Champ Rugby winners Worcester Warriors have appointed former England, Harlequins and Wasps forward Joe Launchbury as their new head of academy.

The 35-year-old retired from playing at the end of the regular Prem season after three years with Quins and 51 appearances.

Launchbury won 70 caps for England, winning the Six Nations title three times and playing in two World Cups.

The bulk of his playing career was spent with Wasps, where he made more than 150 appearances in two spells.

He was with the club as it went into administration in October 2022, shortly after Worcester suffered the same fate before Warriors returned to the sport at the start of last season.

Worcester’s first campaign back was a spectacular success on the field, with them thrillingly beating season-long Champ leaders Ealing on their way to winning the play-off final.

Launchbury said he was “really honoured” to get the job adding Worcester was “a club with a huge amount of history, especially in the academy area”.

“Working with the next generation, working with these younger players definitely excites me, and the opportunity to come here to Worcester was something I didn’t want to turn down,” he told the club website., external