Lowes lands England role
Warrington first team coach James Lowes has been appointed England Assistant Coach.
Lowes returns to the national coaching set up having worked under Tony Smith and alongside Steve McNamara with Great Britain in 2007.
He joins NRL coach Brian Smith, who will be linking up with the England coaching team Down Under for the Four Nations.
“I’m really pleased Steve asked me to rejoin the England set up. It’s good to be back in the fold. My job is to assist the coaching staff and assist Brian Smith when we get out to New Zealand for the Gillette Four Nations. I’ll just do my best for the team,” said Lowes.
Lowes, who began his coaching career at Bradford before moving to the Salford City Reds and then onto Warrington maintains there’s a big difference between coaching at club and international level.
“The main thing at international level is getting people together and getting them playing together whereas at club level you concentrate more on core skills,” said the former Leeds and Great Britain hooker who will help prepare the England team for the Gillette Fusion International against France.
“There’s one or two new faces in there. I think we ‘ve picked a good 19-man squad and am looking forward to getting the international game up and running again.
“Steve and I go back a long way. We worked together as assistants to Tony Smith and I’m looking forward to working under him.”
Steve McNamara is delighted to have Lowes alongside him: “Jimmy will help in all parts of the organisation,” he said.
“He’s a fantastically loyal person who will bring a toughness and resilience to the group. He’s an experienced coach who has been developing over a long period of time and I’m delighted he’s joined us.
“He was part of Tony Smith’s Great Britain coaching team in 2007 and didn’t continue in 2008 because of the Warrington job.
“This time round it was really important for me to get a strong and loyal backroom staff. Jimmy is a very smart coach in his own right and will be able to carry messages onto to the pitch in the appropriate manner.
“We are different types of characters but always got on very well and complement each other. He was very competitive and brings a lot of those characteristics with him – for me it was a comfortable choice.”