Lee Radford: Former Castleford boss joins Northampton Saints coaching team

Lee Radford was set to join Dallas Jackals rugby union side in 2020 but the job fell through because of Covid

Former Castleford Tigers rugby league coach Lee Radford is switching codes to join Northampton Saints.

Radford will help replace Ian Vass as a defence coach at Franklin's Gardens.

The 44-year-old left Cas in March after a spell of almost two years in charge, having previously coached Hull FC.

"Lee's very ambitious, committed and driven to succeed, and we feel like he brings an edge to our group and will connect with the players really well," said director of rugby Phil Dowson.

"From the very first meeting we had with Lee, [head coach] Sam [Vesty] and I were impressed by the clarity of his philosophy, the simplicity of the principles that underpinned it, and his enthusiasm for the challenge.

"If you couple that with his experience as a coach at club and international level in rugby league, he brings some fantastic leadership skills and a new perspective on our game which we're very excited about.

"He will have a lot to learn working in rugby union, coming into our set-up from a rugby league background, but clearly there is a great heritage of coaches who have made that transition very successfully."

Radford made more than 350 appearances as a player, with two spells at Hull FC either side of seven years with Bradford Bulls, who he helped win the Super League twice and a Challenge Cup final, and won five England caps.

He was also a member of the coaching team which helped Samoa reach the final of the World Cup in 2022, before losing to Australia in the final.

"The brand of rugby Northampton already plays is really appealing and exciting to watch, but my job now is to add some stiffness and resilience where I can to this team, so we can really forge our own identity defensively and make some big improvements," he said.

"Moving from league into union is a massive challenge, but a very exciting one. I still have a lot to learn about rugby union, but I've had some great conversations with the likes of Kevin Sinfield, Martin Gleeson, and Jamie Langley already about the game and how to best make that transition, so I can't wait to get to work."

Saints have reached the play-offs in both the past two seasons, but were beaten by eventual champions Leicester Tigers and Saracens at the semi-final stage.