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England senior coach Richard Wigglesworth is set to join the British and Irish Lions coaching staff for this summer’s tour of Australia.<\/b><\/p>\n
Lions boss Andy Farrell has recruited the former England scrum-half, 41, as part of an Ireland-influenced coaching group.<\/p>\n
Ireland interim head coach Simon Easterby is also expected to join Farrell’s team, while the Ireland attack coach Andrew Goodman and scrum specialist John Fogarty are under consideration.<\/p>\n
The core Lions coaching team will be confirmed on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
Farrell has already appointed the Ireland strength and conditioning head Aled Walters and former Ireland performance director David Nucifora – now in a similar role with Scotland – to key roles.<\/a><\/p>\n Initially it looked like no England coach would be involved down under, despite a strong finish to the Six Nations and a second-placed finish behind France.<\/p>\n Following the final-day victory over Wales in Cardiff, England boss Steve Borthwick said he had received no approach from the Lions for any of his assistants.<\/p>\n However, it is understood Farrell reached out to Borthwick in the week following the Six Nations to enquire about Wigglesworth’s availability.<\/p>\n England started their Six Nations campaign with defeat against Ireland in Dublin before two narrow victories over France and Scotland.<\/p>\n Borthwick’s side then overwhelmed Italy and routed Wales, with Farrell keen to tap into the methods that helped deliver England’s best Championship finish in five years.<\/p>\n For Wigglesworth, a Lions role would be the latest step in a burgeoning coaching career.<\/p>\n The seven-times Premiership winner took on a coaching role with Leicester while still playing, before succeeding the England-bound Borthwick as head coach of the Tigers<\/a> at the end of 2022.<\/p>\n Wigglesworth then joined Borthwick’s England staff the following summer and was promoted to England senior coach in October 2024.<\/a><\/p>\n After confirming his coaching group on Wednesday, Farrell will name his squad on Thursday, 8 May, with the Lions taking on Argentina in Dublin on Friday, 20 June.<\/p>\n The squad then travels to Australia for five warm-up matches before the first of three Tests against the Wallabies on Saturday, 19 July in Brisbane. A midweek match precedes the second Test in Melbourne on 26 July, with the third in Sydney on 2 August.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n