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Times
9 hours ago
- Sport
- Times
John Mitchell: Leading Red Roses at World Cup is like coaching All Blacks
It ranks among the most comprehensive midweek defeats for tourists from these isles. In 1993 the British & Irish Lions had beaten New Zealand to take the series to a decider, and three days later they were thumped 38-10 in Hamilton. Among the Waikato XV that day were Ian Foster, Warren Gatland and John Mitchell. 'Antipodeans wait for the Lions,' Mitchell says. 'You just want that opportunity, and then it's a 12-year cycle as well, so that's why it's really important. When you've got confidence as a provincial side and you give yourself a chance of winning, you go for it.' A quantity surveyor at the time, he recalls the occasion: 'Three o'clock on a Tuesday afternoon, 35,000 people, probably not all of them on annual leave. Then the night we won and went into the night, I think I was driving around the Welsh president in my Ford Escort to try to find another pub. 'The next morning I had to report for work at 7.30am. I still remember my workmate, Derek Hobbs, he could see I was a little bit seedy and I had to go to the doctor for antibiotics because I think I cut my elbow open.' Fast forward 32 years and more pressing for Mitchell, 61, is the Women's Rugby World Cup in England, beginning on August 22, for which the Red Roses are favourites after a run of 55 wins in 56 Tests (the defeat being the previous World Cup final). They began their campaign on June 2 after a five-week break, starting with a first day of connection, sharing stories and photographs about the time off. Punishing fitness work from the first two camps will continue, twinned with increasing tactical work, to help deal with incidents such as the first-half red card for Lydia Thompson three years ago, en route to a fifth defeat in finals by the Black Ferns. 'If we don't create that exposure, then we're probably going to let ourselves down like the last World Cup,' Mitchell says. Mitchell has coached at several men's World Cups. In 2003 he led the All Blacks, 16 years on from their only win at the time, into the tournament. 'It does feel similar to that, but probably what's different is that I'm a little bit older and a bit more experienced,' Mitchell says. 'The young John Mitchell, he was 37 or 40 way back then, has done a few miles. I would love to have had the experience that I've got now back then. But hey, that's life, you've got to learn it. 'I've been in too many World Cups where people make it bigger than what it actually is. It's just a tournament, and it's a big tournament. Just focus on what you can control and make sure you don't get distracted by stuff from the outside world that affects the week.' More than 300,000 tickets have been sold for the tournament, more than double the record attendance in New Zealand three years ago, and Mitchell is aware of the World Cup's role in the growth of the women's game, as well as the status of the Red Roses. 'To me, it's significant; we stand for something, we've set a standard, but we also haven't won a World Cup for 11 years, so how do we get down what we haven't had for a long time?' he says. 'We mustn't have been doing something right. 'We've got an opportunity to embrace this, take it on, and create our own story that ultimately can help our girls pass on the message for a lot longer than when you come second. I guess that's the powerful opportunity while this tournament is under our watch.'
The Independent
12 hours ago
- Sport
- The Independent
John Mitchell: ‘People see the Red Roses as an easy team to coach - but it's a very challenging programme'
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. 'I think people see it as an easy team to coach and that might look like that from the results,' Mitchell explains, having not yet lost in the job. 'But to me it's a very challenging programme that gets me up every morning. 'They give you a lot of energy back. They're highly driven. They're highly competitive. They don't like sitting second in the pecking order. 'They all want to make it. They all want to get better. And I think they're hungry as well because they haven't got something done in 11 years. So to be part of that and to lead that means I've got to pay attention to where the team needs to improve.' Mitchell's desire to lead a programme again was a key factor in his desire to take on the role; it helped, too, that he was based in Surrey and already familiar with the English ecosystem from two stints as an assistant with the men's team. He emerged as the chosen candidate to take the Red Roses into the World Cup with something of an outsider's edge, the 61-year-old carrying with him no preconceptions of the job he was about to take on but the experience of a broad coaching career that began almost three decades ago. His buy-in since taking the role has been clear; the bucket hat is a nod to that. In his time as coach, Mitchell has popped up in TikTok videos and been greeted by a Being John Malkovich-esque room full of cut-outs of his head. It is a culture rather different to that which he oversaw with the All Blacks at the turn of the century – yet the squad all suggest they have been encouraged to embrace and celebrate their somewhat idiosyncratic identities. The scrutiny heightens, though, as the World Cup looms ever larger and the focus will be on ensuring a side unbeaten in their last 25 games remains ahead of the chasing pack. Mitchell, and England, are not yet considering the threats that Canada, New Zealand or France might pose, knowing that they have to get out of the group first, but setting standards has been a consistent motivating force in recent years. Their preparations for the tournament will include a trip to Treviso, the sort of warm-weather camp now commonplace for men's sides ahead of a World Cup but believed to be the first of its kind for England's women. Having made clarity of communication a priority in his tenure, most of Mitchell's players will know by the time they arrive back from Italy on 12 July where the stand in the pecking order before the official World Cup squad is named 12 days later. 'It will probably be our most uncomfortable training camp of all of them because it will be hot and you'll get bothered,' Mitchell says of the week in Treviso. 'The amount that we've layered on our game will put them under a lot of questions through scenarios, the unfairness that comes in the games through cards, those sorts of things. The play to rest ratios will be probably a little bit lower as well. 'I think it's really important to go away from your country and that will create connection as well. The heat will in itself create its own duress. I'd rather be ready for every eventuality. If we don't create that exposure then we're probably going to let ourselves down, like the last World Cup [where England's Lydia Thompson was sent off in the first half].' Mitchell will balance the need to develop cohesion with getting minutes into his wider squad in two warm-up games against Spain and France ahead of the opening fixture of the World Cup against the United States in Sunderland on 22 August. After defence coach Sarah Hunter 's return from maternity leave, it is a settled staff with no further additions planned before the tournament. A strong CV possessed by the Kiwi coach does have one glaring omission. Mitchell is yet to be part of a World Cup win, his All Blacks in 2003 undone by Australia and, a little, themselves at the semi-final stage and Eddie Jones's England beaten by South Africa in the final in 2019 while Mitchell was overseeing their defence. This would appear a golden opportunity to correct the record – though he insists his focus is fully on the team. 'I think I've been in that position where you individually put yourself first,' Mitchell admits. 'I think what the game has taught me the older I've gotten is that you just put yourself second, and just control what you can control, and deal with whatever happens. Ultimately, I think when you do that, you enjoy it more and there's less pressure on yourself to do that. 'This team's attracted to consistency. It's not in a hurry to give that up. It knows it's going to be challenged in its home World Cup and we know that we've got to earn the right to contest the final. There's plenty to do and that's why we're working hard into the tournament.'
News.com.au
15-05-2025
- Sport
- News.com.au
‘Allianz ERUPTS' after Kernick solo try!
State of Origin: Olivia Kernick has scored one of the great individual tries for the Blues, taking the lead in game two of the Women's State of Origin series.
Yahoo
24-04-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
How to watch Women's Elite Rugby: Where to stream for free and more
If you buy something through a link in this article, we may earn commission. Pricing and availability subject to change. The Denver Onyx and the Bay Breakers compete in the Women's Elite Rugby League; here's how to watch this season for free. (Andy Cross/MediaNews Group/The Denver Post via Getty Images) Women's Elite Rugby, the first professional women's rugby league in the U.S., kicked off its inaugural season last month and will run through June 14 with matches being played weekly on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays. The league consists of six teams, the Boston Banshees, Bay Breakers, TC Gemini, Denver Onyx, New York Exiles, and Chicago Tempest, and the entire season will be available to stream for free on DAZN. The popularity of women's rugby has surged in the wake of the 2024 Paris Olympics, though if you're looking for bronze-medal winning American sevens player Ilona Maher, she most recently played Premiership Women's Rugby in England. Here's everything you need to know about how to watch the 2025 season of Women's Elite Rugby. How to watch the 2025 Women's Elite Rugby season: Dates: March 22 - June 14, 2025 Advertisement TV channel/streaming: Free at DAZN When is the Women's Elite Rugby season? The 2025 Women's Elite Rugby season runs between Mar. 22 and June 14, 2025 How to watch the Women's Elite Rugby season: The 2025 Women's Elite Rugby league games are available to watch in the US for free on DAZN. There's no paid subscription required to watch, though you'll have to create an account to be able to log in. (Dazn) Watch Women's Elite Rugby Dazn DAZN offers loads of sports programming for free, including select games during this season of Women's Elite Rugby. To watch their full slate of upcoming fights and other sportsprogramming, a regular monthly subscription to DAZN costs $29.99 for a month-to-month plan, or sign up for an annual plan which nets out to $15.99/month. Free at DAZN Who is competing in Women's Elite Rugby? There are six teams in the Women's Elite Rugby League, they are: Bay Breakers Boston Banshees Chicago Tempest Denver Onyx New York Exiles TC Gemini Click here for the most up-to-date standings of every team this season. 2025 Women's Elite Rugby season schedule: You can check out the complete schedule for every team in the Women's Elite Rugby league here.
