IF SOMEBODY HAD told you before this year’s Six Nations that Andy Farrell would wind up drafting into his Lions ticket the Scotland forwards coach and England’s attack coach, you probably would have told them to get themselves checked out.
Indeed, even with the championship in the rearview, it might still have evoked a double-take when you read the names of John Dalziel and Richard Wigglesworth among Farrell’s lieutenants as they were confirmed on Wednesday for this summer’s tour of Australia.
They are the only two Lions technical coaches who don’t work for Farrell with Ireland and, like their new colleague Andrew Goodman, they are to varying degrees unproven as Test operators.
Dalziel described his call-up as a “real pinch yourself moment”, and one for which he is “massively thankful”.
“I’m fortunate that someone has seen something in that work to appoint me in this role,” he added.
And he’s right in so far as the prevailing narrative would be that Dalziel has presided over one of the tamest packs in the Six Nations since his appointment by Gregor Townsend five years ago. The reality is that if you can Scotland down, you can manhandle them as Ireland did in February and have throughout the Farrell era.
But there are equally enough examples from recent years of Scotland’s slimline pack punching above its weight and contributing to a general irresistibility that the prospect of Dalziel working with better, more powerful forwards is enticing.
Even the Scots’ final-weekend defeat at the Stade de France must have excited Farrell on some level. Married with the tempo set by Scotland’s blistering backs, Dalziel’s pack for 50-odd minutes generated a ruck speed against France that Ireland could have only dreamed of a week earlier, routinely getting the ball out in under three seconds and facilitating a level of chaos with which not even Les Bleus were wholly comfortable.
Really, the Scots posited the only theory as to how to beat the eventual champions other than to hope that France make an absolute balls of things themselves as they did at Twickenham. Scotland may not have the overall talent to make it count, but the game is beginning to bend in their direction with an emphasis on speed over power.
It’s worth noting, too, that Joe Schmidt’s Wallabies — albeit tired at the end of a long window — had no answers to the questions posed of them by Scotland’s pace of play in November.
Advertisement
Scotland forwards coach John Dalziel with his Lions jersey. Scottish Rugby
Scottish Rugby
Scotland’s attacking lineout has picked up significantly since the 2024 Six Nations and while they struggle to impinge upon opposition ball at that particular set-piece, they’ve become a far greater nuisance on the ground.
Gregor Townsend’s side had the second fewest defensive ruck entries in the Six Nations but the second most steals at the breakdown (behind England; ahead of France and Ireland). Such a tactical approach — to prioritise defensive line integrity but to still target opposition ball with a jackal — would fall under the remit of a head coach and defence coach, but Dalziel is understood to be technically strong around the poach, too.
Farrell said on Wednesday that his Lions coaches have “versatility” and are “interchangeable in their skillset[s]“, which he described as being a “vital asset” for a tour of this nature.
Dalziel certainly fits this bill. Before his forwards-oriented roles with Glasgow Warriors and Scotland, he led Scotland U20s to their best ever finish at a World Cup: Blair Kinghorn, Darcy Graham and Matt Fagerson’s Class of 2017 finished fifth in Georgia. Following that relative success, former Border Reiver and Barbarian Dalziel left that post to take charge of the Scotland men’s Sevens team.
In a far shorter coaching career to date, Richard Wigglesworth has also demonstrated his abilities both to juggle responsibilities on the fly and to take ownership of an entire team.
The former scrum-half, who was trained by Farrell for a couple of years at Saracens, was still playing with the London club when he began his own coaching career with Canada at the 2019 World Cup.
Wigglesworth, who acted as defence and kicking coach for the Canucks in Japan, then moonlit as attack coach for Championship club Ealing Trailfinders while still playing for Sarries in the Premiership.
He continued that trend upon his move to Leicester, simultaneously fulfilling the roles of player and attack coach during the Tigers’ Premiership-winning campaign of 2021/22.
When Steve Borthwick and Kevin Sinfield were catapulted into England national-team roles the following December, Wigglesworth retired as a player and stepped in as Leicester’s interim head coach for the remaining 16 games of the 2022/23 campaign before joining his former colleagues in Borthwick’s international setup ahead of the World Cup.
England attack coach Richard Wigglesworth is unveiled as a Lions coach. Billy Stickland / INPHO
Billy Stickland / INPHO / INPHO
It certainly hasn’t all been smooth sailing for Wigglesworth in the 18 months since, with England’s attack oscillating between dull and devastatingly effective — sometimes within the same game, not to mind within the same Test window.
For this summer’s Lions tour, however, both head coach Farrell and his Ireland assistant Andrew Goodman will have significant creative input.
Often understated is the extent to which Farrell is, and has been for five years, Ireland’s primary ‘attack coach’, just not in name. It’s a safe assumption that the boss man will run the Lions phase attack with former Crusaders and Leinster coach Goodman focusing more on set-piece attack and starter plays, as is the case with Ireland.
That will free up Wigglesworth to lean into his true area of expertise: kick strategy.
England had considerably more kicks in play than any other side in this year’s Six Nations with 183 (Ireland, by contrast, kicked 143 times to Italy’s 160, France’s 153, Wales’ 145 and Scotland’s 116).
And while there is renewed focus on the aerial contest across the sport due to the recent clampdown on escorting, it is the sheer variety of England’s kicking which has added spice to their sometimes stodgy attack.
Steve Borthwick’s side had both the highest percentage of kicks from hand beyond the opposition 10-metre line and the highest number of players to attempt such attacking kicks, with Tommy Freeman’s reach and score over the head of France’s Louis Bielle-Biarrey among the most memorable examples of a crossfield assist (that one delivered by Fin Smith) in recent years.
When it comes to the territorial side of things, then, England’s box-kick-heavy approach can frustrate their supporters — but it’s worth noting that their retention rate on contestables was uncharacteristically low during the championship just gone.
England retained possession on only just over a tenth of their high kicks, whereas at the last World Cup they won back the ball from one in every four — second only to Argentina among the eight quarter-finalists.
With a fresh cast of kickers and chasers Down Under, Wigglesworth’s contribution will prove valuable as Farrell’s Lions determine how exactly they should kick the ball, how often, and to where.
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
Close
3 Comments
This is YOUR comments community. Stay civil, stay constructive, stay on topic.
Please familiarise yourself with our comments policy
here
before taking part.
Farrell flips narrative by drafting in Scotland forwards coach and England attack coach
IF SOMEBODY HAD told you before this year’s Six Nations that Andy Farrell would wind up drafting into his Lions ticket the Scotland forwards coach and England’s attack coach, you probably would have told them to get themselves checked out.
Indeed, even with the championship in the rearview, it might still have evoked a double-take when you read the names of John Dalziel and Richard Wigglesworth among Farrell’s lieutenants as they were confirmed on Wednesday for this summer’s tour of Australia.
They are the only two Lions technical coaches who don’t work for Farrell with Ireland and, like their new colleague Andrew Goodman, they are to varying degrees unproven as Test operators.
Dalziel described his call-up as a “real pinch yourself moment”, and one for which he is “massively thankful”.
“I’m fortunate that someone has seen something in that work to appoint me in this role,” he added.
And he’s right in so far as the prevailing narrative would be that Dalziel has presided over one of the tamest packs in the Six Nations since his appointment by Gregor Townsend five years ago. The reality is that if you can Scotland down, you can manhandle them as Ireland did in February and have throughout the Farrell era.
But there are equally enough examples from recent years of Scotland’s slimline pack punching above its weight and contributing to a general irresistibility that the prospect of Dalziel working with better, more powerful forwards is enticing.
Even the Scots’ final-weekend defeat at the Stade de France must have excited Farrell on some level. Married with the tempo set by Scotland’s blistering backs, Dalziel’s pack for 50-odd minutes generated a ruck speed against France that Ireland could have only dreamed of a week earlier, routinely getting the ball out in under three seconds and facilitating a level of chaos with which not even Les Bleus were wholly comfortable.
Really, the Scots posited the only theory as to how to beat the eventual champions other than to hope that France make an absolute balls of things themselves as they did at Twickenham. Scotland may not have the overall talent to make it count, but the game is beginning to bend in their direction with an emphasis on speed over power.
It’s worth noting, too, that Joe Schmidt’s Wallabies — albeit tired at the end of a long window — had no answers to the questions posed of them by Scotland’s pace of play in November.
Scotland’s attacking lineout has picked up significantly since the 2024 Six Nations and while they struggle to impinge upon opposition ball at that particular set-piece, they’ve become a far greater nuisance on the ground.
Gregor Townsend’s side had the second fewest defensive ruck entries in the Six Nations but the second most steals at the breakdown (behind England; ahead of France and Ireland). Such a tactical approach — to prioritise defensive line integrity but to still target opposition ball with a jackal — would fall under the remit of a head coach and defence coach, but Dalziel is understood to be technically strong around the poach, too.
Farrell said on Wednesday that his Lions coaches have “versatility” and are “interchangeable in their skillset[s]“, which he described as being a “vital asset” for a tour of this nature.
Dalziel certainly fits this bill. Before his forwards-oriented roles with Glasgow Warriors and Scotland, he led Scotland U20s to their best ever finish at a World Cup: Blair Kinghorn, Darcy Graham and Matt Fagerson’s Class of 2017 finished fifth in Georgia. Following that relative success, former Border Reiver and Barbarian Dalziel left that post to take charge of the Scotland men’s Sevens team.
In a far shorter coaching career to date, Richard Wigglesworth has also demonstrated his abilities both to juggle responsibilities on the fly and to take ownership of an entire team.
The former scrum-half, who was trained by Farrell for a couple of years at Saracens, was still playing with the London club when he began his own coaching career with Canada at the 2019 World Cup.
Wigglesworth, who acted as defence and kicking coach for the Canucks in Japan, then moonlit as attack coach for Championship club Ealing Trailfinders while still playing for Sarries in the Premiership.
He continued that trend upon his move to Leicester, simultaneously fulfilling the roles of player and attack coach during the Tigers’ Premiership-winning campaign of 2021/22.
When Steve Borthwick and Kevin Sinfield were catapulted into England national-team roles the following December, Wigglesworth retired as a player and stepped in as Leicester’s interim head coach for the remaining 16 games of the 2022/23 campaign before joining his former colleagues in Borthwick’s international setup ahead of the World Cup.
It certainly hasn’t all been smooth sailing for Wigglesworth in the 18 months since, with England’s attack oscillating between dull and devastatingly effective — sometimes within the same game, not to mind within the same Test window.
For this summer’s Lions tour, however, both head coach Farrell and his Ireland assistant Andrew Goodman will have significant creative input.
Often understated is the extent to which Farrell is, and has been for five years, Ireland’s primary ‘attack coach’, just not in name. It’s a safe assumption that the boss man will run the Lions phase attack with former Crusaders and Leinster coach Goodman focusing more on set-piece attack and starter plays, as is the case with Ireland.
That will free up Wigglesworth to lean into his true area of expertise: kick strategy.
England had considerably more kicks in play than any other side in this year’s Six Nations with 183 (Ireland, by contrast, kicked 143 times to Italy’s 160, France’s 153, Wales’ 145 and Scotland’s 116).
And while there is renewed focus on the aerial contest across the sport due to the recent clampdown on escorting, it is the sheer variety of England’s kicking which has added spice to their sometimes stodgy attack.
Steve Borthwick’s side had both the highest percentage of kicks from hand beyond the opposition 10-metre line and the highest number of players to attempt such attacking kicks, with Tommy Freeman’s reach and score over the head of France’s Louis Bielle-Biarrey among the most memorable examples of a crossfield assist (that one delivered by Fin Smith) in recent years.
When it comes to the territorial side of things, then, England’s box-kick-heavy approach can frustrate their supporters — but it’s worth noting that their retention rate on contestables was uncharacteristically low during the championship just gone.
England retained possession on only just over a tenth of their high kicks, whereas at the last World Cup they won back the ball from one in every four — second only to Argentina among the eight quarter-finalists.
With a fresh cast of kickers and chasers Down Under, Wigglesworth’s contribution will prove valuable as Farrell’s Lions determine how exactly they should kick the ball, how often, and to where.
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
Lions 2025 Men At Work