A big weekend awaits John Mitchell. On Saturday he turns 60 and the following day he takes charge of his first women’s Six Nations game as head coach of England. Can the seen-it-all Kiwi take them to the next level? The union between the bespectacled former All Blacks head coach and an ambitious bunch of Red Roses from a different generation is certainly an intriguing one.
Because when the Rugby Football Union opted against installing a Sarina Wiegman‑type figure to deliver the women’s World Cup on home soil next year, it did not delight everybody. Even Mitchell believes the days of men heading up women’s programmes are numbered – “The future’s definitely going to be a female coach” – and the appointment of England’s Jo Yapp to the top job in Australia has stirred the whole debate afresh.
