Simon Middleton appointed new head coach of England Women's rugby
Monday 23 February 2015 15:47, UK
Simon Middleton has been appointed the new head coach of England Women's Rugby.
The former player, who is currently in charge of England Women's Sevens, will combine both roles on a deal until the end of 2017.
"It is a really exciting time to be involved," said Middleton, who succeeds Gary Street.
"For me personally, this is a fantastic opportunity and a challenge I am really looking forward to. I am coming into this role when women's rugby is in a great place.
"Being part of the team that won the World Cup last year was the pinnacle of my career, but we want England Rugby to continue to have those successes.
"I am sure these new coaching roles will attract some great calibre candidates and by integrating the 15s and sevens programmes more closely it will be critical to us achieving our goals."
Middleton previously worked with England men's head coach Stuart Lancaster at Leeds Carnegie and was backs coach for the women's team's World Cup triumph last year.
His predecessor Street, who led England to five successive Six Nations crowns until 2012 and back-to-back World Cup finals in 2010 and 2014, left the job in January, with head of performance Nicky Ponsford taking interim charge
In their current Six Nations campaign, England have beaten Italy but were defeated by Wales.
