 Greening won 24 caps for England |
Phil Greening has been named England Sevens assistant coach just a day after announcing his imposed retirement. Greening, 30, replaces Damian McGrath, who is coaching the England U19s at the Rugby Football Union National Academy.
"Phil's an intelligent player who has a great understanding of the game," said England Sevens head coach Mike Friday.
Wasps hooker Greening, who won 24 caps for England and was part of the 1999 World Cup squad, was forced to quit the game by a persistent toe injury.
"From a coaching perspective he will be successful as he is a very charismatic character who communicates well with players of all ages," added Friday.
Greening battled hard to rediscover his fitness and his retirement is a blow for Wasps.
"Phil's talent and experience will be a significant loss to the club," said director of rugby Ian McGeechan.
"He is a class player who was at the top of his game last season. I was looking forward to working with him."
Greening represented England between 1996 and 2001, his last Test coming in the Grand Slam mishap against Ireland in Dublin.
He was in contention for a return to the international set-up after a successful end to last season.
Greening was also selected for the British and Irish Lions tour to Australia in 2001 but missed out because of injury.
He began his club career at Spartans before moving to Gloucester in 1994 and then Sale Sharks in 1998, before joining Wasps in March 2000, helping them to domestic and European success.
MMIX
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A great player a big loss to the game 