Premiership rugby would benefit from female coaches, says Giselle Mather

Wasps Ladies director of rugby Giselle Mather feels the men's game at Premiership level would benefit from a more diverse range of coaches.

Mather has vast experience in the game - formerly featuring as the England Women coach, while also being a Grand Slam and World Cup winner during her playing days.

Speaking to Sky Sports on International Women's Day, Mather outlined how gender should not matter when it comes to rugby coaching, but instead a human connection.

"I think it's everybody else's issue not mine that I am female. When I am coaching they don't think 'I've got a female coach in front of me,' and I'm sure they don't think that when they have a male coach.

"What players want is to be challenged and to develop. Providing they're getting that I don't think it bothers them who is standing up in front of them.

"It's more about the human being, I think there are characteristics people associate with males and associate with females. It's not a man will do something, and a woman will so something [else] it is the human in front of you."

When asked whether men's rugby was ready for a female coach at the highest tier, Mather outlined the potential benefits.

"If the right skill-set of the female is involved, I think a coaching team is better when it is diverse because in a professional rugby squad you have about 50 players.

"If all the coaches are ex-players who are all male, they're - not clones of each other - but very similar. You need as many diverse people as possible in order to catch all of your players.

"There's no way the head coach relates to everyone."