- Steve Borthwick has finally pieced together his England staff setup this week
- He has added the talents of a highly-rated performance coach from Saracens
- However, the veteran coach is unable to get started in time for the Six Nations
England coach Steve Borthwick has finally secured the services of Phil Morrow to complete his international set-up, but the Saracens man won’t be in place for the Six Nations.
Borthwick saw his Red Rose camp turned upside down last year when Felix Jones sensationally quit as defence coach and head of strength and conditioning Aled Walters left for Ireland. Jones has been replaced by Borthwick’s close friend Joe El-Abd.
England and Borthwick wanted Morrow to join them in place of Walters for November’s autumn Tests while still working for Saracens, but that move was blocked by the Gallagher Premiership clubs who felt it amounted to a conflict of interest. However, Borthwick has finally got his man.
The highly-rated Morrow will complete the season with Saracens before joining England in time for the summer tour of Argentina and USA. It does mean however that England will go into the upcoming Six Nations still without Walters’ shoes being filled.
Morrow joined Saracens in 2011 as head of strength and conditioning, before being appointed to performance director two years later. Since then, he has been part of the coaching team that has won win five Premiership titles and three Champions Cups.
He has also worked with Ireland and played a key role with the British & Irish Lions on their 2017 tour of New Zealand.
Steve Borthwick has finally put his England setup together before the Six Nations starts
He acquired the services of Phill Morrow, highly-rated Saracens head of performance coach
The deal came after Premiership clubs blocked Morrow from joining England late last year
Morrow’s departure is a blow for Saracens given his importance to them. His new role with England will see him manage the country’s best players on a week-to-week basis, as well as in international windows, as part of greater co-operation between the Premiership sides and the RFU.
‘I’m incredibly proud to be joining England,’ Morrow said.
‘I’ve worked in the Premiership for a long time and, week in, week out, I see the quality of the players we have in England. The clubs do an outstanding job of developing these players and I look forward to working with them to help them reach their full potential.
‘Under Steve, the England team is in an exciting phase of growth and development. I cannot wait to start contributing to the team’s future success.
‘I want to express my gratitude to Saracens’ ownership for making this opportunity possible. I’d also like to extend my heartfelt thanks to (Saracens director of rugby) Mark McCall.
‘Having worked with Mark on and off for 20 years, he has been both an incredible colleague and a close friend. His support in this decision means a great deal to me.’
Scotland’s hopes of Six Nations glory have been hit hard by the news their captain Sione Tuipulotu will miss the entire Championship due to a pectoral injury which requires surgery.
Centre Tuipulotu has been in fine form for Glasgow as well as Scotland this season and had emerged as a midfield frontrunner to tour Australia with the Lions this summer.
The veteran coach’s departure comes after spending almost 14 years with Saracens
However, Morrow will not start his work with the Three Lions for the upcoming Six Nations
England begin their Six Nations account against Ireland on February 1 at the Aviva Stadium
Scotland head coach Gregor Townsend has opted to replace Tuipulotu with co-captains in the shape of Bath fly-half Finn Russell and Rory Darge who did the job in the 2024 Six Nations.
Tuipulotu is expected to return before the end of the campaign meaning he is likely to remain in Lions contention.
Leicester’s England forwards Ollie Chessum and George Martin will be part of Borthwick’s pre-Six Nations training camp in Girona this week, despite the Tigers requesting for the pair to stay with them and play at Gloucester on Saturday.
Chessum made his return from a knee injury having missed the autumn series in Leicester’s 80-12 hammering at the hands of defending European champions Toulouse on Sunday while Martin has also been light of recent match minutes.
