Steve Borthwick is confident he has the backing of the Rugby Football Union after England were plunged into crisis following a historic defeat to Italy.

England surrendered an 18–10 lead in the third quarter and fell 23–18 at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome. It was their third consecutive loss in the Six Nations Championship, which concludes against France in Paris on Saturday.

It was the first time in 33 meetings that Italy had beaten England. England now face the prospect of finishing the tournament with just one win, which would mark an all-time low.

Former England wing Ugo Monye reacted to the defeat by saying the conversation about Borthwick’s future “has to start now”. He added that “the potential of the players is not being matched by the vision of the coach”.

Despite the criticism, Borthwick remains convinced he should stay in charge. He replied “absolutely” when asked if he is still the right man for the job.

“The RFU, myself, Conor O'Shea and Bill Sweeney speak regularly,” Borthwick said. “We discuss the vision for the team moving forward.”

He said the squad has accelerated its development over the past 12 months. However, he acknowledged that this Six Nations has presented difficult challenges and that results have not gone England’s way.

“The team’s growth over the last year has been very strong,” he said. “You can see the vision of where the team is going and the players coming through.”

“Right now this is a tough period. But we will learn from it and make sure we are stronger going forward.”

“It is tough and we are not hiding from that. We are not where we want to be in terms of results or performances.”

England’s slump has been dramatic. They opened the Six Nations with a convincing win over Wales, which secured a 12th successive victory. Now they sit fifth in the table, with only winless Wales beneath them.

“Firstly, I want to thank the supporters,” Borthwick said. “They are hurting just like we are.”

“We feel it deeply. These are not the performances or results we wanted to deliver.”

“Over the last period we brought supporters on a journey with us. We played the type of rugby we wanted to play.”

“Look at the number of tries we scored over the last 12 months and the way we tried to play. That has been very good.”

“Unfortunately, those tries are not flowing right now. We are not crossing the try line as often as we want.”

“There are a few reasons for that. One is the contact area, which is extremely competitive at the moment.”