Jamie George says newspaper rift report will only galvanise England

Jamie George said a newspaper report alleging player unrest over head coach Steve Borthwick will only galvanise England ahead of Sunday’s Nations Championship meeting with Australia at Allianz Stadium in Twickenham. The England hooker added the squad were "really upset" by the article and rejected its portrayal of events in Argentina.

The Times reported that unhappy players had sought summit talks with Borthwick and Rugby Football Union chief executive Bill Sweeney in Argentina in July, and alleged disagreements within Borthwick’s wider coaching group and concerns about his man-management. The piece noted frequent change among the coaching team during Borthwick’s nearly four years in charge. George, who was made England captain by Borthwick in 2024 before the role passed to Maro Itoje 12 months later, said he did not recognise the depiction.

"I can tell you that a lot of it's untrue," George told Rugby Union Weekly, adding: "We, as a squad, are incredibly disappointed by it." He questioned the timing of the report: "You just have to look at the timing of the article - two days out from our first Test match. I think it's clearly there to try and be divisive." He described how the group addressed the story, saying: "It is the first time I think in my England career that as a group we've had to address an article that's been written, but we spoke about it brilliantly. "Maro called a leader's meeting and thought that that was the best way of us going about it."

Borthwick responded to Rugby Union Weekly by saying: "The depiction is not something I recognise," and emphasised that meetings between senior players and coaches are common practice. George also defended the structure of senior-player engagement, saying: "As senior players part of our job is to challenge Steve," and adding: "Steve is so open to us giving feedback and having challenge. "It is very much a two-way conversation and that was definitely there in Argentina. "There was an edge to what we were doing - there was plenty going on - but at no stage was it toxic. "I don't know many organisations in the world that don't review big tournaments and try and make sure you take plenty of learnings."

The Times article did not directly quote its sources, and the wider coverage referenced criticism from figures previously involved in Borthwick's regime. Ben Youngs has described feeling the head coach failed to offer sympathy and support when Youngs's family was affected by a terminal illness. Defence coach Felix Jones, who helped South Africa to back-to-back world titles, lasted seven months working under Borthwick before reportedly handing in his notice because of an "unstable working environment." England’s most recent match before the report was a 31-24 victory over Argentina in Santiago del Estero in July.

Form and context from recent seasons were also included in the coverage: England recovered from a run of five straight defeats with wins over Fiji and Argentina, but their winning percentage for 2026 stood at 38%. The report recalled that Borthwick nearly took England to the Rugby World Cup final less than a year after succeeding Eddie Jones, losing the semi-final to South Africa by a single point, and that his 2025 campaign produced 11 wins from 12 matches, including a victory over New Zealand. The article noted England had not played at Allianz Stadium since February’s 42-21 loss to Ireland and recorded that the venue generates about 90% of the RFU's revenue, the majority coming via men's national team matchdays.

England’s autumn campaign opens against Australia on Sunday, with live commentary available on BBC Sports Extra and the BBC Sport website and app. The fixture is followed by matches against Japan and New Zealand, with the All Blacks scheduled two weeks after the Wallabies game, as noted in the coverage.