GLEESON: NO FEAR OF ED’S TOUGH WAYS

ENGLAND’S new attack coach Martin Gleeson says he has “no fear” of becoming just another statistic in Eddie Jones’ ruthless reign.

Glen Ella, Rory Teague, Sam Vesty, Ed Robinson, Scott Wisemantel and Simon Amor have each tried to get a tune out of the attack in the five years Jones has been in charge.

Now is the turn of Gleeson, who has has rebuilt his career since a drugs ban a decade ago and comes in with England under pressure after their worst-ever Six Nations campaign.

“I have no fear whatsoever,” said the former rugby league star (top).

“You’ve got to back yourself. Growing up, you want to play for your country. I’ve been the same as a coach – you want to coach your country.

“I’m a proud Englishman and I want to coach the best players in the best competitions. It’s come at an early age in coaching – same as playing.

“I am fortunate to be in this position and I am really looking forward to what’s ahead. I am not fearful of anything.” The 41-year old played more than 350 top-level league games during a career in which he also served a ban for breaking RL betting rules.

“It was a long a time ago, but I made a couple of big mistakes,” Gleeson admitted. “Something like that can go one of two ways – it can finish you off or shape you and give you more drive and purpose, which is the route I took. It drove me through the last decade, from returning to playing, into my coaching career and to where I am now.”

Gleeson was quick to pay tribute to Shaun Edwards (above) for the help he had given him getting on to the rugby union coaching ladder.

“Shaun was a big influence,” he said. “He is someone who played and had success at Wigan where I’m from. I watched him as a kid growing up.

“When he was the Wales coach, I used to go and see him and he’d ask me stuff about league defences.

“Watching games together over a number of years, I started seeing stuff that I thought he could do in attack against defences.”

■ Sale fly-half AJ MacGinty will miss USA’s two-legged World Cup play-off with Uruguay after shoulder damage.