England recruit Gloucester's Tobin as fitness coach

Dan Tobin shifted into strength and conditioning after a career as an athlete

England have started filling the vacancies in their coaching set-up with the appointment of fitness coach Dan Tobin from Gloucester.

Defence coach Felix Jones and strength and conditioning staff Aled Walters and Tom Tombleson have left head coach Steve Borthwick's staff in recent weeks.

Tobin, 40, has been Gloucester's head of performance for the past eight years, after a decade with Irish side Leinster.

He was previously an international 400m runner, representing Ireland at the World Junior Championship in Jamaica in 2002.

“Dan is an outstanding S&C coach, who has a wealth of rugby experience and a proven track record in maximising the physical performance of his players and helping them reach their full potential," said Borthwick.

England meet New Zealand on 2 November, with matches against Australia, South Africa and Japan completing their autumn international programme.