Steve Borthwick has made the first appointment to his depleted backroom staff following a summer of upheaval with Gloucester’s Dan Tobin joining as strength and conditioning coach.
Borthwick lost the vastly popular head of strength and conditioning Aled Walters to Ireland last month while S&C coach Tom Tombleson also moved on after 10 years with the set-up. Felix Jones also tendered his resignation as defence coach.
Considering this week Borthwick was given greater control over the strength and conditioning programmes as well as medical decisions for those in the enhanced elite player squad, the head coach needed to act fast and it is understood Tobin is considered a replacement for Tombleson.
The 40-year-old has worked at Gloucester as head of performance for the last eight years. Before that he spent a decade at Leinster and has also worked for the Dublin GAA Senior Football Team. Officially, he will be tasked “with optimising the physical performance of the England squad and ensuring the players are physically prepared to meet the demands of Test match rugby.”
Borthwick said: “We are very pleased to be welcoming Dan to the coaching team and excited to see the impact he’ll make. Dan is an outstanding S&C 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.”
Tobin is due to begin with England next month with Borthwick’s side set to host New Zealand, Australia, Japan and South Africa in November. “I feel honoured to be joining England and to be working with such a talented group of players and coaches,” said Tobin. “I’m excited by the progress the team has made over the last 12 months and I look forward to contributing to its success.”
It is unclear if Borthwick will also appoint a direct external replacement for Walters on top of Tobin’s arrival. Speaking earlier this week, before the announcement of Tobin’s appointment, the RFU’s executive director of performance rugby, Conor O’Shea said: “We’ll replace Aled. There will be someone else coming in on S&C for the England team. Aled wasn’t part of the consideration of thinking around the enhanced EPS.
“There are two sides of it and you have to remember that we have a head of athletic development in Calvin Morriss who has got unbelievable experience through World Rugby and other roles. We were already looking at bringing someone into the environment anyway so we are not reshaping it but we are well planned in some of the things that are happening.”
