Steve Borthwick admits England are trailing Six Nations rivals

England’s head coach, Steve Borthwick, has acknowledged his team are trailing in the wake of several of their major rivals and need to start finishing games more strongly if they are to be a rejuvenated force in this season’s Six Nations championship and the Rugby World Cup later this year.

While England did manage to secure their first victory under him by beating Italy 31-14 on Sunday, there was a stark contrast between the quality of their performance and Saturday’s epic game between Ireland and France in Dublin. England still have to face both those sides after their meeting with Wales in Cardiff on Saturday week.

Borthwick is not even trying to claim that England, having sacked Eddie Jones in December, are remotely on the same level as Europe’s market leaders. “The standard of those teams is phenomenal,” he said, reflecting on his first fortnight as national head coach. “If you look at them they are strong and we are a bit behind them. I can’t tell you how much but we are behind them.”

England supporters are also being advised by Borthwick that the rebuilding job could be a lengthy one. “I can’t answer that question,” he said, when asked how soon he thought the team could narrow the gap. “I can’t do anything about where they are but we are going to work really hard to catch up as fast as we can. I get the sense that people recognise this is a rebuild and that there is plenty to do here. The players have come through a tough time and I am asking them to do things in a different way.”

Borthwick suggested two weeks ago that, statistically, the England team he inherited were not good in any area and the Italy game has not significantly altered that view. “There are lots of things to improve on. One of my key jobs is