Northampton Saints defence coach Alan Dickens has left the club to become the new England Under-20 head coach.

Former scrum-half Dickens, 43, has been at the club since 2008 also as a player, academy boss and attack coach.

He was interim Saints head coach in the second half of 2017-18 after director of rugby Jim Mallinder was sacked.

Dickens will lead England at next year's Six Nations and World Under-20 Championships, replacing Steve Bates - who left the role in July.

"Northampton Saints has not only been a huge part of my coaching career so far, it's been a huge part of my life," Dickens said.

"I'm thrilled to take on this important role with the RFU. The most exciting thing for me is seeing young players progress within their clubs, and ultimately then into the England first team squad," he told England Rugby.

Dickens was England Saxons defence coach on their tour of South Africa in 2016 and will be replaced at Northampton on an interim basis by academy coach Jake Sharp.