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To say England have been through a few attack coaches in recent times is an understatement. The latest cab off the rank, Lee Blackett, is the 11th individual to take on the role in nine years but it may just be that the national team have found the ideal catalyst to enhance their chances at the next men’s Rugby World Cup in Australia in 2027.
Blackett, 42, auditioned successfully for the job on this summer’s tour of Argentina and the US, where England scored 13 tries in three Tests, and has emerged as the big winner in Steve Borthwick’s latest cabinet reshuffle with Richard Wigglesworth switching to defence and Joe El-Abd helping out with the forwards.
Fresh from helping to steer Bath to Premiership and Challenge Cup titles last season, Blackett has been recruited to add further zest to England’s attacking game, starting with their opening autumn series international against Australia on 1 November. With about 20 Tests between now and the next World Cup, England will be keen for him to hit the ground running.
Blackett, for one, believes there is more than enough time for England to put together a compelling backline blend, with five campaigns – autumn international series, Six Nations and summer Tests – to come over the next two years. “Do I think we’ve got enough time? Yes. Five campaigns is enough to see people, it’s enough to develop our game, definitely.”
The personable Blackett, who played for Rotherham and Leeds before turning to coaching, fully deserves his call-up having been left to resurrect his career three years ago after the financial collapse of Wasps where he was director of rugby. He has always been a sharp-eyed student of the game and his creative partnership with the masterful Finn Russell at Bath proved beneficial for all concerned.
Blackett, a mood-enhancing dressing room presence, certainly helped to broaden Bath’s outlook and will encourage players to venture outside their comfort zone. “A psychologist once told me that those environments which say ‘This is the way we do it’ don’t have a growth mindset. My biggest fear as a coach is becoming a dinosaur. If someone says, ‘He’s past it,’ that’s my big fear. So I’m constantly looking at the game, seeing where it’s going and seeing if I’m missing something.”
A podcast chat with the former England international James Haskell also inadvertently helped to remind him of his overriding coaching objective. “Hask said: ‘You always gave us confidence.’ That is what I want to do. I want players running out confident, I want players running out there going, ‘If I see something, this coach backs me.’ I don’t want us to miss opportunities when they are there for us.”
Any number of England fans will be shouting “hallelujah” by now. For assorted reasons, until this year, England have tended to lurch from one attacking philosophy to another and have employed a battalion of different specialist coaches. Eddie Jones, Glen Ella, Ed Robinson, Sam Vesty, Scott Wisemantel, Rory Teague, Simon Amor, Martin Gleeson, Nick Evans and Wigglesworth have all led the attack at one stage or another and if Blackett stays until the 2027 World Cup he will be the longest serving of the lot.
That will depend, ultimately, on England’s results with Blackett stressing that England will not be prioritising “funky rugby” over winning matches. “I’ll be doing whatever I feel is best to win us the game. I’ll be looking at the opposition and where I feel we can get an advantage. If you think that’s funky … I just want something that works to win us the game.”
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As yet, though, it remains unclear who exactly England’s on-field tactical general will be, with George Ford, Fin Smith and Marcus Smith all competing for the starting fly-half jersey and Owen Farrell, for now, waiting in the wings. “Any attack coach or head coach always wants one key thing: make sure you’ve got good 10s because they make such a big difference,” Blackett said.
“We’re really lucky. A couple of the guys are going to be disappointed but, for me, having three of them competing is going to make them better. They’re all going to have to be at their best.”
Leicester’s recently appointed defence coach, Mike Forshaw, meanwhile, has left his role at the Tigers for personal family reasons.
