England's players allegedly grew unhappy with Steve Borthwick and called for crisis talks with RFU chief executive Bill Sweeney when they were in Argentina over the summer

England star Jamie George has fired back at claims of a rift between head coach Steve Borthwick and his players. Saracens star George says the squad are 'really upset' after a bombshell report into their summer tour was published two days before England are due to face Australia at Twickenham on Sunday.

The Times allege that during England's trip to Argentina, players wanted crisis talks with RFU chief executive Bill Sweeney after objecting to Borthwick's style of management. It's also said that the England boss was involved in a training-ground bust-up with Ellis Genge and that there are disagreements among his coaching staff.

Sweeney has already thrown his support behind Borthwick, as England prepare for a run of three home matches against Australia, Japan and New Zealand in the inaugural Nations Championship before taking part in finals weekend later this month. And George, who Borthwick replaced as captain in 2025, insists that the report will only 'galvanise' the team.

"I can tell you that a lot of it's untrue," the hooker told BBC Sport. "We, as a squad, are incredibly disappointed by it.

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"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.

"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 [Itoje] called a leader's meeting and thought that that was the best way of us going about it.

"Whoever's written this article, obviously their aim was for it to be divisive. Unfortunately for them, it's going to go the other way. This is going to galvanise us, it's going to make us tighter.

"We speak a lot about standing up for people, we speak a lot about helping each other, and we've got to make sure that we do that for Steve. He has had a bit of a personal attack here and an unwarranted one at that."

Borthwick has previously received criticism regarding his man-management skills from England's most-capped player, Ben Youngs, who won the Premiership under the 47-year-old at Leicester. Youngs said last year that Borthwick failed to give him emotional support when his family were affected by serious illnesses.

The topic of England's coaching staff, which has frequently changed during Borthwick's four-year tenure, was also broached in the article. Defence coach Felix Jones, who helped South Africa to back-to-back World Cups, only lasted seven months in the England setup, and it's claimed that an 'unstable working environment' prompted him to quit.

England began their Nations Championship campaign with a 45-21 loss away to South Africa before thrashing Fiji 73-8. Borthwick's side then toiled in a nervy 31-24 victory over Argentina, benefiting from a late disallowed try.

"As senior players part of our job is to challenge Steve," George added. "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."