Ed Robinson savours England Six Nations role after shock of Eddie Jones call: ‘I asked if it was a joke!’

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Will Macpherson3 February 2021

When, one morning last month, the 27-year-old Ed Robinson stepped out of the shower in his Jersey home to see a message from England coach Eddie Jones simply saying “call me”, he showed his fiancee and wondered what on earth was going on.

He did as instructed and, much to his surprise, was invited by Jones to be England’s skills coach for the Six Nations, with Jason Ryles stuck in Australia.

“I asked him if it was a joke,” says Robinson, whose day job is as backs coach for Jersey Reds. Jones was not joking, and a day later Robinson was on his way to the mainland to get started.

Jones’ message did not come completely out of the blue. A while back, the England head coach gave a talk in Jersey and Robinson decided it was not an opportunity he could miss.

“I basically just peppered him for an hour, picking his brain about all sorts of topics around rugby and coaching,” he explains. That led to Jones inviting him to Pennyhill Park, England’s base, for a day before the game against Wales in the 2020 Six Nations, and then weekly Zooms between the two during lockdown.

“Eddie’s been awesome in mentoring me,” he says. “I would send him an idea and he would give me great feedback to go and make it better.

“I just ask him for advice. Just literally, a range of topics on rugby. One of the most experienced coaches in the world, I just picked his brain, absorbed as much as I could from him.”

Robinson, then, is not totally new to the England setup. His father is Andy Robinson, who played for and coached England; first as an assistant to Clive Woodward when they won the World Cup in 2003, then in the top job.

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“I was sitting in the stand the other side to where Jonny kicked the drop-goal,” he remembers of the final in Sydney. "Me and my brother, and my other brother and sister were back in where we were staying in Australia. What an amazing night, what an experience to be there. To see Dad have the success that he had, I think the overriding thing for us was pride. We were so proud of what he did.

“I was only a little youngster so me and my brother were probably scrapping about something.”

Robinson Sr., now coach of Romania, and his son have spoken a little this week.

“He gives me the advice that he always gives me: just to be myself,” says Ed. “He has been awesome for my development, just keeping me grounded, keeping me into understanding what I have to do to get better.”

Robinson was a promising fly-half whose playing career ended before he reached his twenties due to a complex concussion issue, that has since caused him trouble when doing activities as simple as a country walk or when he is exposed loud music or flashing lights.

“They are still there in the background but life is good,” he said of the symptoms. “It is something that I am used to. Everyone has got things in their life that they have to get over and get around and learn how to manage, and this is just one of those things for me.”

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Now, Robinson is coaching some of the best players in the world. He admits there have been moments in camp where he has had to pinch himself – but he certainly does not appear daunted. He has been working with Jonny May and Anthony Watson on the taking the high ball, and May has been impressed.

“A lot of coaches might think: 'How can we possibly teach Owen Farrell to manage a game, or Courtney Lawes a line-out or how to tackle?’ But you can never stop learning, there are always different thoughts and ideas and that's why it's important to have different people in.

“He's trying his best to help us out and you can never stop learning and improving. He certainly hasn't been fazed. I guess that would have been challenged, maybe I'd have felt nervous coming in and teaching people how to do things, but you've just got to rip in.”

It certainly seems that way.

“I was excited straight away,” says Robinson. “A chance to come into one of the best teams in the world, one of the best coaching groups in the world, was a chance that was just too good.

“Coaching is about relationships. So to get a good relationship with the guys, understand what they need to get better, first and foremost, and then to help them understand what they have to do to get better. Gone are the days of a coach standing there, screaming at people. That’s my role. If I can help with one per cent, helping them get better, that’s great.”

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