Eddie Jones is excited by the experience John Mitchell will bring to England after the New Zealander was appointed as England’s new defence coach through to the end of 2019.
Mitchell joins from South African Super Rugby side, the Bulls, and will link up with England ahead of the November Tests.
This will not be Mitchell’s first experience with England, he previously worked under Sir Clive Woodward from 1997 to 2000, and he has also coached in the Premiership at Wasps and Sale Sharks.
For Jones, who led England to back-to-back Six Nations titles in 2016 and 2017, Mitchell’s appointment can only improve England ahead of autumn internationals against South Africa, New Zealand, Japan and Australia.
He said: “Defence is a key pillar of our game and John is an experienced coach. He’s coached the All Blacks, USA 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.”
Mitchell added: “This is an exciting opportunity to work with England Rugby and support Eddie Jones as head coach.
“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.”
Mitchell is not the only appointment, with Scott Wisemantel set to continue in his role as attack coach. Wisemantel was part of the England set-up on their summer tour of South Africa as an attack consultant and he will continue in the role this November.
Jones added: “We are really pleased to have Scott back for the Quilter Internationals as we continue to develop our attack. He did a great job with us in South Africa in June.”
Wisemantel had previously worked alongside Jones in the 2015 World Cup with Japan when the Brave Blossoms beat South Africa in the pool stages.
