Borthwick approach tempted Strawbridge

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.

- ADAM HATHAWAY

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'.