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Neil Fowkes is to leave his role as head coach of Championship side Nottingham to become full-time scrum coach with Wasps, after eight months performing the role part-time.

Fowkes, 40, was brought in by Wasps during the first Coronavirus lockdown in July 2020, dovetailing his new role with his commitments to Nottingham.

But he will now make the move to Coventry more permanent this summer.

He will officially leave Nottingham when their season ends on 29 May.

"Neil has made a real impact since he came in to work with us last season," said Wasps head coach Lee Blackett.

Nottingham are currently bottom of the Championship, having lost the first six games of their curtailed 10-match season.

Wasps are ninth in the Premiership - six points shy of a top-six finish, with five games to go before the season ends on 12 June.

Former Nottingham prop Fowkes, who made more than 20 appearances in a 13-year playing career for the Green and Whites , then spent seven years as their forwards coach before becoming head coach in 2018.

Fowkes added: "I have had a fantastic time at Nottingham both as a player and now coach and the club will always have a special place in my heart, but I believe now is the right time for a new challenge.

"Leaving the club is a massive decision for me and my family and one that I haven't taken lightly. The opportunity to be head coach of your boyhood club doesn't happen to many people."