Former All Blacks coach takes charge of England defence

England have appointed John Mitchell as their defence coach until the end of next year’s World Cup.

Mitchell has been recruited from his role at Super Rugby team the Bulls and starts work this month ahead of the autumn series against South Africa, New Zealand, Japan and Australia.

The former All Blacks head coach fills the position vacated by Paul Gustard, who left Eddie Jones’s management team to become Harlequins boss during the summer.

A fee in the region of £200,000 has been paid to the Bulls as compensation and, in a further development, Scott Wisemantel will be retained as attack coach for a critical series at Twickenham.

“Defence is a key pillar of our game and John is an experienced coach,” Jones said. “He’s coached the All Blacks, United States Rugby and a number of Super Rugby sides, so he will bring a wealth of experience and add to the coaching mix we have here.”

It is the second time Mitchell has served as England assistant coach having worked under Sir Clive Woodward for 33 Tests from 1997 to 2000.

The well travelled 54-year-old, who has also worked in the English Premiership at Wasps and Sale, took the All Blacks job in 2001 to oversee a run of 23 wins from 28 Tests that ended after a semifinal exit from the 2003 World Cup.

“This is an exciting opportunity to work with England Rugby and support Eddie Jones as head coach,” said Mitchell, whose extensive CV includes a spell in charge of the US Eagles.

“I will be joining an elite high-performance programme, Test team and coaching group where I will use all my experience and focus to bring the necessary clarity and confidence to the players from a defensive perspective.”