Shaun Wane has added Paul Wellens and Andy Last to his England coaching staff.
Wellens, the current assistant coach of St Helens, and Last, in interim charge of Hull FC, will both take on key roles and joined Wane in a webinar address with all coaches and support staff within the England Performance Unit.
Last, 38, is a former England Academy coach and a member of Hull’s coaching setup since retiring as a player in 2004.
Wellens, 40, played 37 times for England and Great Britain and was a member of England’s coaching staff during the last World Cup and the 2018 Test series triumph over New Zealand.
“Rugby knowledge made them stand out,” Wane said.
“They’re decent men and they work hard. They’re able to work with me and I’ve tasked them with a few things so hopefully they come up with the goods.
“I had long chats with the head coaches and their own clubs and the feedback I had was fantastic.
“I’ve always been impressed with Lasty and when I got appointed I was happy with the chance to get two smart rugby people on board.
“They are both vastly experienced, and they are the sort of characters I want to have involved with my England set-up.
“I’m confident we’ve got a great team together.”
Meanwhile, Jamie Peacock has stepped down as team manager after a number of years working with the England and Great Britain teams, while Ian Watson and Danny Ward will not continue in their roles after acting as assistant coaches to Wayne Bennett during Autumn’s Great Britain tour.
Peacock will be succeeded by Colin Maskill, who represented five Yorkshire clubs in a long and distinguished playing career, and has since worked in a number of roles in the game and also in logistics with the sportswear specialists ISC.
“I knew him when I played at Wigan,” Wane said. He’s a good guy, Masky, and he’s hard-working and is very important to ISC. He’s a good rugby man, very well-organised and easy to get on with. He’s very thorough and I listed the things I wanted from a team manager and he ticked every one. I’ve stayed friends with him since my time at Leeds and he was perfect for it.”
