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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Sport
Robert Kitson

No ‘funky rugby’: new England coach Lee Blackett targets substance over style

Lee Blackett England Steve Borthwick United States Bath Richard Wigglesworth WASPS
England’s new attack coach, Lee Blackett
England’s new attack coach, Lee Blackett, was director of rugby at Wasps before the club collapsed. Photograph: Steve Welsh/PA

To say England have been through a few attack coaches in recent times is an understatement. The latest cab off the rank, Lee Blackett, is the 11th individual to take on the role in nine years but it may just be that the national team have found the ideal catalyst to enhance their chances at the next Men’s Rugby World Cup in Australia in 2027.

Blackett, 42, auditioned successfully for the job in the summer tour of Argentina and the US, where England scored 13 tries in three Tests, and he has emerged as the big winner in Steve Borthwick’s latest cabinet reshuffle with Richard Wigglesworth switching to defence and Joe El-Abd helping out with the forwards.

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