The wind is whipping along the terrace at the back of England’s Teddington training base, rattling the protective canopies overhead, but John Mitchell is presenting an image of perfect tranquillity. Pupils scanning in an ever-considered manner from behind the clear-framed eyewear that have become his trademark, a Red Roses bucket hat adorns his familiar dome, the head coach fresh off the training paddock as preparations intensify for a Rugby World Cup for which England expects.
Mitchell’s squad came together at the start of June; they will not properly disperse, they hope, until after a trophy is lifted at Twickenham on 27 September. A team that has been unbeaten since World Cup final heartbreak in Auckland are fully focussed on ensuring they go one better this time around. If the New Zealander’s appointment raised eyebrows in 2023 – Mitchell had never worked in the women’s game – it was for this period that he was so coveted as England prepare for a tournament that, for many reasons, they will feel they have to win.
