Sinfield to remain with England's coaching team

Kevin Sinfield is set to remain part of the England coaching team despite initially planning to leave his role this summer.

It was announced in January that Sinfield would be departing following the tour of Japan and New Zealand.

But England head coach Steve Borthwick is hopeful he will now stay on the staff in some capacity.

"Kevin is with us until the start of November and I'm hopeful we will be able to find an agreement," Borthwick said.

"I think Kevin wants to continue his involvement with the team and I want him to continue to be involved with the team and I’m sure the players do.

"Hopefully when we get back to England, we will be able to put something in place to keep that going."

Sinfield has been performing a skills, kicking and mentorship role in 2024 after being replaced as defence coach at the start of the year by Felix Jones.

While the rugby league legend is unlikely to remain in a year-round role, Borthwick expects him to be involved whenever England are in camp.

"It won't necessarily be on a full-time capacity but I am hoping to have him whenever we are in camp and have him involved as much as we can when we are in camp," Borthwick added.

"He enjoys it and he adds tremendous value."

Meanwhile, Borthwick hopes the new Professional Game Partnership between the RFU and the clubs - which has now been finalised - could be a game-changer when it comes to preparing his players for Test rugby.

At the start of next season, Borthwick will select around 20 players to receive an "enhanced contract" which will include a centrally contracted element. Lock Maro Itoje and captain Jamie George have already been offered one of these hybrid deals.

As part of the enhanced contracts deal, the RFU will pay players around £160,000 a year rather than a match fee each game, which currently stand at £23,000 per match.

"What it will give us is medically, and from a strength and conditioning point of view the players are in better condition when it comes to England playing games," Borthwick explained.

"Ultimately, what we want is the best players playing in an England shirt in the best condition so we can compete with the best sides in the world."