Hanley added to Clive's league leaders

13 April 2012

Clive Woodward has added a third household name from rugby league to the cross-code brains trust behind England's elusive quest for the World Cup.

After Joe Lydon and Jason Robinson, enter Ellery Hanley, the latest addition to the Twickenham elite from Super League.

The 39-year-old former Great Britain captain joins the coaching team under Woodward's direction with effect from next week.

With Robinson about to embark on a new career at Sale and Lydon due to start work on creating a conveyor belt system as the RFU's full-time manager at Under 19 level, England's acquisition of league expertise illustrates a refreshing attitude to hire the best, irrespective of their rugby background.

At the height of the Cold War between the codes, any union man daring to think of such an idea would have run the risk of ex-communication, hence Woodward's exclamation: 'The Berlin Wall is down.'

Hanley, a part-time backs coach at Bristol following his departure from St Helens, will work under similar terms of reference with the England squad, where he will find a familiar face. Phil Larder, Woodward's first capture from league as defence coach, has made such a success of the job that the Lions are borrowing him for their Test series in Australia next year.

England's plan is to groom Hanley to fill the vacancy left by Larder during their simultaneous tour of North America.

'We have one defence coach who is in so much demand that he cannot cope,' said Woodward. 'We need another guy to specialise in this area.

'Ellery Hanley is a winner in everything he has done. He needs a lot of serious support and we are going to invest time, effort and money to bring him up to speed, just as Phil needed 12 months to do so when he came on board.

'I'd rather invest in people than nick staff coaches from elsewhere. I don't think we have anywhere near enough full-time coaches for the number of players in the game.

'Ellery has a superb pedigree as a player in league. He will be with us on an informal basis, which gives him the opportunity of working with all the England coaches. I will review his contribution as a coach before deciding to what degree and level within the representative structure he could potentially work.'

Hanley, taken to Bristol by Bob Dwyer before his recent return to Australia, is determined to make the right impression.

'It's going to be a massive challenge for me to coach the best union players in the country,' he said. 'I know that Clive is keeping an open mind on my future involvement. I will be doing everything I can to ensure that my contribution is a positive and productive one for the squad.'

Robinson will be added to England's development squad next month, Woodward laughing off the suggestion that Sale's prize asset might be tempted to choose Scotland where his mother was born. 'I have met Jason a thousand times and I have no doubt about his desire to play for England,' said Woodward.

Lydon quit his job as the Rugby League's performance director to start work with the RFU, where his duties include identifying the next generation of England players. 'The main goal is geared towards the 2007 World Cup, finding and developing potential internationals,' he told the RFU's official publication, Touchline. 'I will be one of the gears in the development conveyor belt.'

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