Titterrell swots up on the new boys

Adam Ellis talks to England U20s coach Andy Titterrell after his first year in the job

Adam Ellis

Andy Titterrell took all of two days off to unwind from the scenes of England’s U20 Six Nations glory this summer, from the champagne cork-littered pitch at the Arms Park to starting anew with the early building blocks for the new crop of youngsters who will come through in 2022 to lay down England’s title defence.

There are hopes, too, that the new cycle will see a return of the Junior World Championship, last held in Argentina two years ago. A matter still under wait-and-see orders from World Rugby.

Former England hooker Titterrell joined Alan Dickens’ coaching staff last season from his role as Wasps forwards coach and brought immediate rewards with last month’s Grand Slam ending a four-year trophy drought.

While enjoying the success, Titterrell – who won five caps for England and toured with the 2005 British and Irish Lions – is already looking ahead to the next challenge.

“After the Six Nations it was a couple of days off to recharge and then a few bits of administrative work,” Titterrell told The Rugby Paper. “Players disperse so we put reports together, a few playbooks and ideas, ready for the new crop that will come through for the next Six Nations campaign.

“For myself, I put together a dossier on the up-and-coming players to help enhance their learning from my findings during the Six Nations. It was my first campaign with the U20s and where we had all these zoom meetings before, I thought it would be a great way of keeping in touch with them to try and give them feedback from their tournament experience to take back and work with their club.

“When you come from a Premiership environment where you are working day in, day out, to come into the pathway group the coaching is sporadic. But it comes to a point where you have these blocks of Six Nations games and, hopefully, a World Championship as well. You are in it 24/7 and so it is nice just to take the foot off the accelerator a little bit and take a couple of days off, but coaches minds are always swelling with ideas.