Richard Wigglesworth is set to be a surprise inclusion on Andy Farrell’s coaching staff for the British & Irish Lions tour of Australia, benefiting from England’s strong finish to the Six Nations, the Guardian understands.
On Wednesday Farrell will unveil his coaching ticket for the tour this summer and, while he is expected to lean heavily on his Ireland assistants, the England senior coach Wigglesworth is poised to be seconded.
Wigglesworth, who also looks after England’s attack, saw his stock rise during the Six Nations with Steve Borthwick’s side winning their last four games and scoring 25 tries, including 10 in the final-round demolition of Wales in Cardiff.
The 41-year-old would be the first England coach to tour with the Lions since Borthwick in 2017 and is well known to Farrell, who briefly coached him during their time together at Saracens as well as with England when Stuart Lancaster was head coach.
After the 68-14 win against Wales nine days ago, Borthwick revealed that Farrell had not approached him about seconding any of his assistants, suggesting he was likely to overlook England’s entire coaching staff. It is understood, however, that Farrell has since made a move for Wigglesworth to join his staff in Australia and he will go with Borthwick’s blessing.
The move is a significant step in Wigglesworth’s coaching career. When Borthwick left Leicester to join England in December 2022, Wigglesworth took charge of the Tigers for the rest of the season before joining his former boss in the buildup to the 2023 World Cup. Initially he was responsible for the attack and last October, after the shock resignations of Felix Jones and Aled Walters as defence coach and head of strength and conditioning respectively, Wigglesworth was promoted to senior coach.
He will be reunited with Walters, who has already been announced as part of the Lions’ backroom staff along with David Nucifora, who has been appointed general manager. The Australian is employed by the Scottish union as performance director, a role he previously held with Ireland.
Simon Easterby, who has been acting as Ireland’s interim head coach since Farrell began his Lions secondment in December, is also in the frame along with the Ireland scrum coach John Fogarty. The Ireland attack coach Andrew Goodman and Scotland’s coach Steve Tandy have also been linked with roles. It is understood that Johnny Sexton, who has recently been coaching Ireland on an informal basis, will not be involved.
