Gloucester have appointed former England dual-code international Joel Tomkins as their defence coach and Leicester coach Brett Deacon as their forwards coach for the 2026-27 season.
The news follows the departure of assistant coach Trevor Woodman, who is leaving to join Connacht as the Irish province's scrum coach.
Dom Waldouck, current defence coach at the Prem club, will become head of player development as of next season – a new role described in a statement as leading "the progression of young players into the first-team environment".
The changes come following a major restructure to Gloucester's leadership team this spring, which has seen George Skivington return to a head coaching role, Chris Boyd appointed as technical director and Rob Burgess as general manager.
"We're delighted to have made these key additions to next season's coaching structure, which gives everyone real clarity and focus as we move forward," said Gloucester chief executive officer Alex Brown.
"The arrivals of both Brett and Joel are a real endorsement of the direction we're heading in and of the coaching group that's been assembled under Chris Boyd's leadership."
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Gloucester have endured a disappointing 2025-26 so far, winning just two of 13 Prem matches to leave them eighth in the table, including a heavy 53-12 loss in their most recent outing, against Bristol.
Tomkins has been appointed a week after confirming his departure as head coach of French Super League outfit Catalans Dragons.
The 39-year-old was at the helm for nine months but cited personal reasons and the difficulty of living away from home among his reasons for leaving.
The French side have won four and lost three of their Super League games this season and were knocked out of the Challenge Cup in the quarter-finals by St Helens.
Tomkins is the older brother of former Super League Man of Steel Sam and has switched between the two codes throughout his career on and off the pitch.
As a player, he made more than 200 appearances for Wigan Warriors, winning two Super League Grand Finals, the Challenge Cup and World Club Challenge. He also won three England caps and played for Saracens during a spell in union before retiring in 2021 with Les Dracs.
Former back row Deacon, meanwhile, returns to Kingsholm, where he spent two seasons as a player during his career.
Since retiring in 2015 he has worked at Leicester Tigers, where he has coached the line-out, defence and breakdown, and had a spell in charge of their Prem Cup side.
"I feel like I'm ready to take on the next challenge in my career," Deacon said.
"There's a real ambition at Kingsholm and I'm looking forward to playing my part in helping the club move forward."
Woodman, 49, leaves after 12 years with the coaching staff at Kingsholm, returning to the club where he played in 2014, working with the academy, specialising in the scrum and with the forwards.
The former England prop and World Cup winner made 140 appearances for the Cherry and Whites before retiring in 2005.
"Trevor has been an immense servant of this club both as a player and a coach, so he'll leave with nothing but respect and gratitude for his time here," Gloucester head of rugby George Skivington said.
"Our scrum has been strong under Trevor's guidance – he's done great work in that area."
