This is the book many of us have been waiting for: an inside view of what makes the England team tick.
Jessica Hayden tells the enthralling story of the Red Roses right up to 2024, a pivotal year for them as they welcome a new head coach, John Mitchell.
The author writes attractively, leaving herself out of the picture except at the start: how she first confronted the game of rugby, a recognisable tale for many of us. Somebody throws her the ball and who is that bearing down upon her? None other than the frightening Siwan Lillicrap! Though terrified at the thought of contact, Jess shows considerable ingenuity in her reaction. I leave you to discover the method she chose to avoid physical punishment.
We are presented with ‘A week in the life of’, the routine the players go through leading to a weekend international; the varied input of all the specialists, covering strength and conditioning, analysis, nutrition, physiotherapy, light and hard training, and so on.
She introduces us to all the people who make the team possible, especially the ones who rarely hit the headlines: names like Harriet Martin, who might well be the most important person in the entire organisation. Another name that did achieve brief fame is Emily Ross, who helped Abby Dow recover from her hideous leg break inside six months, rather than the minimum of nine considered normal for such a case. “My witch-doctor”, was Dow’s fulsome verdict.
I’m pleased to see the nutritionist, Dr James Morehen, mention the problems caused by the lack of a single base. I hadn’t realised the aspect he picks out, but it adds to my belief that a single centre is an urgent need. He has to deal with a string of hotels to ensure they offer the correct food decently presented. The men use Penny Hill Park in Surrey. Morehen goes into great detail about the players’ relationship to food, and how he has worked out ways of encouraging a sensible and enjoyable approach to eating. Some of us could follow his advice with benefit.
Then to the people closer to the public, the players and the coaches. Hayden selects four current Red Roses as examples of how very different their backgrounds and personalities can be: Marlie Packer, Emily Scarratt, Jess Breach and Maud Muir. Their potted biographies repeat the hurdles female athletes have had to overcome from the start: at its worst, every possible barrier placed in their path by men; their own self doubts about matters such as such as weight-gain, the inferior facilities offered them in comparison with their male equivalents.
We can be sure Hayden might have chosen any other four of the squad for equally striking tales of courage and commitment to recur.
Then to the coaches. All three of last year’s triumvirate of male coaches reveal the foundations of their thinking, and in particular their own concerns. Selection is the hardest business of all, of course. They asked each player how she would like to hear whether she was ‘in’ or ‘out’, and systems evolved to help players overcome the trials of exclusion.
Simon Middleton opens out on the many lessons he learned across the years – fascinating reading. Scott Bemand stresses the dangers of the ‘comfort zone’ If you’re feeling comfortable, you’re not going to produce your best. So we can well imagine the sorts of challenges facing the Irish girls as they seek rehabilitation at the Six Nations. Louis Deacon realises the need for more social mixing between coaching staff and the players. But it’s very difficult. Unlike the teacher-pupil relationship, this one has to involve the stage ‘You’re in, you’re out’. Maud Muir is one who would like to meet the coaches more often in a relaxed setting.
It helped immensely when the coaches revealed their own highs and lows. They had all known rejection too.
Hayden doesn’t hold back on the one omission that hit the headlines and stayed there a long while: Mo Hunt did not go to the 2021 (2022) World Cup. Nor does she overlook the knock-on effects on other players.
It’s hard for us outsiders to credit that a few promising players have come into the Red Roses circle a bit too full of themselves. They have had to be reminded that this is a communal effort, mutual respect is the norm. Behind that lies the gulf between club and international rugby. Hayden details the demands laid on the elite players, and how different the cultures of club and country can be.
Anyone with more than a passing knowledge of the Red Roses’ history will expect coverage of the Eden Park final of 2022. It’s more than just heart-in-mouth time. Those with longer memories could recall previous failures at the last hurdle. Catherine Spencer’s book ‘Mud, Maul, Mascara’ turned movingly on England’s failure to win home RWC final in 2010. Just three points then; now it was to be … three points.
Hayden takes us through the pain of defeat, not excluding the suffering undergone by Lydia Thompson, and the person she caused the pain to, her own sparring partner, Portia Woodman.
So despite all the triumphs that have come England’s way over recent decades, they still have a lot to prove. The book appears at a propitious moment, just before the 2024 Six Nations, where a new coach stamps his vision on their game. Looming above all comes the highest hurdle, the first home Women’s World Cup in fifteen years. Thirteen thousand people watched that earlier match; the RFU is determined to fill Twickenham for the next iteration.
Hayden concludes her book with chapters on the future, the plans the people in charge have to ensure success, and above all, the hurdles women in sport must still vault. As full-time professionals, the Red Roses face the criticism readily offered by the media, especially social media these days.
A delightful feature of the photo collection in the middle of the book is the input of the Roses’ own future professional photographer, Ellie Kildunne. She helps to capture moments that would normally remain unseen by an admiring but inquisitive public.
The book may well set you howling with laughter, as happened when their then sports psychologist offered the team a certain 3-letter acronym for a new initiative. I’ll let you buy the book to find out the cause of the cackles.
Warmly recommended.
Details:
Title: The Red Roses – Behind the scenes with the England Women’s Rugby Team
Author: Jessica Hayden
Published by Arena Sports
