Matt Proudfoot leaves England role in latest shakeup

South Africa’s Stellenbosch University – known to all as ‘Maties’ – have revealed in a statement that England scrum coach Matt Proudfoot will be leaving his role at the RFU to take up a coaching role with the Varsity Cup side. It is the first assistant coach departure of the Steve Borthwick era at Twickenham.

Borthwick’s only appointment so far has been that of defence coach Kevin Sinfield, while forwards coach Richard Cockerill and attack coach Martin Gleeson retain their roles as it stands. Cockerill was in interim charge of the performance team at England in the brief period before Borthwick was announced as the new head coach.

Related: University Challenge: A look at the Varsity Cup

Maties said of their appointment: “We are glad to announce that we could fill the position left by the departure of Jordaan. Matthew Proudfoot, ex-Springbok and England assistant coach will take up the role of consultant head coach of the Maties team for the duration of the Varsity Cup competition.”

The latest edition of the Varsity Cup kicks off on 20 February.

Borthwick and England will now be on the lookout for a new scrum coach.

Proudfoot was in charge of the Springboks scrum back in 2019 when they comprehensively took apart England in the Rugby World Cup final, but at the end of the Autumn Nations Series the English pack were roundly beaten again by the Boks in the set-piece. The English set-up will be hoping to reverse what was a terrible trend for them in 2022.

England fans: Who would you like to see become the latest scrum coach? Let us know via rugbyworldletters@futurenet.com or on our social media channels.

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