- Steve Borthwick finally finalized the make-up of his England staff this week.
- He adds the talents of a highly-rated performance coach from Saracens.
- However, the veteran coach will not be able to start in time for the Six Nations match.
England manager Steve Borthwick has finally completed his national team set-up with the signing of Phil Morrow, but the Saracens man will not feature for the Six Nations.
Borthwick saw his Red Rose camp turned upside down last year when Felix Jones was left stunned when defensive coach and head of strength and conditioning Aled Walters departed for Ireland. Jones was replaced by Joe El-Abd, a close friend of Borthwick.
England and Borthwick wanted Morrow to join instead of Walters for the autumn Tests in November while he was still working for Saracens, but the move was blocked by the Gallagher Premiership club who felt it amounted to a conflict of interest. But Borthwick finally got his man.
Highly rated Morrow will finish the season with Saracens before joining England in time for their summer tour of Argentina and the United States. However, it means England will go into the upcoming Six Nations with Walters’ position unfilled.
Morrow joined Saracens as head of strength and conditioning in 2011 and was appointed performance director two years later. Since then he has been part of the coaching team that has won five Premiership titles and three Champions Cups.
He has also collaborated with Ireland and played a key role with the British and Irish Lions on their 2017 tour of New Zealand.
Steve Borthwick has finally completed his England set-up before the start of the Six Nations.
He enlisted the services of Phill Morrow, Saracens’ head of performance coaching.
The deal comes after Premiership clubs blocked Moreau from joining England late last year.
Morrow’s departure is a blow considering his importance to Saracens. His new role in England will see him manage the country’s best players on a week-to-week basis as well as the international window as part of a larger collaboration between the Premier League side and the RFU.
“I’m very proud to be joining England,” Morrow said.
‘I’ve been working in the Premier League for a long time and I see the quality of English players every week. The clubs are doing an outstanding job in developing these players and I look forward to working with them to help them reach their full potential.
‘Under Steve, the England team is at an exciting stage of growth and development. I want to start contributing to the future success of the team.
‘I would like to thank the owners of Saracens for making this opportunity possible. I would also like to say a heartfelt thank you to (Saracens Director of Rugby) Mark McCall.
‘I worked with Mark for 20 years and he was a truly great colleague and close friend. His support of this decision means a lot to me.’
Scotland’s hopes of Six Nations glory have been dealt a major blow with the news that captain Sione Tuipulotu will miss the entire championship due to a chest injury requiring surgery.
Center Tuipulotu has been in good form for Glasgow and Scotland this season and has emerged as a leading midfielder for the Lions’ tour of Australia this summer.
The veteran coach’s departure comes after almost 14 years at Saracens.
However, Morrow will not begin work with the Three Lions for the upcoming Six Nations.
England begin their Six Nations campaign against Ireland at the Aviva Stadium on February 1.
Scotland coach Gregor Townsend decided to replace Tuipulotu with a co-captain in the form of Bath flyhalf Finn Russell and Rory Darge, who carried out 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 strikers Ollie Chessum and George Martin will not play for Borthwick’s Six Nations match at Girona this week despite the Tigers asking the pair to stay with them and play at Gloucester on Saturday. I am planning to participate in training camp.
Chessum returned from a knee injury that saw him miss the autumn series in Leicester’s 80-12 hammering of defending European champions Toulouse on Sunday, while Martin has also seen light playing time recently.
