Simon Middleton sat back with a contented smile, his work very much done. After the best part of a decade as England head coach, it had been an emotional final week, one last game and one last trophy to win before he bowed out. It was quite the occasion for a curtain call, and quite
It was a question that could have been dismissed with a simple answer, no further expansion asked for, or required. When Simon Middleton was asked last week if his team’s issues from the tee were a major concern, the England head coach might have batted the query aside, noted a couple of key absentees, insisted
The gap remains uncomfortably large between England and most of the other sides in this competition, but at least the depth of the Women’s Six Nations favourites has been tested in this campaign. Ahead of their second round fixture against Italy, which was won with real command despite a slightly clunky start from Simon Middleton’s
If there was at all a question about how this record-setting English side would respond to a rare defeat, then Saturday evening’s Six Nations opener provided an emphatic answer as the Red Roses settled back in with typical efficiency and ruthless edge. There were reasons to believe that England’s Women’s Six Nations opener might be
Simon Middleton believes that “nerves” played a part in another slow start for England as the Red Roses thrashed South Africa to cruise into the Rugby World Cup quarter-finals. Hat-tricks from Rosie Galligan and Connie Powell ensured that England overcame a shaky opening quarter to power away from their opponents with their forwards again to
It was the pool fixture that caught the eye from the moment the Rugby World Cup draw was made. England and France, the two leading sides in Europe filed alongside one another in Pool C, a clash of the class of the north in Northland and an October 15 date ringed in the calendar. England’s
Helena Rowland sat quietly in the Ashton Gate press room, boots off, conjuring hands now playing idly, content with their evening’s work. It had been a virtuoso showing from start to finish from England’s emerging superstar, Wales carved open repeatedly on a night of history in Bristol as the Red Roses completed 25 straight wins,
It looked at the start of this year like Claudia MacDonald’s career might be over. A freak neck injury in November brought a grim prognosis, the suggestion that continuing to play rugby would be unwise. It was a cruel blow to a player coming right into her prime, set to lose her professional contract and
The full time whistle blew, the travelling Harlequins support rose to their feet and on to the lush Kingsholm surface charged Jess Breach, in the exultation as fast on one leg as two, crutches long since tossed aside as she leapt into a teammate’s arms. Behind her came another wounded soldier, captain Rachael Burford, the
Back into the Stoop they came, some two thousand of them in all, masks on, flags fluttering as cool May showers blew through. After the long months of winter locked away, and in one of rugby’s great parishes, the parishioners were permitted for a most important occasion indeed. With a European final to come later
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