Simon Middleton to step down as Red Roses head coach
England Women head coach Simon Middleton has decided to step down at the end of the 2023 TikTok Women’s Six Nations.
The 57-year-old, who has been at the helm of the Red Roses since 2015, will lead the team for this year’s competition, which kicks off next month, with forwards coach Louis Deacon and backs coach Scott Bemand also staying put.
Middleton has overseen huge success during his tenure, guiding England to five Six Nations titles and four Grand Slams as well as two Rugby World Cup finals, in 2017 and 2022.
On that run to last year’s final his side reached an incredible record-breaking 30 match-winning run, before losing to hosts New Zealand in the final.
Middleton said: “Representing England in a coaching or playing capacity must be the pinnacle of any sporting career, and I can’t put into words how proud and fortunate I’ve been to be able to do this for the last nine years.
“This job has created a life I’d only ever dreamt of. With whatever I do, I always work as hard as I can and I can honestly say I’ve never done anything without giving my best, it’s not always been good enough but I have always given my all.
“During this tenure, I have worked with incredible players and staff and I will miss the daily interactions. I would like to say a huge thank you for their efforts and everything they have done to support the programme and contribute to our success.
First joining the RFU in 2014 as leader of the Women’s Sevens programme, Middleton simultaneously took on a role as Red Roses assistant coach for the World Cup that year where England were crowned champions in France.
He also led Team GB Women Sevens at the Rio 2016 Summer Olympics, where they finished fourth, before returning to 15s on a full time basis.
Middleton said while he’s proud of being part of a remarkable development in the women’s game in his nine years in the setup, he does leave with some remorse that he wasn’t able to finish with a World Cup victory at the end of last year.
He said: “There have been great memories built around success and great memories built around defeat. Do I regret not signing off winning the World Cup as a head coach? Yes, for sure, but I know we can all live with that because we could not have worked harder or given more, sometimes that’s just not quite enough and it wasn’t on the day.
“I know last year’s World Cup campaign was and continues to be celebrated and quite rightly so – the bravery and commitment of the players in that game was exceptional and is to be admired. They are an excellent group of players, but more importantly amazing people and I know they will continue to be successful.”
RFU Performance Director Conor O’Shea commented: “Simon and I have been discussing his future plans for a period of time since the World Cup in New Zealand and I completely understand and support his decision.
“I know how motivated Simon is to finish his time with the Red Roses on a high with a successful TikTok Women’s Six Nations campaign.
“When the time comes, we will give him the send-off he deserves but until then his focus will be on preparing the team for that first game of the Six Nations against Scotland at Kingston Park.
Middleton will cap off his time as head coach at Twickenham Stadium on April 29th as the Red Roses take on France.
