England assistant Richard Cockerill set to leave after Six Nations

Former Leicester director of rugby Richard Cockerill is set to leave England after the Six Nations to take up new role with Montpellier – as Steve Borthwick completes his overhaul of coaching staff

• Richard Cockerill is the last assistant remaining from the Eddie Jones regime
• Former Leicester director of rugby set for a new role at French side Montpellier 
• Since Steve Borthwick took charge of England, he’s made several staff changes

Richard Cockerill is set to leave the England set-up after the Six Nations, to take up a role with French club Montpellier, as new head coach Steve Borthwick completes his overhaul of the Red Rose coaching staff.

The former Leicester director of rugby, 52, is the last assistant remaining from the Eddie Jones regime, having been recruited in September 2021.

But sources have indicated that Cockerill is poised for a move across the Channel and will end his involvement with England after the looming Championship.

Richard Cockerill is set to leave the England set-up after the Six Nations to join Montpellier

Head coach Steve Borthwick, who replaced Eddie Jones, is completing an overhaul of the coaching staff

Cockerill has had a positive impact during his time working with the forwards, but the arrival of former second-row Borthwick as head coach has led to his remit being restricted.

He will be overseeing the scrum over the coming weeks, with Borthwick taking charge of the rest of the pack preparation.

Jones’ successor appears to have identified the man he wants to lead the set-piece salvage operation going forward – Saracens coach Ian Peel.

Peel has been working for Saracens since 2015, having previously been head coach of the England Under-20 team and also a part of the senior national set-up.

It is understood that the former Newcastle prop will likely join Borthwick’s staff at the end of the current club season, in time to be part of the pre-World Cup training camp.

Saracens coach Ian Peel looks to be the man that Borthwick has identified to lead the set-piece salvage operation going forward

Last month, Cockerill held talks with another French club, Brive. Now, it is understood he has had more productive talks with Montpellier and is poised to join the current Top 14 champions, who will also be bolstered next season by the arrivals of England forwards Sam Simmonds and Luke Cowan-Dickie from Exeter.

Since being appointed by the RFU last month following the sacking of Jones, Borthwick has opted to release Matt Proudfoot and Martin Gleeson – who were both established members of the coaching staff – as well as Brett Hodgson, who was due to start work overseeing the England defence.

Training co-ordinator Danny Kerry and head of strength and conditioning Jon Clarke have also departed.

Kevin Sinfield was brought in from Leicester at the same time as Borthwick, while Nick Evans is taking charge of the attack, at least temporarily – on secondment from Harlequins.

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