England announce major coaching shake-up as respected Prem coach joins Steve Borthwick’s staff
England head coach Steve Borthwick (front right) with an inset of Lee Blackett (left)
England have announced a major coaching shake-up ahead of the Autumn Nations Series, with Lee Blackett joining Steve Borthwick’s staff.
The current Bath assistant has previously served as both England A head coach and on Borthwick’s ticket for the summer tour to the Americas, leading the attack in the whitewash over Los Pumas and the later win against the USA, a tour which has seen him drafted into the team full-time.
As a result of Blackett’s new commitments with England, he will leave Bath in late September. He will, however, join up with the England squad for their three-day training camp, which begins on Sunday.
‘I can’t wait to work with these players, and to see what we can achieve’
“It’s a huge honour to join the England coaching team,” said Blackett.
“The current England squad is full of talent and enthusiasm, with quality and depth from 1 to 15. I can’t wait to work with these players, and to see what we can achieve.
“I have greatly enjoyed my time at Bath and am grateful to Bruce Craig and Johann van Graan for allowing me to pursue my ambition of coaching at international level. There is never an ideal time to leave, but I am sure the club will continue to thrive.”
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His appointment also sees senior assistant coach Richard Wigglesworth move over to defence coach, with Joe El-Abd will work more with the forwards.
Commenting on the appointment of Blackett and the wider reshuffle, Borthwick said: “I am pleased to announce these changes, which I believe will leave us even better placed to continue our development. They allow us to build on the momentum of recent strong results and put the team in the best possible position for the challenges ahead.
“Lee brings great experience and has, for several years, been widely regarded as one of the country’s top attack coaches. His teams play fast, exciting rugby that consistently look to score tries.
“His work with England over the summer further demonstrated his ability to drive the development of our attack in the manner and style already built by Richard Wigglesworth.
“Richard has done an excellent job over the past three years shaping our attack from where it was to where it is now. His selection to coach the British & Irish Lions this summer is a testament to that.
“He and I had previously had a general discussion about whether he could switch his focus to the critical area of defence. After the summer tours, it made sense for him to move into that role – provided Lee could join full-time to run the attack.
“Just as we expect the playing group to improve and evolve over time, the same applies to the coaches. We have made excellent progress over the past 12 months, and there is so much more to be done.”
England begin their Autumn Nations Series campaign with a Test against Australia on 1st November, before facing Fiji, New Zealand and Argentina.
England men’s coaching team in full
Steve Borthwick – head coach
Richard Wigglesworth – senior assistant coach
Lee Blackett – assistant coach
Kevin Sinfield – assistant coach
Tom Harrison – assistant coach
Joe El-Abd – assistant coach
Andrew Strawbridge – coach advisor and assistant coach
