A Health Check for England, France and New Zealand
Despite all the big advances in women’s rugby in 2022 there are still very few places at the top table.
Here’s a look at the three leading nations to see how they compare and contrast: England, France and New Zealand. That is their alphabetical order, and it might as well be their ranking order, if only World Rugby’s ranking list ‘powered by Capgemini’ didn’t keep the Black Ferns a leaf’s thickness ahead of les Bleues (88.58 and 88.43). It reminds us that statistics can prove anything.
2022 can’t claim all the limelight. It was last year that the world order stood on its head. The Kiwis toured Europe and were seen off in short order.
The reasons for their demise formed the focus of a review that was published last week. It underlined grave shortcomings at management and national union (NZR) level. The dramatic upshot was the resignation of the head coach, Glenn Moore, but not before he was confirmed in post by NZR’s CEO, Mark Robinson – a decision the NZR executive might like to assess.
That introduces a striking contrast between the Europeans and New Zealand. The staffs of England and France have remained largely the same for a number of years. In England changes have come only to the post of forwards coach. Matt Ferguson was followed in turn by Richard Blaze, Mark Luffman and now Louis Deacon. Simon Middleton and Scott Bemand have been around for eight years now.
In France Annick Hayraud has been in charge since 2011 (with a short break 2014-6), the only woman to hold the top job in the Six Nations. (What are the chances that another woman might be offered the parallel job in Aotearoa? Cynics will say somewhere short of zero.) Thomas Darracq was added to the French senior management last July, and is now a respected figure on the scene.
That continuity brings huge advantages. Staff and players know each other’s funny little ways and can build on these long-term relationships to increase trust, performance and results.
The Outlook
France and England
Round Five of the Six Nations comes at the end of the month. The headline attraction is the France-England clash of course.
It’s nearly a year (30 April) since the Red Roses last faced the French. One recurrent weakness in English play has disappeared from view: the set-scrum. They had managed to mask that Achilles heel over the previous three years through the quality of the rest of their game, but now they will be tested to the full by a thriving French eight.
I keep claiming that France can win this key fixture. Am I flying in the face of reality?
They have beaten the world champions not just twice (on the autumn tour) but four times in succession. They know that even if they fall for a tenth time on the trot to les Anglaises, the only game that really matters is the final of that World Cup, and it’s still six months away.
The coin has two sides. The French management can’t be happy about the three 6N performances thus far, The wins (39-6 over Italy, 40-5 over Ireland and 28-5 over Scotland) ensured full points, but lacked the power-house margins that England have secured. The pointless second half in Glasgow was a particular worry, casting doubt on the quality of the reserve strength.
The management is still hunting around for the best combinations. Selecting Jessy Trémoulière at No 10 is not a good sign: the distinguished full-back cannot be the long-term alternative to Caroline Drouin in that key position.
Darracq has admitted there is a distance still to go, but the thought of a double 6N Grand Slam, for the men and the women, spurs the players on.
In the wings they have one great asset, the strength of their junior sides who go on walloping their English equivalents. Their Under 18 squad blew them out of the water twice in the U18 Festival in Edinburgh last week. 70 points in 70 minutes is a swamping. And the story is similar at U20 level: English wins remain as rare at hens’ teeth.
There is one interesting contrast between the English and French set-ups: the French have Marcoussis, the national training centre south of Paris, which is the envy of every other nation. England shift their training sessions around a series of well-upholstered locations, Bisham Abbey, Loughborough, Pennyhill Park, The Lensbury and even St George’s Park, training-ground home of the Football Association.
The Red Roses may feel they have the best of the bargain, variety is the spice of life. But it does mean there is no one place they can call home. That is one major drawback of Twickenham: for all its vast size and many facilities there is only one playing area, inside the stadium.
England have suffered two cruel losses to injury, Claudia Macdonald and Abby Dow, both of Wasps.
For all the riches at his disposal in the back three, there’s no doubt Middleton considered Dow as his No 1 weapon. Macdonald had established herself as a strong rival to England’s first-choice No 9, Leanne Infante. Middleton was happy to ask her to start against the Black Ferns in the opening match of the tour.
This is where the depth of England’s talent shines through. The replacements brought in – here Heather Cowell and Lucy Packer, have shown the qualities needed at the top level.
New Zealand
For the Black Ferns the future is shrouded in doubt. Some clarity will come when NZR reveals the name of the new head coach, but that person will have an almighty task rebuilding a once feared army.
The incomer may well have different ideas about the make-up of the squad. But would it be fair and sensible to alter it at this late stage? Revolutionaries will say yes, only the very best players should represent the champions. Others may say no; it is far too late to draft new people into the frame.
Most of the young players who went on tour to Europe were given the chance to wear the black jersey. But for every promising youngster who made her mark (for example Maia Roos, Kennedy Simon, Ariana Bayler, Patricia Maliepo, Grace Brooker and Joanah Ngan-Woo), there were senior players who failed to come up to their own expectations, let alone the staff’s or their fans’.
The new faces may go on to become major figures in world rugby over the next decade, but the current target is so much sooner, and they will hardly have enough chances to develop their game over the approaching NZ winter. A packet of test matches is in preparation, but they can’t make up for the time lost to the pandemic.
Outstanding coaches have been drafted in to advance the cause. It remains to be seen how familiar Mike Cron, Wayne Smith and Sir Graham Henry are with the processes of women’s rugby, when most of their long coaching experience has been with men. Simon Middleton could tell them a thing or two about the differences.
It’s hard to find a single voice in Aotearoa hopeful of the Black Ferns’ chances. The likeliest finalists remain England and France.
