Steve Borthwick has outlined his “genuine excitement” at England’s World Cup chances after putting the final touches to his coaching team.
Borthwick’s first Guinness Six Nations campaign in the hotseat saw England finish fourth, with two wins and three defeats, and he has now added further to his backroom team.
The head coach has reunited the coaching staff who led Leicester Tigers to the Gallagher Premiership title last season, appointing Tom Harrison as England’s scrum coach.
Harrison, currently Tigers’ assistant coach, will start his new role on June 1 and link up with former Leicester colleagues in Borthwick, Richard Wigglesworth (attack and kicking coach), Kevin Sinfield (defence coach) and Aled Walters (head of strength and conditioning).
In addition, England men’s sevens head coach Tony Roques will work as a contact and skills coach during preparation and training camps.
Borthwick said: “I am very pleased to confirm the England coaching team for the Rugby World Cup.
“Tom is an excellent coach and will have a real impact in area that will be fundamental to us as a team.
“Leicester’s scrum is renowned across Europe and Tom has played a leading role in that success. I have full confidence in him and I am very happy that he will be joining England.
“Tony has an extensive background in sevens and is an experienced, specialist contact and skills coach. Individual skill emphasis will be an important part of our work.
“Richard has a proven track record as a player and a player coach, and you can see what an excellent job he has done as head coach of Leicester Tigers in the past few months.
“He has played at Rugby World Cups and has coaching experience in 2019, and understands the unique demands of the tournament and the support that players need. He knows a lot of the players very well and will bring different insights to the coaching team.
“Along with Kevin and Aled, I am pleased with the balance and wide range of experience that the coaching staff will have.
“As a group, we know each other well and we know the areas we will focus on to continue developing and building this team and be the best prepared team that we can be.
“We know this World Cup will be highly competitive, but we are genuinely excited by what this group of coaches and players can achieve in France.”
England’s new-look coaching team will hone their preparations during the Summer Series, which sees back-to-back matches against Wales on August 5 (away) and August 12 (home).
A trip to Dublin to face Guinness Six Nations champions Ireland follows on August 19 before Fiji visit Twickenham Stadium on August 26.
