English Rugby
Lancaster targets Premiership coaches
ESPN Staff
January 13, 2013
Exeter Chiefs head coach Rob Baxter looks on, Exeter Chiefs v Leicester Tigers, Aviva Premiership, Sandy Park, Exeter, England, January 2, 2011
Exeter's Rob Baxter could be in the frame for a temporary England position © Getty Images
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Players/Officials: Toby Booth | Rob Baxter | Stuart Lancaster
Tournaments/Tours: Argentina tour
Teams: Argentina | England

England coach Stuart Lancaster has revealed that he will turn to the Aviva Premiership to bolster his backroom staff ahead of the team's tour of Argentina in June.

Lancaster will journey to Argentina without coaches Andy Farrell and Graham Rowntree as they will be on British & Irish Lions duty in Australia. Their absence means he will be without a forwards coach for the trip and he has confirmed that he will look to secure a temporary replacement for Rowntree and also for Farrell.

The England coach will approach the Professional Game Board on Thursday for permission to talk to some of the Premiership's finest forward-orientated minds and it seems likely that he will turn to the clubs who look set to miss out on the play-offs as England play the Barbarians just 24 hours after the Premiership final.

According to the Rugby Paper, Bath's Toby Booth and Exeter's Rob Baxter are both in the mix but first, Lancaster must get the permission of the PGB before he starts to assemble his temporary coaching staff.

"I need people who, ideally, are available for the Barbarians week," Lancaster told the Rugby Paper. "The Premiership final is that week so that makes it difficult, but we will have to see. There are lots of good English coaches coaching in the Premiership who I think would be excited by the opportunity."

And Lancaster also confirmed that England will play midweek fixtures while on tour in Argentina. "We'll take a four or five man coaching team, and we'll be taking a midweek team to Argentina, too, so it won't be dissimilar to what we did in South Africa," Lancaster added. "It is a great opportunity for the coaches concerned and I obviously need to make sure I get the right fit that replicates the strengths of Andy and Graham."

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