Rugby

Steve Borthwick wields axe as England revamp picks up

Matt Proudfoot one of three members of Eddie Jones’ staff let go by new head coach

Steve Borthwick has begun his England's rebuild with the backroom staff. Photograph: Kirsty O'Connor/PA

Gerard Meagher
Mon Jan 2 2023 - 18:55

Steve Borthwick’s overhaul of England’s coaching team has gathered pace with three of Eddie Jones’s backroom staff shown the door. The forwards coach, Matt Proudfoot, defence coach Brett Hodgson and training coordinator Danny Kerry have all left the England set-up as Borthwick makes his mark before the Six Nations campaign begins next month.

Proudfoot is the highest-profile casualty and has already found new employment at Stellenbosch University in South Africa. Hodgson’s tenure as defence coach was one of the shortest in history after only assuming the role after Anthony Seibold left following the autumn campaign. His departure was signalled when the Rugby Football Union confirmed the arrival of Kevin Sinfield before Christmas. Kerry’s tenure was only marginally longer.

Proudfoot’s recruitment by Jones in 2020 was seen as a coup given the 50-year-old was considered as the mastermind behind South Africa’s scrum dominance at the 2019 World Cup. In his three years under Jones, however, Proudfoot was unable to turn England’s scrum into a consistently potent weapon – indeed it became a liability last year, brutally exposed by the Springboks at the end of November in the defeat that forced the RFU to act.

His job was under scrutiny in 2021 but he stayed in position with Richard Cockerill appointed as a second forwards coach, allowing Proudfoot to focus on the scrum. It was a move that did not work and Borthwick has wasted little time in moving on Proudfoot, who has been made consultant head coach of the team nicknamed Maties at Stellenbosch University. The RFU’s executive director of performance rugby Conor O’Shea said: “We are very grateful to Matt for all he has done for England and wish him every success in his next career move.”

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It remains to be seen if Borthwick will replace Proudfoot or broaden Cockerill’s remit but if he opts for the former, he could do far worse than turn to Saracens’ scrum coach, Ian Peel. Jones was planning to again call on the services of Marc dal Maso, the French scrummaging expert he temporarily appointed in 2017, before he was sacked.

Hodgson, who shadowed Seibold during the autumn, was always expected to depart after Borthwick succeeded in taking Sinfield with him from Leicester to Twickenham. The appointment of Kerry, who guided Great Britain’s women’s hockey team to Olympic gold in 2016, came in October and, similarly, his stay has ended before it got going. Cockerill remains in place, with Martin Gleeson also continuing as attack coach, for the time being, though further changes by Borthwick are expected.

Joe Marler’s go-to line

Joe Marler has said he will never again try to provoke players by insulting their mother. Photograph: Steve Haag/Steve Haag Sports

Meanwhile, Joe Marler told the RFU’s disciplinary panel that referencing other players’ mothers was a “go-to” line following his comments made to Bristol’s Jake Heenan that led to his two-week ban. At the hearing, Marler accepted an RFU charge of conduct prejudicial to the game for twice calling Heenan’s mother, who is ill in hospital, a whore. Marler insisted he was not aware that Heenan’s mother was unwell and argued his comments did not constitute verbal abuse.

The full judgment reads: “In a candid response to a panel member’s question, [Marler] accepted that this was a normal ‘go-to line’ if he was trying to get a reaction when ‘sledging or ribbing’ an opponent player. [Marler] said that he would not do so in the future, not least because ‘you never know what is going on in other people’s family’.”

In a statement provided by Heenan, the Bristol flanker says that it was the failure of the referee, Karl Dickson, to act that prompted him to “lose his head”. Heenan said: “After being kicked on the ground by Joe Marler in the ruck before the scrum, I told him to cut it out at the next scrum. After a few words he said ‘your mother is a whore.’ I left the first time, then he repeated it a second time to which I looked at Karl Dickson. Karl looked at me, looked away and shook his head. When I realised that he wasn’t going to intervene I lost my head.”

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