England Rugby have appointed Phil Morrow as the Senior Men’s head of team performance who joins Steve Borthwick’s coaching set-up from Saracens at the end of the 2024/25 Premiership season.
“Phil is widely recognised as one of the most accomplished and respected figures in the game,” said Borthwick.
“His track record of success with Saracens speaks for itself. Phil has dedicated his career to helping players maximise their physical performance and is known for his relentless drive and ability to push standards to the highest level."
“I’m confident that England will greatly benefit from having Phil as part of the coaching set-up, and we are delighted he is joining later this year.”
Morrow joined Saracens in 2011 as head of strength and conditioning, before being appointed to performance director two years later. Since then, he has been part of the coaching team that helped Saracens become one of the most successful domestic sides in modern history, securing five Premiership titles and three Champions Cup victories.
In 2017, he was recruited to join the British & Irish Lions Tour to New Zealand as part of a three-man strength and conditioning team.
Morrow brings 24 years of experience in strength and conditioning within professional rugby. He began his career with Ulster Rugby, where he played a key role in the team's 2006 Celtic League title win. In 2007, he joined the IRFU as their high-performance fitness manager, tasked with establishing physical development pathways for Irish rugby.
In 2010, he was appointed head of fitness for the IRFU, where he oversaw the strength and conditioning teams across Ireland's four provinces and led the S&C programme for the national team, concluding his role following the 2011 Rugby World Cup campaign in New Zealand.
“I’m incredibly proud to be joining England Rugby,” said Morrow.
“I’ve worked in the Premiership for a long time and, week in, week out, I see the quality of the players we have in England. The clubs do an outstanding job of developing these players, and I look forward to working with them to help them reach their full potential."
"Under Steve, the England team is in an exciting phase of growth and development, and I cannot wait to start contributing to the team’s future success."
"I want to express my gratitude to Saracens' ownership for making this opportunity possible. I’d also like to extend my heartfelt thanks to Mark McCall. Having worked with Mark on and off for 20 years, he has been both an incredible colleague and a close friend. His support in this decision means a great deal to me."
