A 7 man England shortlist to replace Gustard
As much as the news that Paul Gustard would take over as Harlequins head coach has been celebrated by the Quins faithful, it has created equal levels of anxiety for England fans.
To lose your defence coach just over a year out from a Rugby World Cup is not standard practice and the Rugby Football Union will need to move swiftly this summer to identify and approach the suitable replacement and then get them in ahead of the 2018/19 season.
We have put together a shortlist of candidates that Eddie Jones and the RFU are likely to be looking at over the next few months.
Wayne Smith
Seemingly forever linked with England coaching roles, could Smith and the RFU finally team up ahead of the 2019 RWC?
“The Professor” has been one of the masterminds behind the All Blacks’ most recent successes and though he stepped down from his role with New Zealand last year and was diagnosed with prostate cancer back in January, Smith has continued to keep his hand in, working with Melbourne Storm in the NRL, as well as roles in Italy and Japan.
Could the lure of another RWC and a fresh challenge be enough to bring Smith out of semi-retirement?
Jason Ryles
Sticking with the Melbourne Storm, this Australian rugby league coach is well-acquainted with the England environment, having worked with the group during the autumn internationals in 2016.
It would be a bold move for the RFU to appoint a man with next to no union coaching experience, but Jones would have good insight into what he brings to the mix and, should Jones fight his corner, that may be enough to get the RFU to try and poach him from the NRL.
Shaun Edwards
Edwards was reportedly in the mix to become Quins’ new head coach, but having missed out on that role to Gustard, could he take the former Leicester Tigers and London Irish man’s spot with England?
In the recent history of tit-for-tat exchanges between Jones and Warren Gatland, luring away Gatland’s defence coach would certainly mark a new high for Jones and the RFU, but any compensation deal would not come cheap.
Alex Sanderson
The Saracens coach stepped in for Gustard when he left north London and will be tipped by many to do just the same in south-west London this summer.
He has kept the Saracens defence playing at a high level, despite also having to shoulder the burden of being the club’s forwards coach, and he’d be a natural fit to replace Gustard in Jones’ coaching staff. There is no denying Jones’ fondness for Saracens coaches, either, having previously brought in Gustard, Steve Borthwick and Rory Teague into the England set-up.
Ali Hepher
Not a defence coach in the strictest sense, but with England also in need of an attack coach, could Hepher help fill both roles?
He has done a sterling job with the Exeter Chiefs and, like Ryles, has previous experience of working with Jones and England on a short-term basis. The toughest sell to Hepher may well be giving up his position with Exeter, for a role with England that cannot be guaranteed to last beyond the RWC.
Joe Worsley
The former Wasps flanker has taken a slightly different route to most English coaches, learning his craft in the Top 14, where he has operated as Bordeaux’s defence coach for the last six years, working under Raphaël Ibañez and more recently Teague.
Whether or not Worsley would be interested in returning to England at this point in his career remains to be seen, but he would certainly bring a unique insight into the team, offering a knowledge of a culture within the game rarely experienced by previous England coaches.
Brendan Venter
Could the man who orchestrated “the Fox” and made Jones so irritated at Twickenham last year be the final piece of the jigsaw to see England push for RWC glory?
Venter has several commitments currently within and outside of rugby, but the RFU have shown they’re not afraid to stump up compensation when they identify their key target. Again, it’s another appointment that would fit well with Jones’ Saracens connections.
Comments on RugbyPass
Who listens to this retard? He was a massive liability as a player but obviously a media sensation
40 Go to commentsI’m not surprised by such ‘virtue signalling’ by Sonny Boy. Butter wouldn’t melt in his mouth. He’s such a pious Islamic muppet, imo.
40 Go to commentsI’ve actually never heard of the guy (then I don’t watch League as it is boring). But if he is good enough.. then good luck to him. If not, well, he can always return to league.
2 Go to commentsIt is pretty clear that by almost any measure that NZ are a more successful rugby nation than South Africa. Quite aside from the distasteful events during the last RWC final. NZ lead SA in all significant measurements.
39 Go to commentsDickson went to his pocket for a card, saw who it was, changed his mind and spoke at length to TMO. One angle clearly shows Care diving over a Saints player to kill the ball. 1st yellow, reason given for not Red was player was falling backwards. He was only falling backwards after contact with Lawes. Graham try should have stood. Mitchell did not have both hands on the ball, ball went forward from a Saints boot dragging over it. 2 intentional knock-on's. One of which had an overlap on the outside. If Quins are happy to win by intentional foul play, then it does not say much for them. Would appear to be a bad day for Karl Dickson, also for the RFU in appointing a Ref who spent 8 years as a player at one of the clubs.
1 Go to commentsLet’s not forget about Ardie Savea just yet.
4 Go to commentsThe URC and the Euro Championscup can’t run at the same time, basically dilutes both competitions.
1 Go to comments“While Sotutu should start at No.8 for the All Blacks against England, but it’s only in that arena that he can prove just how good he really is.” And that my friends is where simply hasnt shone despite multiple opportunities. Even in this performance you can see what did him in in the test arena..he almost always still runs at the opposition almost ramrod upright making him easier to stop than it should be.
4 Go to commentsShould have been 0-0 and a message from SR CEO to both teams - “don’t worry about turning up next year”.
4 Go to commentsGreat work Owen Franks. A great of this team, scoring his first try for the Crusaders since 2010.He was beaming, justifiably. A fine win, he and the rest did the job up front.
1 Go to commentsDanny Care. Lang in die tand.
1 Go to commentsBig empty stadium does nothing for atmosphere but munster are playing well with solid performance
1 Go to commentsYes, Fiji can win the World Cup! With that belief plus their christian faith🙏 and hard work it is achievable. Great article. Ian Duncan Fiji resident 1981-84
2 Go to commentsInteresting comments about Touch. England’s hosting the Touch World Cup this year and the numbers have exploded since their last World Cup in 2019, something like 70% more teams and 40 nations taking part. And England Touch have made a big thing about how many universities are in their BUCS University Touch Championship as well as Sport England membership. Can only see this growing even more domestically as more people become aware of it
10 Go to comments“Cortez Ratima is light years ahead of anyone on current form, while TJ Perenara has also skyrocketed into contention following the unfortunate injury to the talented Cam Roigard.” At last some sanity. Hitherto so many pundits have been wittering on about Finlay Christie to the point one wondered if they were observing a FC in a parallel universe where the FC they saw wasnt just the mediocre Shayne Philpott project of Fosters hapless AB reign in the real world. Ratima, Perenara and Fakatava are the ONLY logical 9s for Razor now Roigard is crocked.
4 Go to commentsThis game was just as painful as the Hurricanes game. It was real fork-in-the-eye stuff.
4 Go to commentsNow if they could just fire the Crusaders ground PA guy who likes to play his dance music and just loves the sound of his own voice the entire game, even when play is going on. And I thought their brass band thing of a few years ago was bad.
5 Go to commentsUnfortunately when you lose by far the two form players this season in Roigard and Aumua, you're left replacing two game changing Tanks with a couple of pea-shooters. Which is also about the speed of TJs pass.
4 Go to commentsBit rich coming from the guy with zero loyalty to anyone or any team, including happily taking a players place in a league world cup squad because well, SBW wanted to play in it and thus an already named player got told he was no longer going. And airing stuff like this, which may or may not be true, doesn't exactly say you're a stand up guy either SBW. Just looking to keep his name in lights as usual.
40 Go to commentsTamati Tua. …the Taniwha NPC midfielder. Ollie Sapsford, Hawkes Bay NPC midfielder…doing well
4 Go to comments