Like the fallen Premier League giants, Steve Borthwick’s side have hit a rough patch – but England assistant coach, and Manchester United fan, Richard Wigglesworth is confident that both sides have brighter times ahead. One of their sport’s richest entities? Check. Perplexing form? Bingo. A number of high-profile players struggling to hit the heights of which they are capable? Sounds familiar. Several years without the titles they crave most? Yep. A head coach pleading for patience as he builds a new team?.

The comparison is far from one-to-one but the shared similarities between the plights of Ruben Amorim’s Manchester United and Steve Borthwick’s England are evident. If there are ways in which the worlds of international rugby and club football could not be further apart – Amorim has had 19 games in charge in three months; Borthwick 29 fixtures in two years – both head coaches are dealing with an expectant fanbase, boardroom strife above them, and a playing squad perhaps not yet built to their preferred requirements.

Their shared pain is one that Richard Wigglesworth, Borthwick’s senior assistant and a lifelong Manchester United fan, feels particularly acutely. Born in Blackpool, schooled in Kirkham, a Lancashire lad who spent his formative days enjoying the glory years of Sir Alex Ferguson and his professional career winning seven Premiership titles and 33 England caps speaks with obvious passion for the two fallen giants.

The doldrums might not be quite as deep for England as their lowly footballing counterparts, despite a shock FA Cup win over rivals Man City last year, but Wigglesworth can relate to fans wanting more out of their side. “I would never criticise fans for having an opinion which is out of passion,” the former scrum-half explains. “We want to win. You know me – I value winning. “Fans want to leave the game happy and they want to watch a team leaving with that feeling – as I do with United, and as I did when I was a fan, and not a player or coach, of England rugby.”.

“But not everyone gets to win all the time, straightaway. We are working to make that process happen, but there is evidence to back up the best way of creating good teams over time. We’re going to get there.”. Wigglesworth, like most of the rest of England staff, is new to international coaching. After succeeding Borthwick as interim coach at Leicester Tigers while simultaneously concluding his playing career, he joined the national team ahead of the 2023 World Cup and has since overseen the implementation of two contrasting strategies. At that tournament, England favoured a kick-pressure game as they sought to instil a rudimentary gameplan that would precipitate quick, but limited progress. Since, however, they have embraced a more positive approach, attempting to play with greater speed and aggression to take opportunities.

While they remain some way off the best teams in the world, their attack coach believes that England are starting to come good as they prepare to pair Fin Smith and Marcus Smith in playmaking partnership against France. “[Being a coach] changes your perspective massively,” Wigglesworth admits. “You think about the people in it, the hard work, the challenges they must be facing and the little bits of upside that you see.

“For Man Utd, you’re seeing players against Arsenal and I’m seeing them sprint back and I’m thinking, as a fan, that I have not seen this for a long time. [Amorim] says he wants them to run like wild dogs and I'm seeing that. “We’re seeing green shoots of this England team – we play fast, we’re aggressive, and we score tries against Ireland. Then against South Africa, we scored tries with limited ball and limited possession because we’re looking a little bit more dangerous.

“When did we last look dangerous with the ball? We scored three tries [against Ireland]. We had 11 line-breaks – more than what we had before against a good defence which doesn’t give up line-breaks. There is stuff coming – but I’m not asking for anyone to not be passionate about results.”. A great deal of cross-pollination goes on in elite sport coaching circles: Mikel Arteta, for example, has consulted regularly with Eddie Jones in the past, along with Ireland and British and Irish Lions coach Andy Farrell. Perhaps, in time, Wigglesworth will have cause to meet Amorim, who he is highly intrigued and impressed by.

These are early days for the Portuguese coach in English football but the former scrum-half highlights his ruthlessness and honesty as key qualities. Speaking as both a fan and a fellow coach, Wigglesworth hopes that the sixth permanent manager at Old Trafford since Ferguson gets the time required to enact a necessary overhaul. “I am fascinated by this coach and, with my limited knowledge of football, just from watching him as a coach and how he speaks, he’s the real deal,” Wigglesworth opines. “I love how he speaks about the team.