focused on that and I also think he’s been incredibly professional and respectful of everyone, none more so than the Leicester fans and the players so fair play to him and his handling of it."
The task ahead for Borthwick is a monumental one. His first assignment of 2023 will come at Twickenham against Scotland in the Six Nations on February 4th and will end with a World Cup in France. The exit of Jones divided opinion - given the Australian had the best winning ratio of any England head coach - but five wins from 12 Tests in 2022 ultimately saw him leave.
Despite a disappointing year for men’s rugby, Monye is positive for the future: “I’m going into 2023 with a real sense of optimism. Maybe that’s just a hope, maybe it’s a wish. In fact, it’s probably all of those things!
"I do think from what we’ve seen, all the pain that we’ve endured, some of the conversations I’ve been fortunate to have been a part of and some of the things that you hear everyone is working towards, the game on and off the pitch will be a way better product to be involved in in years to come and that’s from all the way from grassroots to professional rugby. I hope rugby will be a success for all levels of the English game. That’s my true hope for 2023."
This time next year, we’ll know the winners of the World Cup. Whether Borthwick can translate the impact he had at Leicester to the international stage is an intriguing prospect. The new England boss was forthright in front of the press on Monday stating: "I'll coach this team my way" so we wait to see what this new era holds.
