England Head Coach to remain in post after World Cup

John Mitchell will continue as head coach of the England women’s rugby team beyond this year’s home Rugby World Cup, irrespective of the tournament’s result, the Rugby Football Union (RFU) has confirmed.

The RFU announced that Mitchell, 61, along with the rest of the England coaching staff, is contracted until 30 June 2026. This arrangement remains unchanged regardless of England's performance in the upcoming World Cup, set to commence in August.

England, who last secured the Rugby World Cup title in 2014, were runners-up in the past two finals, both times losing to New Zealand.

Conor O’Shea, RFU Director of Rugby Performance, commented:
“Results are important, but you don't want people thinking about what their next job is by having a contract finishing at that time.
There will be no thought for anything until we get through the World Cup and Six Nations.”

Mitchell previously served on Eddie Jones’s coaching team during England’s 2019 World Cup campaign, which culminated in a final defeat to South Africa. O'Shea expressed confidence in Mitchell’s ability to manage the pressure associated with leading a team at a home World Cup.

The Red Roses have previously experienced disappointment on home soil, having lost the 2010 final to New Zealand. Similarly, the England men’s team failed to progress beyond the group stage during the 2015 tournament hosted in England.

O'Shea added:
“The process that Mitch [John Mitchell] will bring the group through over the next four or five months will be to attempt to take that pressure away from them, but also deal with it and rationalise.
Anyone who has coached the All Blacks, England, the United States and Japan to the levels he has will have the battle scars to understand how to block out noise, but also use that pressure in a really good way.”

England have demonstrated formidable form in the 2024 Women’s Six Nations, claiming convincing victories in their opening four matches before narrowly overcoming France 43–42 in a dramatic contest at Twickenham’s Allianz Stadium on Saturday.

The triumph secured England’s fourth consecutive Grand Slam and their seventh successive Six Nations title, extending their unbeaten run across all competitions to 25 matches.

Their last defeat came at the hands of the Black Ferns in the 2022 World Cup final. The recent encounter with France marked their narrowest margin of victory during the current streak.

O'Shea concluded:
“Anyone that thinks you are going to go into a World Cup and roll teams over because you are the hosts is deluding themselves.
It’s going to be an unbelievable summer for that group of players. The carrot is huge, but you don’t write your own script. In sport, you never do.”