Kevin Sinfield will leave the England set-up after the team’s summer tour.
The Rugby League great will switch roles from defence to skills and kicking coach from next month’s Six Nations, before leaving England after the summer tour to Japan and New Zealand.
Former All Blacks coach Andrew Strawbridge has joined England’s management set-up as a consultant for the first month of the Six Nations.
New recruit Felix Jones will take over defence from Sinfield, who received a CBE in the New Year’s Honours list for his multi-million pound fundraising for research into Motor Neurone Disease.
Richard Wigglesworth will continue as attack coach and Tom Harrison remains in charge of the scrum.
Sinfield joined forces with England head coach Steve Borthwick at Leicester, with the duo driving the Tigers to the 2022 Premiership title.
Borthwick brought Sinfield with him to England when he took over in December 2022, before overseeing a third-place finish at the World Cup in France.
Now, though, the 43-year-old will start a stage-managed England exit.
“Kevin after the World Cup had a period of reflection, like every member of the management team did,” said Borthwick.
“Kev's decided that longer-term he's going to head in a different direction away from the England rugby team.
“He's going to work with the team through the Six Nations and through the summer tour.
“Ahead of the autumn series Kev will not work with the team then, he will move away from the team and in a different direction.
“Through this first 12 months, Kev's role and what he's added as we've reset the team, you can't overstate the value he's brought, what he's done and the relationships he's built.
“It's fantastic that he's continuing with the team through this period, to continue working with us and the players, helping the team in its next evolution.”
The highly rated Strawbridge will only adopt a short-term role with England, but Borthwick expects it to be effective.“Andrew is another coach with a wealth of knowledge,” said Borthwick, hailing Strawbridge’s short-term appointment. “He has worked extensively and successfully in Super Rugby and international rugby, most recently with New Zealand to help them to the final of the 2023 Rugby World Cup.
“Andrew has an incredible reputation in player development and has helped a large number of players to be amongst the best in the world.
“His work around the contact area is incredibly highly regarded, ensuring teams have the quick ball needed to launch a threatening attack. I can’t wait for him to join the team and add the enormous value that I know he will bring.”
Strawbridge plied his trade for Waikato in his playing days, before coaching at New Zealand’s North Harbour and Auckland.
Assistant roles with Super Rugby’s Chiefs followed, before a stint with Samoa in 2015. A further spell at Waikato in 2019 then led into Strawbridge joining the All Blacks as a skills consultant in 2022.
