England Coach Mitchell To Stay Past Home World Cup

England women's caput coach John Mitchell will enactment connected moreover if nan Red Roses neglect to triumph this year's location Rugby World Cup, nan Rugby Football Union (RFU) has confirmed.

The RFU revealed Mitchell, 61, and his England coaching unit each person contracts until 30 June 2026, sloppy of nan result of nan World Cup that starts successful August.

England, who past won nan World Cup successful 2014, person mislaid nan past 2 finals to New Zealand.

RFU head of rugby capacity Conor O'Shea said: "Results are important, but you don't want group reasoning astir what their adjacent occupation is by having a statement finishing astatine that time.

"There will beryllium nary thought for thing until we get done nan World Cup and Six Nations."

Mitchell was portion of nan coaching unit erstwhile Eddie Jones's England mislaid nan 2019 World Cup last to South Africa and O'Shea backed him to grip nan inherent unit that comes pinch starring a broadside astatine a location World Cup.

The Red Roses mislaid nan 2010 World Cup last connected location ungraded to New Zealand, while nan men's squad grounded to get retired of their excavation astatine a location World Cup successful 2015.

"The process that Mitch [John Mitchell] will bring nan group done complete nan adjacent 4 aliases 5 months will beryllium to effort to return that unit distant from them, but besides woody pinch it and rationalise," O'Shea added.

"Anyone who has coached nan All Blacks, England, nan United States and Japan to nan levels he has will person nan conflict scars to understand really to artifact retired noise, but besides usage that unit successful a really bully way."

England comfortably won their opening 4 games of this year's Women's Six Nations, earlier holding connected to conclusion France by a constituent successful a 43-42 thriller astatine Allianz Stadium, Twickenham connected Saturday.

The triumph secured a 4th consecutive Grand Slam and seventh Six Nations title successful a statement to widen their winning tally successful each competitions to 25 games.

The Red Roses's past conclusion was by nan Black Ferns at nan World Cup last successful 2022, pinch nan lucifer against Les Bleues nan closest that series has travel to ending.

"Anyone that thinks you are going to spell into a World Cup and rotation teams complete because you are nan hosts is deluding themselves," erstwhile Harlequins head of rugby O'Shea added.

"It's going to beryllium an unbelievable summertime for that group of players. The carrot is huge, but you don't constitute your ain script. In sport, you ne'er do."

England's women are still yet to return a profit, pinch nan RFU continuing to put £15m annually.

However, location are greenish shoots pinch a 391% summation successful ticketing successful nan past 4 years, compared to nan 4 erstwhile years.

Despite nan women's crippled making an wide nonaccomplishment they person collected £2.4m from ticketing gross successful nan past play alone.

Alex Teasdale , nan RFU's head of nan women's game, told nan BBC: "It's not each astir making money. I deliberation yet we're present to beryllium capable to turn nan game."

There was a crowd of 37,573 astatine Allianz Stadium for past Saturday's triumph complete France, a important driblet from nan 58,498 who attended nan aforesaid lucifer successful 2023.

However, Teasdale is not concerned by nan figures, adding: "We person sewage Rugby World Cup tickets connected waste astatine nan infinitesimal arsenic well.

"I deliberation a really absorbing benignant of stat from this play is that betwixt Premiership Women's Rugby and nan RFU, we sold 250,000 tickets for (women's) rugby successful England this year.

"Then you adhd nan Rugby World Cup tickets connected apical of that (275,000) and we're successful for complete half a cardinal tickets this year."

One mini occurrence communicative from nan Allianz fixture was nan waste of 500 reddish cowboy hats successful nan charismatic stadium shop and outlets.

The hats stem from a mini group of Red Roses players, including Ellie Kildunne and Megan Jones, who self-styled themselves arsenic nan cowboys.

The hats sold retired astir 2 hours earlier kick-off, pinch Teasdale adding nan measurement would request to "significantly" summation for nan World Cup.

"The cowboy hats I deliberation are conscionable a really important infinitesimal successful america trying to create a really beardown instrumentality engagement piece, arsenic we cognize nan Red Roses are very beardown connected their benignant of state inheritance and influences," she added.

"Seeing those hats astir nan ground, I deliberation it's going beryllium thing to 'see' astatine nan Rugby World Cup if we tin get capable of them retired there."