England's Richard Wigglesworth named in Andy Farrell’s British & Irish Lions coaching team
Wigglesworth has been heading up England's attack
©Andrew Matthews/PA
How would you grade England's Six Nations performance?
Almost two weeks on from dismantling Wales, Steve Borthwick's side certainly grew - and even evolved - during the championships which culminated in their emphatic 68-14 win in Cardiff.
Of course, the positives of beating France and Scotland, the attacking intent against Italy and arguably the slickest display of the Borthwick era against Wales have to be at the forefront of England minds but rewind the clock back 12 months, and they were undergoing a post-mortem.
Their 30-21 loss to Scotland in their opening match of the 2024 Six Nations led to question marks about the direction of this England team, with their attack very much under the microscope.
"We looked slightly tense and maybe we got more tense as things went on," said coach Richard Wigglesworth after England had made 25 handling errors on an underwhelming afternoon in Edinburgh.
But reading back that quote from Wigglesworth now, it is night and day to what we saw towards the end of this year's Six Nations.
And that progression in terms of England's accuracy and endeavour has led to Wigglesworth being named on Andy Farrell’s coaching staff for the British & Irish Lions tour of Australia.
Farrell has unveiled his backroom team for this summer which includes Simon Easterby, who has been acting as Ireland’s interim head coach due to Farrell's Lions commitment, and also Ireland scrum coach John Fogarty and backs coach Andrew Goodman.
The choice of Scotland's John Dalziel to work with forwards is a notable one from Farrell but the selection of England senior coach Wigglesworth can be considered a surprise inclusion.
The 41-year-old is the first England coach to tour with the Lions since Steve Borthwick in 2017, and getting the chance out in Australia represents the latest milestone in Wigglesworth's coaching journey.
The former scrum-half took charge of Leicester Tigers when Borthwick joined England in 2022 before linking up with his old boss in the build-up to the 2023 World Cup.
Aled Walters and David Nucifora, who has been appointed general manager, were announced as part of the Lions backroom staff back in January.
Speaking to the Lions' official channels Farrell said: “This is a special day for The British & Irish Lions and our five new Assistant Coaches who came together yesterday for the very first time.
“Putting together a Lions coaching team is an honour and a privilege - and the five phone calls made to this group of coaches reminds you just how special and unique it is.
“This coaching group has versatility and are interchangeable in their skillset, which is a vital asset to have on a Lions Tour.
“I think we have a fantastic mix and every one of these guys will bring their own character and personality to the team.
“A Lions Tour is all about understanding the demands that we will face on and off the pitch and a fresh perspective amongst this coaching group is something that I am really excited by.
“We now have a month and a half to come together and select players ahead of an historic squad announcement at The O2 in front of our Lions fans.”
Wigglesworth added: “I am absolutely delighted to be part of the Lions. Proud is probably an understatement to how I am feeling right now.
“I never got to play with Andy, but he was my coach at Saracens and England so I know his calibre and I am thoroughly looking forward to working with him.
“When I got the call I was in the back garden with my five-year-old daughter on dad duties and I had to quieten her down whilst I took it.
Thoughts will now once again turn to the playing squad, with Farrell revealing that an initial longlist of 75 players has been drawn up.
“We came up with about 75 men or something like that. Every single one of them deserves to be on that list,” Farrell said. “There’s going to be a hell of a lot of good players who don’t make the plane and that’s exactly where we want to be. We want to be as competitive as we possibly can.”
