Reviews are commonplace after major tournaments, but following the 2021 RWC and the Autumn Internationals they are all the rage.
While Eddie Jones is apparently packing his bags, what of Simon Middleton? Will he stay or will he be pushed?
Some of the arguments against him are:
1. The easy cliché – he has lost two successive RWC finals. I remember commenting after the 2017 Belfast final: that must have been the first time his half-time talk failed to have its effect.
2. He has been in post for seven years, and in a similar role for even longer. Seven years can seem like a lifetime, but there is no established length of reign in women’s rugby. Last spring José ‘Yunque’ Barrio resigned from his equivalent post in Spain after seven years in charge; Andrea Di Giandomenico has retained his position in Italy for eleven years, and France’s late decision to push the long-serving Annick Hayraud aside in favour of Thomas Darracq didn’t unlock the key to a first-ever final. Kevin Rouet (Canada) and Jay Tregonning (Australia) were two more late appointments. Both their teams did their nation proud, but what were their respective unions’ expectations?
3. The same question will now be asked at Twickenham Towers. Middleton himself gave an unmistakeable answer: the Red Roses’ overriding aim to win the World Cup – or else! The ‘else’ was his post-match verdict that the loss constituted a failure. Is that failure enough to unseat him?
4. Selections: this is where the criticisms are strongest. It was almost bound to be the case, when there was such a wealth of talent at his disposal. Did the right 32 players go the RWC? Specifically, did he choose the right 23 players for the final? The most contentious omission by far was Mo Hunt. I argue that the way the tournament worked out, it was proved to be wrong. Was it the staff’s fault that England lost the final by 3 points? The game turned on the red card shown to Lydia Thompson. I am certain she was selected in preference to Jess Breach because of her proven defensive skills. She had got the better of Portia Woodman at Rotorua in 2017 and scored two tries against her in that Belfast final.
5. The reason she found herself rushing in to make an incautious, indeed dangerous tackle goes back to a recurrent failure in the team’s defensive systems. All too often the backs found themselves short-staffed when the opposition moved the ball around at speed. It happened in the 6 Nations (Chloe Rollie’s try, for example), at the RWC with Emily Chancellor’s try for Australia and earlier in the two big games against the Black Ferns a year ago.
6. Without that calamity the final would surely have been won.
7. A spokesperson for the RFU has assured the nation that a sheaf of talented coaches are lined up for inspection. Their cases will be examined in fine detail and a decision reached as soon as possible – the gap to the next RWC being unusually narrow, only three years, to make up for the Covid-enforced 5-year gap to the recent tournament.
8. In a word: it’s time for a change.
The case for him is strong
With the impressive support the RFU has given the Red Roses, Middleton has built the outstanding squad in World Rugby. They win the Six Nations almost as a matter of course; they reached and retained first place in world rankings (powered by Capgemini, let’s not forget), even after their 3-point loss to the Black Ferns. The world record 30-match winning trot won’t be beaten in a hurry.
The players he assembled were good enough for a World Dream Team to contain no fewer than six Red Roses.
On a personal level, he has met all the demands placed on the only coach to have to confront the challenges of a full-time professional squad. While that might seem a doddle, it means he has had to be perpetually watchful and creative, especially during that endless lockdown. He is assiduous in ensuring all is well with individual players. He is friendly and outgoing, has a sense of humour, but can address his troops with the utmost seriousness at each turn of events. He is sensitive to the emotional effect his decisions have on them.
Above all, he seemed to run a happy ship. I have often wondered how a coach avoids the corrosive dangers of jealousy as competition for team places grows ever stronger.
If he goes, who should replace him?
One strong argument is that it should be a woman. An ongoing feature of the English management has been the predominance of men in charge. Ever since Nicky Ponsford went on secondment to World Rugby, there has not been a woman in the senior staff ranks.
As we look first across the current female head coaches (other titles possible) in the Premier 15s, we find they cover five of the ten clubs; excellent! They are: Amy Turner (Harlequins), Jo Yapp (UWW), Katy Daley-Mclean (Sale Sharks), Laura-Jane Lewis (Wasps), Sue Appleby (Exeter Chiefs). All of them bar Lewis are distinguished former England players.
To them we must add the name of another World Cup winner, Giselle Mather, who recently left Wasps to take charge at the highly ambitious Ealing Trailfinders club, not many miles away.
It’s quite another question whether they would be willing to give up their current posts for a totally different kind of existence looking after the national side. They might well jump at the opportunity – “I didn’t have to think twice’; they might have grave reservations – “More time with my family’.
I have stated elsewhere that I would find it quite unacceptable for the review committee to look beyond England’s borders for a replacement. There are distinguished names galore being touted around media outlets, for example Anna Richards of Aotearoa. Let’s hope NZR offers her a worthwhile post long before Twickenham follows the regrettable national trend by picking an overseas head coach. Eddie Jones? Sven-Göran Eriksson? Lisa Keightley? Sarina Wiegman? Only Wiegman can claim major success.
