Borthwick and Sinfield to be unveiled as new England coaching ticket

Leicester Tigers boss Steve Borthwick is set to be revealed as the new England head coach tomorrow and he is bringing defence Kevin Sinfield with him.

The pair will replace Eddie Jones who was sacked 12 days ago following a disappointing Autumn Nations Series for England in which they won just one game.

The RFU and Leicester have struck a compensation deal that will see the Welford Road side bag a reported £1,000,000 for the pair, a move which is set to be confirmed tomorrow by the union.

The Telegraph report Borthwick stuck to his guns in insisting that former rugby league great Sinfield come with him to the national side, a move that was an early sticking point for the RFU in negotiations.

The Cumbrian acted as director of rugby since 2020, steering the club to last season’s Gallagher Premiership title.

The deal that takes the 43-year-old Cumbrian to Twickenham was finalised on Sunday morning and he will be officially announced as Jones’ successor 24 hours later.

Before transforming Leicester from a fallen giant of English club rugby into Premiership champions, the former Saracens captain spent eight years as an international assistant coach – all under Jones.

Upon hanging up his boots, he launched his coaching career with Japan in 2012 and then joined his tracksuit mentor when he was appointed England boss in the aftermath of the disastrous 2015 World Cup.

Borthwick’s role was overseeing the forwards, with the line-out his main area of expertise, but he also performed the key role of coaching coordinator and was seen as the glue behind the scenes.

While it’s a financial windfall for Leicester and it also represents a massive loss of rugby IP for the Gallagher Premiership champions.

Some have linked current Leinster head coach Leo Cullen with a move back to his former club, rumours that Cullen himself dismissed this week. Cullen’s contract comes to an end of the current season, but he told the Irish Independent this week that he was ‘happy’ where he was with the Irish heavyweights.

additional reporting PA