England coaching team confirmed for Rugby World Cup
Steve Borthwick has confirmed his England coaching team for the Rugby World Cup.
Tom Harrison has been appointed scrum coach and will join England Rugby from Leicester Tigers on 1 June.
Harrison is assistant coach at Leicester Tigers, leading on scrum coaching. He started in their academy programme, before joining the first team coaching staff for the 2020/21 season. He was part of the team that won the Gallagher Premiership in 2021/22.
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"I am very pleased to confirm the England coaching team for the Rugby World Cup," said Borthwick. "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 Roques will work with the team as contact and skills coach during the preparation and training camps. Roques represented England on the Sevens circuit, before moving into coaching. He has worked with USA Rugby and Team GB at the 2021 Olympic Games. Roques also worked with the England squad ahead of the 2019 Rugby World Cup.
It is also confirmed that Richard Wigglesworth will lead the attack coaching and kicking strategy, while Kevin Sinfield will continue his work as defence coach. Wigglesworth will join with England at the end of the Gallagher Premiership season, alongside Aled Walters who will be head of strength and conditioning.
"Tony has an extensive background in Sevens and is an experienced, specialist contact and skills coach," Borthwick added.
"Individual skill emphasis will be an important part of our work. Having worked alongside him in the 2019 campaign, I know what a good coach he is and he will really contribute to the team."
"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."
