Borthwick tells England to cut cards and adapt quickly ahead of Nations Championship
Steve Borthwick urged England players to improve their discipline and keep 15 players on the field ahead of the autumn Nations Championship in comments published on 1 November 2026. He warned that different refereeing interpretations and a recent law change mean his side must act smarter before a pivotal month of fixtures.
Borthwick said England have received 14 yellow cards and one red in 2026 to date and have lost five of their past seven Tests, figures he links to a need for adjustment from club to Test rugby. He highlighted a mid-season law change outlawing so-called “hip-drop” tackles and noted that his experienced prop Ellis Genge called the timing of that alteration “berserk” while still accepting the team must improve its disciplinary record. All national coaches were invited to a meeting with officials on Sunday to learn exactly how November games will be refereed, and Borthwick has already identified two areas for focus.
“From my point of view there are some aspects we need to bridge from club rugby to Test rugby,” he said. “One would be the contact area. I think that was probably exemplified by last month’s Champions Cup round where the English clubs lost more ball at the breakdown than any other nation and won less back. That’s telling us straight away there’s a situation we need to bridge. When you look at the teams we are playing against in the next few weeks there is a big breakdown challenge coming.”
Borthwick has also stressed defensive resilience as a priority. “We need to ensure we make it very, very difficult for the opposition to score,” he said, and questioned the Premiership’s four-try bonus-point system: “My view on the bonus-point structure is that it shouldn’t be the way it is. I think the evidence says it should follow the Top 14, which makes defence important right until the 80th minute. I think that’s not necessarily always the case [in the Prem]. Nobody’s to blame or at fault, that’s just the way it’s structured.”
On tactical discipline Borthwick acknowledged a change of tone since July, when he called the media “the negativity committee” after the 31-24 win against Argentina in Santiago del Estero and was asked about England conceding four yellow cards in the second half. “The best players are smart and the best players adjust,” said Borthwick, who invited the referee Christophe Ridley to address his players last week. He added: “At the 2023 World Cup this team had excellent habits … really it’s been the autumn of 2025 into this year’s Six Nations that cost us. Quite frankly we spend too much time defending. The way the interpretations are right now there is likely to be a decision that goes against you which gives an entry into the 22. As soon as you are there, we can all see the number of cards. We spent too much time there … we want to get the ball back faster.”
Borthwick described the banned “hip-drop” tackle — when players try to bring down an opponent from behind by sliding in on their knees and dropping their weight on to the opponent’s lower limbs — and said: “I don’t think we can argue against anything that protects the players who play this intense game. What we’ve got to be is the quickest team to adjust.” Genge questioned the frequency of rule changes across the sport: “I think the fact our game after all this time still changes rules year to year is berserk, particularly when we’re speaking about making it palatable for new people to come in. I think it’s mental but I assume they’re trying to refine it for the best.”
England also face selection decisions because of fresh injury concerns at scrum-half, with Northampton’s Alex Mitchell (hamstring) and the uncapped Archie McParland (calf) struggling and fly-half Fin Smith (calf) already in a race against time to face the Wallabies. Management may have to start Leicester’s Jack van Poortvliet at nine, potentially with either Marcus Smith or George Ford outside him for the game against Australia on Sunday.