The most worrying sign of this follows the bombshell decision this week by Felix Jones, a double World Cup-winning assistant coach with South Africa, to leave the England set-up after only seven months.
The bid by the Irishman, whose credentials as an talented attack/defence strategist have taken him to the top of the coaching ladder, to extricate himself from his RFU contract so soon is a body blow to Borthwick’s attempts to turn England back into a leading international force.
The blow was even more damaging because it came so soon after strength & conditioning specialist Aled Walters walked through the Twickenham exit straight into a job with Ireland. This suggests that unless he had a break clause with England, the IRFU bought him out of his RFU contract.
Walters’ timing could not have been worse from a Red Rose perspective. The influential performance guru of the 2019 South African World Cup winning side – who is a close to Jones since their days at Munster – left his England job just two days after it was announced that Tom Tombleson, his fellow strength & conditioning colleague, had been released following a pre-season Borthwick reshuffle.
The departure of the now unemployed Tombleson, who had been a popular member of the England support staff for a decade, had a domino effect. With Walters and Jones following-on, the three-man coaching exodus in under three weeks in August rocked Twickenham to the core.
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Denne historien er fra September 01, 2024-utgaven av The Rugby Paper.
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Sleightholme shows he has pace to burn
OLLIE Sleightholme recently clocked his fastest sprint time and is racing to cement his spot as an England starter.
McGoverne says playing for Chiefs is her priority
EXETER fly-half Olivia McGoverne has opted for club over country which will rule her out of contention for New Zealand’s World Cup bid in 2025.
Trinity aim to get the culture right
HIGH-FLYING Trinity have made a remarkable turnaround this season after narrowly avoiding relegation last term, heading into this weekend unbeaten and are now eyeing up promotion from Level 7.
YOUNG GUNS
Louie Gulley experienced the environment of England U20s’ World Championship triumph up close this summerand now has a burning desire to become an age-grade star. The 19-year-old Exeter Chiefs hooker was part of Mark Mapletoft’s squad but didn’t manage to make an appearance during the tournament.
The Cherry & Whites lay down marker over Lucs
CAMBORNE maintained their lead at the top of the table with a bonus-point win against their nearest challengers in a pulsating game.
A brace from Botterill is key to victory for Esher
A highly entertaining and enthralling contest between two sides fighting at the foot of the table was eventually won by Esher after the lead had changed no less than seven times throughout an absorbing afternoon.
Chiefs in hunt for new investment
TONY Rowe has confirmed the search for new investors into Exeter Chiefs has begun as he looks to safeguard the longterm future of the Premiership club.
McParland keen to shine for England A
NORTHAMPTON scrum-half Archie McParland feels he has returned a better player following a nasty injury that denied him a World Cup winners medal and is now ready to fly into a new opportunity with England A.
Undercard get chance to show their A-game
ENGLAND’S A team today get their first major work-out after being resurrected earlier this year when Australia’s undercard provide the opposition at The Stoop.
England look like a clueless rabble
I WATCHED with a growing sense of bewilderment as England yet again took to the field against Australia looking to all intents and purpose as if they had just been introduced to each other on the coach into Twickenham.
