Assistant coach Andrew Strawbridge reckons England are a team on the up and that persuaded him to throw in his lot with Steve Borthwick’s crew.
The 60-year-old New Zealander was around for the start of the Six Nations, in a role that covers all areas of the game, before formalising his stay from the current summer tour onwards.
Strawbridge, who was with the All Blacks at the last World Cup, has committed to stay with the RFU until the end of 2025 and admits it was Borthwick’s blueprint for the future that convinced him to sign on the dotted.
And the Kiwi has seen enough in his short stint so far to persuade himself that England are tracking in the right direction.
“When I came back from the World Cup, I got a phone call from Steve wanting to talk about New Zealand’s progress through the World Cup and how they got better,” said Strawbridge. “We did that and a few days later he rang again, and wanted more conversation, and then he wanted to bring his assistant coaches onto the chat and I said ‘this is starting to feel a bit like work, think about what you want’.
“So, he rang and said would I come over for a month for pre-Six Nations and just have a look and a feel around and see if there is any value I can add. So I went over and, at that time I had a few job offers on the table, so we talked about going over there and doing stuff.
“It seemed they could put up with me and I was pretty impressed with the eagerness of the growth and the medium-to-long term plan for the group and the effort the coaches were making, and the players were prepared to make, and the open and honest environment, so when he suggested coming back for a little bit longer, it appealed.
“It is a young coaching group and I am literally a greybeard and I have made lots of mistakes, I sit here in front of you as an old man who has made loads of mistakes and people should learn from that, and I am happy to share it.”
Last week in Auckland, Strawbridge shared the story about his terrifying brush with death on a trip to Samoa in 2015 when he contracted sepsis. His wife Laura flew to the islands expecting to take her husband’s body back to New Zealand but he pulled through.
The infection, and associated blood clots on his optic nerve, caused him to lose his right eye but he admits he is lucky to be alive having defied medics about being able to work again.
He added: “I was told that I would suffer from chronic fatigue for the rest of my life and I wouldn’t work again, that I would be impotent and they didn’t know how long I would last. Those were all good things to tell a competitive bastard! So I went home with that ringing in my ears and stumbled along.
“The more we talk about sepsis, the better. It’s a hideous little thing and it’s still present in all our hospitals, no matter where in the world you are, and it’s still misdiagnosed by some of the cleverest people on the planet. So I’m happy to talk about it.
“The infection got into my body and I was left unattended for 20-odd hours, and developed sepsis and blood clots set up on my brain and behind my eye.
“I went through some pretty grim times.
“I lost sight in my right eye because it crushed my optic nerve. I may be the only skills coach in the world who actually isn’t that great at catching any more!”
Strawbridge’s role involves observing sessions and advising the other coaches as and when necessary as well as doing work around the contact area.
“I am fortunate enough that I get to stick my nose in where I want but I don’t take a lead in defence, that is Felix Jones, or in attack, that is Richard Wigglesworth,” he said. “But I am there particularly to support Wiggy around the way attack is delivered to the team and helping with skill development with individual people or tightening up of some of the skill sets. I am helping some of the coaches with some of the pedagogy with some of the implementation of behavioural change – but just as a support.”
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