Red Roses head coach Simon Middleton has been in charge of the team since 2015, overseeing a record-breaking 30-match unbeaten run and two Rugby World Cup final appearances; he will depart after the 2023 Women's Six Nations
Monday 13 February 2023 14:45, UK
Simon Middleton says his decision to step down as England women's head coach is for the "good of the programme" moving forward.
The 57-year-old has been in charge of the Red Roses since 2015 having originally joined the set-up as an assistant the previous year, and his record includes overseeing an unprecedented 30-match unbeaten run,
England have appeared in Rugby World Cup finals in 2017 and 2022 during Middleton's time in charge, too, but he has now decided to bring the curtain down following the conclusion of this year's Six Nations.
Explaining his decision, he said: "I think, since the World Cup, obviously you have your reflection period and you try and switch off a little bit and then you start a review process.
"To be honest, for the good of the programme and for the good of myself, we were better off if we stepped away from it at this point.
"When you have come off the back of a major tournament, there is always a bit of a dip and then you re-gather because things come quite quickly.
"I was sort of waiting for that feeling to really start generating again and we are a couple months post World Cup and I am thinking 'there is something not where it needs to be now'.
"There was definitely a personal point of view where I thought: 'that suggests to me you are ready for a new challenge'.
"I spoke to a lot of the senior players, who are great to be honest, and I was like 'Look, do you think you are ready for a new voice?'
"They were all in agreement. Like anything, you have got to evolve the programme, you have got to add new stimulus, we added Lewis Deacon last year and we have continued to add new staff who bring different things and new players who bring different things.
"I just thought it is time for new stimulus at the top. So it was a very dual thing: new challenge for me, new voice for them."
While Middleton is proud of his achievements with the Red Roses, not least winning the World Cup in 2014 as assistant coach, he also has some regrets.
"I think obviously we got off to a great start and the 2014 World Cup was fantastic.
"To be fully involved in coaching your country at that point was absolutely massive for me and that is probably one of the highlights, the earliest one and a massive one.
"The flip-side of that being 2017 and in particular, last year.
"They were huge disappointments and regrets. I regret not winning another two World Cups, that is for absolute sure.
"Six Nations last year, Bayonne, that was an incredible game [England won in France to secure the Grand Slam].
"We had never played in front of a crowd that was hostile towards the players before and we just loved it and watching how the players react."
Although women's rugby has already gone through an immense amount of growth over the last decade, Middleton believes there is a lot more to come over the next few years, especially with a home World Cup in 2025.
For the Red Roses, he believes the future lies in developing female coaches and increasing off-field support so players can "physically and mentally" perform at their best.
"I think from an English point of view, now is the time to really go after the female coaching input," he added.
"I think you have got a generation of female players who have lived through a decade of professional rugby or it has felt like that.
"A lot of players have lived through that now and are very prepared to step into coaching if they choose to.
"There is some excellent coaching potential and we have got to grow that side of it.
"Then there are things we will continue to go after which is the detail of the programmes.
"I think the biggest influence immediately was the whole rugby piece of it. The detail of the rugby, but then the intricacies of the support mechanisms - strength and conditioning, nutrition, psychology and I think that is the next big part.
"It certainly is for the Red Roses. There is a massive part of off-field stuff that needs to be done to support the players to be the best athletes and be the best equipped physically and mentally to be to give their best and to cope with the pressures with the growth of the sport."
Although Middleton knows that he wants a "new challenge", whether that will be in rugby remains unclear.
At the moment, he is focusing on remaining "open-minded" to all opportunities that come his way.
"You never leave the sport, do you? Rugby stays with you forever once you are involved in it," Middleton said.
"I still see myself being involved somewhere along the line but I may not be.
"I may choose to look at other options that are out there, other sports, other lines of business.
"I have never planned too far ahead, I keep a very open mind. I will deal with stuff as it comes and that way, it allows you to react and adapt and stay alive in stuff so I am pretty open-minded."
With such an open-mind, Middleton was asked whether he fancied a chance to swap sports and take over at Leeds United? The answer? "I'd probably do as a good a job as some of the others lately."
