Select Edition

Northern Northern
Southern Southern
Global Global
NZ NZ

The low-key England coach inching closer to Premiership return

By Alex Shaw
(Photo by David Rogers/Getty Images)

As the Rugby World Cup looms closer and closer, the futures of England’s coaching staff are starting to become clearer.

ADVERTISEMENT

Head coach Eddie Jones signed an extension until 2021 last year, with the RFU keen for him to help ensure a smooth transition to his successor, but the Australian could leave before that with a break clause inserted that, according to BBC Sport, could be activated if England fail to make the semi-finals of the RWC.

Attack coach Scott Wisemantel and defence coach John Mitchell are both out of contract after the RWC, with Mitchell already being linked to the France job in Midi Olympique, alongside Warren Gatland and Sir Clive Woodward. Only forwards coach Steve Borthwick currently has his long-term future tied to the RFU.

As for scrum coach Neal Hatley, whose deal runs out after the RWC like those of Wisemantel and Mitchell, RugbyPass understands that he is inching closer to a return to Gallagher Premiership club Bath.

Hatley spent four years as forwards coach at Bath before joining up with England, with the former London Irish prop one of the many players and coaches to make the move from Sunbury to Farleigh House over the last seven years. An academy coach at Irish previously, Hatley left for Bath with Toby Booth, the man whom he could be replacing in the south-west next season.

Bath have already confirmed that Booth will be leaving the club next season, as well as fellow senior coach Darren Edwards, with Girvan Dempsey continuing as attack coach and general manager Stuart Hooper in line to take over as a director of rugby from Todd Blackadder in 2020 or 2021.

If Hatley does take the role at Bath in November, he will find a front row that will have been boosted summer by the arrivals of Lewis Boyce, Will Stuart and Christian Judge. They are set to join a group of props at the club that already boasts Beno Obano, Nathan Catt and Henry Thomas, which would give Bath three legitimate options at both loosehead and tighthead.

ADVERTISEMENT

With the club’s recruitment policy clearly prizing quality and quantity in the front row, it should come as no surprise that they are seeking to maximise any advantages they can find in that area with the addition of an international scrum coach.

Watch: Warren Gatland is among the coaches being eyed up by the FFR

Video Spacer
ADVERTISEMENT

Join free

Aotearoa Rugby Podcast | Episode 6

Sam Warburton | The Big Jim Show | Full Episode

Japan Rugby League One | Sungoliath v Eagles | Full Match Replay

Japan Rugby League One | Spears v Wild Knights | Full Match Replay

Boks Office | Episode 10 | Six Nations Final Round Review

Aotearoa Rugby Podcast | How can New Zealand rugby beat this Ireland team

Beyond 80 | Episode 5

Rugby Europe Men's Championship Final | Georgia v Portugal | Full Match Replay

Trending on RugbyPass

Comments

Join free and tell us what you really think!

Sign up for free
ADVERTISEMENT

Latest Features

Comments on RugbyPass

J
Jon 8 hours ago
Jake White: Are modern rugby players actually better?

This is the problem with conservative mindsets and phycology, and homogenous sports, everybody wants to be the same, use the i-win template. Athlete wise everyone has to have muscles and work at the gym to make themselves more likely to hold on that one tackle. Do those players even wonder if they are now more likely to be tackled by that player as a result of there “work”? Really though, too many questions, Jake. Is it better Jake? Yes, because you still have that rugby of ole that you talk about. Is it at the highest International level anymore? No, but you go to your club or checkout your representative side and still engage with that ‘beautiful game’. Could you also have a bit of that at the top if coaches encouraged there team to play and incentivized players like Damian McKenzie and Ange Capuozzo? Of course we could. Sadly Rugby doesn’t, or didn’t, really know what direction to go when professionalism came. Things like the state of northern pitches didn’t help. Over the last two or three decades I feel like I’ve been fortunate to have all that Jake wants. There was International quality Super Rugby to adore, then the next level below I could watch club mates, pulling 9 to 5s, take on the countries best in representative rugby. Rugby played with flair and not too much riding on the consequences. It was beautiful. That largely still exists today, but with the world of rugby not quite getting things right, the picture is now being painted in NZ that that level of rugby is not required in the “pathway” to Super Rugby or All Black rugby. You might wonder if NZR is right and the pathway shouldn’t include the ‘amateur’, but let me tell you, even though the NPC might be made up of people still having to pull 9-5s, we know these people still have dreams to get out of that, and aren’t likely to give them. They will be lost. That will put a real strain on the concept of whether “visceral thrill, derring-do and joyful abandon” type rugby will remain under the professional level here in NZ. I think at some point that can be eroded as well. If only wanting the best athlete’s at the top level wasn’t enough to lose that, shutting off the next group, or level, or rugby players from easy access to express and showcase themselves certainly will. That all comes back around to the same question of professionalism in rugby and whether it got things right, and rugby is better now. Maybe the answer is turning into a “no”?

35 Go to comments
j
john 11 hours ago
Will the Crusaders' decline spark a slow death for New Zealand rugby?

But here in Australia we were told Penney was another gun kiwi coach, for the Tahs…….and yet again it turned out the kiwi coach was completely useless. Another con job on Australian rugby. As was Robbie Deans, as was Dave Rennie. Both coaches dumped from NZ and promoted to Australia as our saviour. And the Tahs lap them up knowing they are second rate and knowing that under pressure when their short comings are exposed in Australia as well, that they will fall in below the largest most powerful province and choose second rate Tah players to save their jobs. As they do and exactly as Joe Schmidt will do. Gauranteed. Schmidt was dumped by NZ too. That’s why he went overseas. That why kiwi coaches take jobs in Australia, to try and prove they are not as bad as NZ thought they were. Then when they get found out they try and ingratiate themselves to NZ again by dragging Australian teams down with ridiculous selections and game plans. NZ rugby’s biggest problem is that it can’t yet transition from MCaw Cheatism. They just don’t know how to try and win on your merits. It is still always a contest to see how much cheating you can get away with. Without a cheating genius like McCaw, they are struggling. This I think is why my wise old mate in NZ thinks Robertson will struggle. The Crusaders are the nursery of McCaw Cheatism. Sean Fitzpatrick was probably the father of it. Robertson doesn’t know anything else but other countries have worked it out.

44 Go to comments
TRENDING
TRENDING RFU statement: TMO reaction to alleged foul play against Owen Farrell RFU statement: TMO reaction to alleged foul play against Owen Farrell
Search