Joe El-Abd commits to ‘long-haul’ stint as England defence coach

El-Abd will initially combine his work with England with a final season as head coach of Oyonnax as the French second-tier side attempt to regain their place in the Top 14.

“I will have to compartmentalise the roles, but when I am here, I am all in,” he said.

El-Abd says that he does not plan to uproot the basis of the defensive system put in place during Jones’ stint.

Jones transplanted the fast, high-risk ‘blitz’ defence that he developed over four years and two successful Rugby World Cup campaigns with South Africa into England’s tactics.

“Now my job is to come in and take what is working, and there has been lots,” El-Abd added.

“We are going to continue to come up hard off the line and be dominant in the collisions and now we want to see where we can go even further.

“Teams will be watching us to see what they can do and we need to be one step ahead all the time.”

Northampton full-back George Furbank expects evolution, rather than revolution, from El-Abd.

“I think Joe recognises that our defence has taken leaps and strides recently so I don’t think he’s coming in to rip the paper up and start afresh,” said Furbank.

“He’s just looking to add layers and keep improving it. It is not going to be too complicated, but he’s definitely going to bring his touch to it, which is just exciting.”