- England has been thrown into turmoil by the loss of Aled Walters and Felix Jones
- Dan Tobin will join the national team set-up as strength and conditioning coach
England head coach Steve Borthwick has made his first step in moving on from a summer of staff upheaval by appointing Gloucester’s Dan Tobin as a strength and conditioning coach.
Borthwick has seen defence coach Felix Jones, fitness chief Aled Walters and another fitness coach in Tom Tombleson all quit his set-up in the wake of the July Tests with New Zealand.
This week, RFU chief executive Bill Sweeney admitted the three losses had been far from ideal but gave his full backing to Borthwick as the man in charge of the national team.
Tobin, a former Irish international sprinter, is essentially a direct replacement for Tombleson who had been a popular and long-serving England staff member.
‘We are very pleased to be welcoming Dan to the coaching team and excited to see the impact he’ll make,’ said Borthwick. ‘Dan is an outstanding strength and conditioning coach, who has a wealth of rugby experience and a proven track record in maximising the physical performance of his players and helping them reach their full potential.’
Gloucester’s Dan Tobin will join England as their new strength and conditioning coach
Steve Borthwick is looking to boost his ranks after a summer of great unexpected upheaval
Getting a new fitness team in place is of paramount importance to Borthwick after he was this week handed full control of the health and welfare plans of England’s best 25 players.
The move, which will give Borthwick ‘final say’ on when the players in his enhanced England playing squad (EPS) will play, was the headline act of English rugby’s new Professional Game Partnership. Borthwick is also in the process of identifying a replacement for Walters ahead of his team’s November Tests with New Zealand, Australia, South Africa and Japan.
Jones still remains part of the England set-up for now although discussions are ongoing over his departure date given the two-time World Cup winner has a 12-month notice period.
Tobin, 40, spent a decade as a strength and conditioning coach at Leinster Rugby and several years at the Dublin GAA senior football team.For the last eight years he has worked at Gallagher Premiership side Gloucester so has a detailed understanding of the English game.
‘I feel honoured to be joining England and to be working with such a talented group of players and coaches,’ Tobin said.
Aled Walters is one of a number of high profile defections in the wake of the July Tests
‘I’m excited by the progress the team has made over the last 12 months and I look forward to contributing to its success.’
There is also uncertainty over the future of another England assistant in Kevin Sinfield and the exact nature of his role with the team after he initially joined as defence coach.
Sinfield was then replaced by Jones, but now looks set to stay on anyway although his official job title is yet to be determined.
RFU executive director of performance rugby Conor O’Shea said: ‘We expect him (Sinfield) to be with us through to the next World Cup.’
