- Written by Alistair Telfer
- BBC Sports
Image source, Getty Images
John Mitchell was Japan’s defense coach until their pool stage exit in the Men’s Rugby World Cup
|
WXV1: England vs Australia |
|---|
|
place: Sky Stadium, Wellington Dates: Friday, October 20 Starting: 07:00 GMT |
|
coverage: Live text commentary on the BBC Sport website and app. |
England’s transition from former coach Simon Middleton to his successor John Mitchell has taken almost six months, but will soon be complete.
Mitchell is set to join the England women’s team on Thursday, after his role as defense coach for the Japan men’s team ended with a pool stage exit at the Rugby World Cup in France.
Interim head coach Louis Deacon took charge of the Red Roses for the recent two-Test series against Canada, helping prepare England for the inaugural WXV tournament with two victories.
Ahead of England’s WXV1 opener against Australia in Wellington on Friday, Deacon said of Mitchell: “He’s the head coach so he’ll definitely be the head coach.
“I imagine he initially wants to watch to see where things stand and step in where he sees fit.
“We are very much looking forward to having him join us. He is a very experienced coach who will bring a lot to the group.”
Deacon reflects on “a wonderful learning experience”
Mitchell (59 years old) was in charge of the All Blacks team during the 2003 Men’s World Cup, when they lost to Australia in the semi-finals, before taking over the task of coaching the United States men’s national team in 2016.
The New Zealander has been coaching consistently in the professional game since 1996, even before Deacon made his debut for Leicester Tigers.
The 43-year-old welcomed Mitchell’s arrival and that reflected positively on his first stint as head coach, albeit on an interim basis, which included two comfortable wins over Canada.
Deacon added: “I’ve enjoyed it, it’s a different role and something I needed to do at some point.”
“It was an area of my coaching that I needed to look at and progress into, certainly from a leadership position. I enjoy leading a group of players and staff and it has been a great learning experience for me.”
Although Mitchell was providing virtual input from France, he chose to let Deacon develop the new environment in his absence.
Mitchell returns to his home country to coach England in the WXV, a new tournament that includes matches against Australia, Canada and world champions New Zealand.
The Red Roses head into the competition as the top-ranked side unbeaten since the World Cup final against the Black Ferns in 2022, with their last outing against Australia a convincing quarter-final win.
“We got some input from him [Mitchell] “He’s been working a little bit with the coaching staff as well, but right now he’s just a character that we haven’t seen or heard a few glimpses of,” midfielder Megan Jones said.
“It will be nice to put a face to all his magic words and the training he wants to put in place. I think there will be a bit of fear among the group as well as excitement.”
“I want to hear all these great experiences he’s had and what he’s going to bring to this group and how he’s going to make us an exceptional team.”
Formations
England: Roland. Dow, Jones, Hurd, British; Aitchison, Wierwas; Puterman, Powell, Muir, Galligan, Aldcroft, Allen, Packer, Matthews.
Subs: Atkin Davies, Carson, Clifford, Pickett, Hibbert-Jones, Hunt, Bridger, Singh.
Australia: Molika; Stewart, Fredericks, McKenzie, Wong; Dallinger, Morgan. Howie, Nadine, Carpani, Leonard, Cody, Ballou, Chancellor, Liani.
Replacements: Talakai, Cheatham, Robinson, Lavay, Marsters, Dougherty, Smith, Miller.
