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England A coaching team announced for November, including RWC winner
By Josh Raisey
Mark Mapletoft will take charge of England A for their fixtures against the All Blacks XV and Spain in November.
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Maplefoft, who was named Head of England Men’s Player Pathways last month, took charge of England A last year, delivering a 38-17 victory over Australia A last year at the Stoop.
He will lead the side again in fixtures against the All Blacks XV at the Rec on November 8, and against Spain the following week in Valladolid.
Gloucester’s James Lightfoot Brown will serve as attack coach for the first fixture, while Mapletoft will take over for the trip to Spain. Similarly, Harlequins’ Matt Ferguson will take charge of the scrum for the first match, and will be replaced by Nathan Catt for the second, fresh from guiding England Women to Rugby World Cup glory.
Saracens’ Adam Powell and Northampton Saints’ James Craig will be available for both fixtures, with the former taking charge of defence and the latter presiding over the forwards.
The coaching team was chosen by the RFU in consultation with PREM Rugby, with the selection of the match day 23 to be made Steve Borthwick and RFU Executive Director of Performance Conor O’Shea.
“It’s a great honour to be accompanied by some of the most exciting coaching talent in the Gallagher PREM ahead of our opening games of the 2025/26 season,” said Mapletoft.
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“Following extensive consultation with Steve [Borthwick] and Conor [O’Shea] alongside PREM Rugby, we believe we have assembled a team that will drive forward the A side into a new campaign with fresh ideas against testing opposition.
“We want to continue to provide a platform for young players to grow the rose and measure themselves against international-calibre sides, bridging the gap into the senior environment.”
England A’s last outing, against Ireland A at Bristol’s Ashton Gate in February, proved to be fruitful for Borthwick. Not only did four players from the 28-12 victory over Ireland A go on to earn their first England caps in the summer against either Argentina or the United States, Charlie Atkinson, Max Ojomoh, Joe Carpenter and Gabriel Oghre, but the team were coached by Lee Blackett, who has since left Bath and joined Borthwick’s backroom staff as attack coach on a permanent basis.
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