Eddie Jones has added a Championship coach to his England staff for the Six Nations

Jersey assistant coach Ed Robinson - the son of ex-England boss Andy - will join the England coaching team for their upcoming Guinness Six Nations campaign, which starts with a February 6 match at home to Scotland. England's preparations have this week been thrown out of step. It was decided on Monday that skills coach Jason Ryles would remain in Australia rather than travel to Europe for the tournament.

It then emerged on Wednesday that forwards coach Matt Proudfoot had tested positive for Covid-19, resulting in Jones and another assistant Simon Amor having to self-isolate.

That left defence coach John Mitchell as last man standing until it emerged that Jones had moved to fill the vacancy created by Ryles by asking Robinson, an assistant at Championship level Jersey, to be part of the staff this spring. 

An RFU statement read: "He [Robinson] will support on skills coaching following Jason Ryles’ decision to stay in Australia for the spring due to the challenges caused by Covid-19.

"England meet up next week at St George’s Park as they begin their preparations for the championship. They will then move to their base, The Lensbury in Teddington, ahead of their first game against Scotland on February 6. Jones will name his 28-player tournament squad on Friday, January 22."

Jones added: “We’re looking forward to welcoming Ed to our coaching staff for the tournament and we’d like to thank Jersey Reds for their cooperation and support in making it happen. He’s a talented young coach and will work to help the players improve. We understand and support Jason’s decision and are expecting that he will be back with us this summer.”

Harvey Biljon, director of rugby at Jersey Reds, said: “First and foremost we are really excited for Ed. It’s a fantastic experience for a young coach and he deserves this opportunity. At Jersey we’re very proud of our record of producing players that have gone on to play at the highest levels and it is very encouraging that one of our coaches is getting a chance to work at that level too.”