The major thing Martin Gleeson wants to see after his England exit

Former England attack coach Martin Gleeson has called for even greater collaboration between rugby union and league. Eddie Jones’ ex-assistant wasn’t kept on when Steve Borthwick took over for the 2023 Guinness Six Nations, preferring instead to bring in Harlequins’ Nick Evans to coach attack over the course of the championship.

It was the summer of 2021 when Gleeson, who had been working at Wasps under Lee Blackett, was initially brought into the Test fold at union level and he had now suggested that there should be more of a crossover between the two rugby codes.

An ex-league international player, Gleeson was coaching at Test level in union alongside fellow code coverts such as Shaun Edwards and Andy Farrell, and during a Good Friday appearance as a Sky Sports TV pundit for the Super League clash of Wigan and St Helens, he was asked what he had seen in rugby union to make league better?

“There is lots both codes can learn from each other,” he suggested. “It’s very similar in a lot of ways. The players, the lads are great, the camaraderie is great, some of the skill set that they have is unbelievable and I think there should be more linking up between players, coaches and even teams.”

Gleeson was also quizzed about his future in rugby and whether he could re-emerge as a Super League head coach? “I’d never say never,” he told the presenter Brian Carney, an ex-league player who had a spell playing union at Test level with Ireland.

“What an inspiration today was coming here (to the DW Stadium), the first rugby league game I have watched for a couple of years, and coming to this one was a perfect fit. But I don’t know, you never know what is going to go on in the future. We will see.”

Gleeson started off working for Jones’ England in the 2021 Autumn Nations Series. All three matches were won in that November window, but the wheels came off during 2022 as England won just five of a dozen matches, resulting in the dismissal of Jones last December.