England have appointed Brett Hodgson as defence coach to start after the Autumn Nation Series.
Anthony Seibold will leave at the end of the series to join NRL side Manly Sea Eagles where he has been appointed head coach.
An RFU statement read: “England have appointed Brett Hodgson as defence coach to start after the Autumn Nation Series. Anthony Seibold will leave at the end of the series to join NRL side Manly Warringah Sea Eagles where he has been appointed head coach.
“Hodgson has joined up with the wider staff at Pennyhill Par where England are preparing for this weekend’s game against Japan at Twickenham Stadium. He will shadow Seibold in the upcoming weeks.
“Hodgson enjoyed a distinguished playing career, making more than 200 appearances in the NRL in his native Australia before moving to England where he won the prestigious Man of Steel award with Huddersfield Giants in the Super League. He moved into coaching in 2013 with Hull and Widnes Vikings. He subsequently joined Wests Tigers before returning to England as the Hull head coach in 2020.”
Eddie Jones said:
“I have known Brett for a few years now. He first visited us in Bristol in 2018 and I have been to Hull on a few occasions. He was an outstanding league player and he is a talented, hard-working young coach who is developing. He will continue the good work that Anthony Seibold has done since he joined us.
“We are disappointed to lose Anthony but we are really pleased for him as a career move. It’s great to see assistant coaches move on to head coach roles. Anthony leaves with everyone at England Rugby’s thanks and we wish him all the best in his new role.”
Bredd Hodgson said:
“I’m really excited about the opportunity to join England, especially in a Rugby World Cup year. I’m really looking forward to working with the staff and this group of players. There is some real talent here and it’s something I feel I can make a contribution to in helping this team succeed.”
Fan reaction:
One fan wrote: “Surely it’s the attack we need to be thinking about. Get away from constant kicking and trying to crash. Where is the flair that we see in the premiership week in week out. Even Marcus Smith becomes robotic in an England jersey,”
“This lack of stability is symptomatic of a chaotic environment – emperors new clothes?” commented a second.
A third added: “Yet another coach! If Eddie ran a business it would have gone bust years ago. What does it say about a Head coach who can’t pick a consistent team and keep his coaches,”
“Another one gone… strange how all the other coaches have changed but Eddie is still there…,” said another
Six players who were tipped to start World Cup 2023 and what went wrong
Most of the picks, in fairness, are pretty bang on. However, some players chances of being involved are looking slim to nothing.
#1. Joel Kpoku
- Age: 23
- Club: Lyon
- Position: Lock
- Current caps: 0
Rugby World: “The next star off the Saracens production line may be Kpoku, although the lock has been linked with a move to Northampton Saints due to the presence of Itoje, George Kruis and Nick Isiekwe at his current club. An incredibly hard-hitting carrier in the mould of Eben Etzebeth, a selection in the coming months would not be surprising.”
Where is he now? The a one-time Eddie Jones call-up and an age-group team-mate of Marcus Smith is enjoying new lease of life in east France with Lyon.
#2. Stuart Townsend
- Age: 27
- Club: Exeter Chiefs
- Position: Scrum-half
- Current caps: 0
RUCK: “A lot of the English scrum-halves are ageing, meaning this is a direct choice between the Exeter Chiefs man and Ben Vellacott. However, his emergence as a premier playmaker in such a short space of time makes us think he will continue to get better, which will lead to him establishing himself in the England set-up.”
Where is he now? Has been in and out of the Exeter side due to injury and will be ruled out until 2023 following his latest knock
