Simon Middleton weighs in on whether the Red Roses should have a female head coach
Simon Middleton says “the right person will be the best person” to succeed him as England head coach, whether they are male or female.
Middleton steps down after the Women’s Six Nations Grand Slam showdown against France at Twickenham on Saturday.
During his time in charge, England have reached two World Cup finals, won five Six Nations titles and four Grand Slams.
The Red Roses also embarked on a 30-game unbeaten run that ended with defeat to New Zealand in the World Cup final last year.
Sarina Wiegman led England’s Lionesses to success at Women’s Euro 2022, and there are many in English rugby who would like to see a female appointment, post-Middleton.
“We have got some very good coaches/directors of rugby-style females in the game,” Middleton said.
“Giselle Mather (Ealing Trailfinders director of rugby) is one, Jo Yapp (Worcester women’s head coach) being one, Susie Appleby (Exeter Chiefs head coach) being another.
“A lot of it is relevant to the team you build around you and how you manage that team of staff. The right person will be the best person.”
Marlie Packer, who will captain England in front of a record crowd for a women’s match of more than 53,000 on Saturday, added: “For me, I think it is the right person for the job.
“Whether it is a male or female, I don’t mind. I think that is what most of the squad think as well.
“We just want to be pushed as players to be the best players we can. We want someone who is going to give us a new drive, and it doesn’t matter who it is.”
The immediate focus of Middleton and Packer is to complete another Six Nations clean sweep, ending a tournament that has so far seen the Red Roses score 233 points and concede just 15.
France, though, are also unbeaten, and it promises to be a thrilling spectacle as Middleton bids farewell.
“The magnitude of the game this weekend is a huge distraction from potentially everything else,” he said.
“It has been a real privilege to be part of it, and we just desperately want to make sure we finish it in the right way on Saturday.
“What we want is more occasions like this one. The beauty about one of these occasions is it sends a massive message out about what is achievable, and it puts pressure on others to respond positively.”
Middleton has made four changes from the team that saw off Ireland 48-0 in Cork last weekend.
Centre Helena Rowland makes her first start of the Six Nations campaign, partnering Tatyana Heard in midfield, while scrum-half Lucy Packer, hooker Lark Davies and prop Sarah Bern also feature.
Packer, meanwhile, has allayed any fears about her fitness after going off injured in Ireland, and she packs down alongside back-row colleagues Sadia Kabaya and Alex Matthews.
“It is going to be a very special occasion,” Packer added. “To lead the squad out for a Six Nations Grand Slam decider is going to be epic.
“Simon will leave a massive legacy. The group has massive respect for him, what he has done for us as a group and for the women’s game.
“When he told me he was leaving, I gave him a hug and said, ‘Right, let’s go and win this Six Nations, let’s send you off properly’.”
Team: E Kildunne (Saracens); A Dow (Harlequins), H Rowland (Loughborough), T Heard (Gloucester-Hartpury), C MacDonald (Exeter); H Aitchison (Saracens), L Packer (Harlequins); H Botterman (Saracens), L Davies (Bristol), S Bern (Bristol), Z Aldcroft (Gloucester-Hartpury), S Beckett (Gloucester-Hartpury), S Kabeya (Loughborough), M Packer (Saracens, capt), A Matthews (Gloucester-Hartpury).
Replacements: C Powell (Gloucester-Hartpury), M Carson (Saracens), M Muir (Gloucester-Hartpury), P Cleall (Saracens), N Talling (Loughborough), N Hunt (Gloucester-Hartpury), A Reed (Bristol), J Breach (Saracens).
Comments on RugbyPass
Like others, I am not seeing the connection between this edition of the Crusaders and the All Blacks future prospects under Razor. I think the analysis of the Crusaders attack recently is helpful because Razor and his coaching team used to be able to slot new guys in to their systems and see them succeed. Several of Razor’s coaches are still there so it would be surprising if the current attack and set piece has been overhauled to a great extent - but based on that analysis, it may have been. Whether it is too many new guys due to injuries or retirement or a failure of current Crusaders systems is the main question to be answered imo. It doesn’t seem relevant for the ABs.
3 Go to commentsharry potter is set in stone. he creates stability and finishes well. exactly what schmidt likes. he’s the ben smith of australian rugby. i think it could quite easily be potter toole and kellaway for the foreseeable future.
5 Go to commentsThis is short sighted from Clayton if you ask me, smacks of too much preseason planning and no adaptability. What if DMac is out for a must win match, are they still only going to bring their best first five and playmaker on late in the game? Trusting the game to someone who wasn’t even part of planning (they would have had Trask pinned in as Jacomb preseason). Perhaps if the Crusaders were better they would not have done this, but either way imo you take this opportunity to play a guy you might need starting in a final rather than having their 12th game getting comfortable coming off the bench.
1 Go to commentsThanks Brett.. At last a positive article on the potential of Wallaby candidates, great to read. Schmidt’s record as an international rugby coach speaks for itself, I’m somewhat confident he will turn the Wallaby’s fortunes around …. on the field. It will be up to others to steady the ship off the paddock. But is there a flaw in my optimism? We have known all along that Australia has the players to be very competitive with their international rivals. We know that because everyone keeps telling us. So why the poor results? A question that requires a definitive answer before the turn around can occur. Joe Schmidt signed on for 2 years, time to encompass the Lions tour of 2025. By all accounts he puts family first and that’s fair enough, but I would wager that his 2 year contract will be extended if the next 18 months or so shows the statement “Australia has the players” proves to be correct. The new coach does not have a lot of time to meld together an outfit that will be competitive in the Rugby Championship - it will be interesting to see what happens. It will be interesting to see what happens with Giteau law, the new Wallaby coach has already verbalised that he would to prefer to select from those who play their rugby in Australia. His first test in charge is in July just over 3 months away .. not a long time. I for one wish him well .. heaven knows Australia needs some positive vibes.
21 Go to commentsWhat a load of bollocks. The author has forgotten to mention the fact that the Crusaders have a huge injury toll with top world class players out. Not to mention the fact that they are obviously in a transition period. No this will not spark a slow death for NZ rugby, but it does mean there will be a new Super Rugby champion. Anyone who knows anything about NZ rugby knows that there is some serious talent here, it just isn’t all at the Crusaders.
3 Go to commentsI wouldn’t spend the time on Nawaqanitawase! No point in having him filling in a jersey when he’s committed to leave Union. Give the jersey to a young prospect who will be here in the future.
5 Go to commentsIt was a pleasure to watch those guys playing with such confidence. That trio can all be infuriating for different reasons and I can see why Jones might have decided against them. No way to justify leaving Ikitau out though. Jorgensen and him were both scheduled to return at the same time. Only one of them plays for Randwick and has a dad who is great mates with the national coach though.
53 Go to commentsBrayden Iose and Peter Lakai are very exciting Super Rugby players but are too short and too light to ever be a Test 8 vs South Africa, France, Ireland, and England, Lakai could potentially be a Test player at 7 if he is allowed to focus on 7 for Hurricanes.
7 Go to commentsPencils “Thomas du Toit” into possible 2027 Bok squad.
1 Go to commentsDon’t see why Harrison makes the bench. Jones can play at 10 if needed, and there is a good case for starting her there to begin with if testing combinations. That would leave room for Sing on the bench
1 Go to commentsWhat a load of old bull!
1 Go to commentsOf the rugby I’ve born witness to in my lifetime - 1990 to date - I recognize great players throughout those years. But I have no doubt the game and the players are on average better today. So I doubt going back further is going to prove me wrong. The technical components of the game, set pieces, scrums, kicks, kicks at goal. And in general tactics employed are far more efficient, accurate and polished. Professional athletes that have invested countless hours on being accurate. There is one nation though that may be fairly competitive in any era - and that for me is the all blacks. And New Zealand players in general. NZ produces startling athletes who have fantastic ball skills. And then the odd phenomenon like Brooke. Lomu. Mcaw. Carter. Better than comparing players and teams across eras - I’ve often had this thought - that it would be very interesting to have a version of the game that is closer to its original form. What would the game look like today if the rules were rolled back. Not rules that promote safety obviously - but rules like: - a try being worth 1 point and conversion 2 points. Hence the term “try”. Earning a try at goals. Would we see more attacking play? - no lifting in the lineouts. - rucks and break down laws in general. They looked like wrestling matches in bygone eras. I wonder what a game applying 1995 rules would look like with modern players. It may be a daft exercise, but it would make for an interesting spectacle celebrating “purer” forms of the game that roll back the rules dramatically by a few versions. Would we come to learn that some of the rules/combinations of the rules we see today have actually made the game less attractive? I’d love to see an exhibition match like that.
29 Go to commentsIrish Rugby CEO be texting Andy Farrell “Andy, i found our next Kiwi Irishman”
5 Go to commentsI certainly don’t miss drinking beers at 8am in the morning watching rugby games being played in NZ.
1 Go to commentsThis looks like a damage limitation exercise for Wales, keeping back some of their more effective players for the last 20/25 minutes to try and counter England’s fresh legs so the Red Roses don’t rack up a big score.
1 Go to commentsVery unlikely the Bulls will beat Leinster in Dublin. It would be different in Pretoria.
1 Go to commentsI think it is a dangerous path to go down to ban a player for the same period that a player they injured takes to recover. Players would be afraid to tackle anyone. I once tackled my best friend at school in a practice match and sprained his ankle. I paid for it by having to play fly-half instead of full-back for the rest of that season’s fixtures.
5 Go to commentsJust such a genuine good bloke…and probably the best all round player in his generation. Good guys do come first sometimes and he handled the W.Cup loss with great attitude.
2 Go to commentsWord in France is that he’s on the radar of a few Top14 clubs.
5 Go to commentsGet blocking Travis, this guy has styles and he’s gonna make a swift impact…!
1 Go to comments