The aim, he added, was to take the same coaching team through the transition into the Six Nations in 2028. The RFU applied the same process with the women’s team.
The union framed the decision as continuity rather than a blank cheque, tying its support to the demand for progress after a poor championship campaign.
The RFU’s public commitment is intended to take away any distraction around the coaching contracts as England prepare for the World Cup cycle.
Sweeney had already offered further qualified support after that championship. Borthwick was again endorsed by an anonymous post-championship review.
The head coach remains under pressure after five defeats in the past seven matches.
“We just felt that going into a World Cup is a tough enough challenge anyway,” Sweeney said. “We wanted our coaching team just to be focused on the World Cup, not be thinking about: ‘Oh, I don’t have a role lined up,’ and be thinking about that in the buildup.”.
A 24-year-old fly-half has been nursing a calf injury but remains on track to give Borthwick a timely fillip. Sweeney said he deserved to be given the time to give himself the best chance to play. England had a difficult Six Nations this year. Sweeney said the union accepted that and was clearly very disappointed, but wanted continued progress and was backing Borthwick to deliver it.