sport news All Blacks legend Hansen backs England to win the World Cup and says Borthwick ... trends now
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Eddie Jones has been backed to turn England into World Cup title contenders after two years of struggles by his old sparring partner and two-time global champion Steve Hansen.
Former All Blacks head coach Hansen – who lifted the William Webb Ellis Cup in both 2011 and 2015 – also believes Steve Borthwick is the right man to succeed Red Rose boss Jones when he moves on after next year's tournament in France.
Hansen has ruled himself out of joining England.
New Zealand legend Steve Hansen has ruled himself out of the running for the England job
England head coach Jones and his team will take on New Zealand for the first time since they defeated the All Blacks – who were led by Hansen at the time – in the 2019 World Cup semi-finals at Twickenham on Saturday in front of a capacity crowd.'
Are England good enough to win the World Cup next year?
'They certainly are,' Hansen told Sportsmail in New Zealand. 'They were just about good enough to win it last time.
Hansen believes Steve Borthwick (above) is the right man to succeed Red Rose boss Eddie Jones after the 2023 World Cup
'England is a nation that has a lot of talent and can put it together on any given day. If they do that, they're going to be hard to beat.'
Asked if he was interested in replacing Jones, Hansen instead extolled the virtues of Leicester head coach and Jones' former assistant Borthwick who led the Tigers to last season's Premiership title.
'I'd say thank you very much but no thanks,' Hansen said, when asked what his response would be to a call from RFU chief executive Bill Sweeney.
'I don't think they (England) would want me to