Before joining the RFU as a National Academy Coach, Mallinder spent 15 years with Sale Sharks.  After retiring as a player, he was appointed head coach and in his first full season in charge guided them to victory in Europe’s Parker Pen Shield in 2002.  As well as claiming the club’s first piece of silverware in their 142 year history, he led Sale to second place in the Premiership and a first ever outing in the Heineken Cup.

In 2003 Mallinder went on to coach England to success in the inaugural Churchill Cup and in an unbeaten five match tour which included two games in Japan.  In 2004, having again reached the Churchill Cup final, Mallinder left Sale to join the RFU’s National Academy, where he worked with present England head coach Brian Ashton

West is a former Leicester Tiger who won four back to back English league titles and two back to back Heineken Cups as a player.  One of England’s 2003 Rugby World Cup winners, West totalled 21 international caps and was called up by the British Lions for their 2001 tour of Australia.  On his retirement, he joined the RFU’s National Academy staff at the start of the 2003/4 season and spent a year with the England Under 19s, before joining Mallinder and the Under 21 set up.

As England Under 21 coaches, the pair achieved considerable success, winning the 2006 Grand Slam before being reunited as Saxons coaches at the start of this season.  In their tenure with both teams they have won 15 of their 16 games, the most recent being England’s 17-13 win over the New Zealand Maori at Twickenham last Saturday to claim the Barclays Churchill Cup trophy.

Mallinder’s appointment was made following an extensive selection process and Chief Executive Allan Robson is confident the right choice has been made. “We could not have wished for a better response to our decision to appoint a Director of Rugby with applicants from both the northern and southern hemispheres,” said Robson.  “Forming a shortlist from such an excellent selection of coaches was difficult in itself and we interviewed several people whom the Board believed would do a good job.

“We placed a good deal of emphasis not only on the ability to create an immediate impact on current performances but also on the longer term development of the young English talent at the club in players such as Dylan Hartley, Jon Clarke, Chris Ashton, Alex Rae and even younger lads in the Academy such as David Smith, Will Harries and Phil Hoy and the Board were unanimous in their opinion that Jim and Dorian have the right credentials for the job”.

Mallinder and West were both under existing contracts with the RFU and Saints had to request their early release.  Saints Chairman, Keith Barwell commented, “I am grateful to Rob Andrew (RFU Elite Rugby Director) and Francis Baron (RFU Chief Executive) for their agreement to release Jim and Dorian from their contracts.  We had a good discussion about the role club rugby has in developing English qualified players for the national squad and I don’t think it will be long before RFU and Premier Rugby will reach a deal which will give financial recognition to the clubs’ investment in this area. 

“In the meantime, however, Rob can see the longer term benefits that Jim’s release to Saints will bring and we believe that he and Dorian will provide the leadership and organisation to get Saints back into the Premiership and prepare for a long sustainable assault for the success we all crave.  I must also thank Peter Sloane for his total dedication and commitment during his year here.  He will be missed”.

Rob Andrew said, “We would like to thank Jim and Dorian for their outstanding efforts and commitments to the RFU over the last three years and wish them well in their new roles at Northampton.  They have been developed through the National Academy and Elite Coach Development department, headed by Kevin Bowring, and there will now be the opportunity for further English coaches to join this programme.”

Mallinder said, “I have thoroughly enjoyed working with the RFU National Academy.  The system is doing a great job of developing young English talent and it’s been great to see many of the players I’ve worked with in the last three years coming through.”

“Despite the current position, Saints is still one of the biggest clubs in Europe and Dorian and I can’t wait to start working with what we believe is a squad with a good blend of experience from around the world and exciting young English talent.  In our National Academy roles we have seen quite a lot of Saints players over the past couple of seasons and I am convinced that the club has the potential to dominate the domestic game in the medium term.  In the meantime, however, our immediate objective is simply to get promotion back to the Guinness Premiership.”

Following their departure, the RFU will be advertising for National Academy Coaches with immediate effect.