Bristol are considering taking legal action against the Rugby Football Union after refusing to release Steve Borthwick from his contract with the club to become England's forwards' coach.
As the RFU put out on its website a film of Eddie Jones explaining why Borthwick had become the first of his management team to be appointed, Bristol were issuing a statement saying the club had not been asked for permission to speak to their forwards' coach and had refused to accept his resignation.
The RFU made the announcement about Borthwick’s appointment – who they had expected to start work on Wednesday – saying in a brief biography of the former England captain that he had had “a brief spell” with Bristol, without forewarning the Championship leaders. The club reacted indignantly to what they saw as a unilateral act with a statement on their website, having in the morning refused to accept Borthwick’s resignation.
The statement ran: “Steve Borthwick has today indicated to the club that he wishes to join the RFU coaching team. Bristol Rugby want to make it clear that we have not agreed that Steve Borthwick can leave our employment. Steve Borthwick is subject to a recently signed long-term employment contract. Bristol Rugby did not give the RFU permission to speak with Steve Borthwick. Bristol Rugby will take all reasonable actions as necessary to protect the club’s position and, therefore, will not be making any further statement at this stage.”
The Saracens defence coach, Paul Gustard, was expected to be Jones's first announcement after the club said over the weekend that it would not stand in his way. Bristol were adamant there had been no approach for Borthwick, who joined the club after the World Cup where he had been part of Jones's Japan management team, looking after the lineout for the man who is now England's head coach.
Jones has defined a broader role for him with England, in charge of all aspects of forward play as a direct replacement for Graham Rowntree, one of the three assistant coaches at the World Cup released by England at the start of the week.
Jones is looking to add a third coach, a skills rather than scrummaging expert, and has been given permission by Northampton to speak to their backs coach, Alex King, later this week. It will be the first time the pair have met, so it is far from a done deal.
Jones, along with senior RFU officials, hosted a Christmas drinks reception for journalists at Twickenham on Tuesday, having met Exeter’s coaches in the morning, but what was intended to be a celebratory occasion turned into a media conference after Bristol’s outburst. The union refused to add to its original statement and it is understood it made the announcement on the basis of Borthwick submitting his resignation to the club.
The RFU deemed him to be a free agent. Bristol’s refusal to make any comment beyond its statement meant the club was not prepared to say whether Borthwick’s contract had a notice period and whether he would be held to it which, depending on its length, could make him miss all or part of the Six Nations. They want talks with the RFU about not only compensation but keeping hold of Borthwick, who joined the club less than two months ago, for the rest of the season, when England duties allowed, given the lack of time to find a replacement in kind.
The club is not prepared to accept his resignation until it has negotiated the terms for his release with the RFU. Part of the “reasonable actions” referred to in the statement is whether there was a breach of contract by the union making contact with Borthwick without the club’s permission, and the danger for England is that the dispute escalates beyond how much should be paid in compensation. Bristol are adamant he will remain their employee until they say otherwise.
If it comes down to a legal battle Bristol's chairman, Steve Lansdown, is one of the richest men in Britain. The upshot is the RFU will end up paying more than it would have liked to secure Borthwick and it is a further embarrassment for the governing body after Jones's arrival in Britain was delayed by six days at the start of the month because of visa problems.
Jones’s association with Borthwick goes back six years, to when the Australian was Saracens’ coaching director and lured the then England lock from Bath. “Steve is a young coach with great potential and I see the England team as having great potential,” he said. “I do not see anyone better to bring that out than him: he is a very analytical guy who loves rugby and loves the set-pieces. I have a good working relationship with him. He is very much a detail guy and that works well with the way I approach things.”
While Jones knows Borthwick and Gustard through experience he is aware of King, the former England fly-half who started coaching at Clermont Auvergne, through reputation, which is why he wants to speak to him this week. Jones is expected to take charge of attacking strategy, filling the skills brief that Mike Catt held for England under Stuart Lancaster.
"We have not had an official approach from the RFU but I am aware that Alex is going to have a conversation with Eddie Jones this week," said the Northampton director of rugby, Jim Mallinder. "If a job becomes available for Alex, and at this moment it definitely isn't, then as a club we would not stand in his way, even though it would not be ideal in the middle of the season.
“Alex doesn’t know what the job entails, whether it is attack coach or backs coach or how he would fit in with the other coaches. It is all an unknown at the moment.”
(Guardian service)
