On Saturday, a question three years in the making will be answered. England will win the Women’s Rugby World Cup, or they will fail again.
“If it doesn’t happen, it’s not going to define me.” That was head coach John Mitchell’s response when asked by ESPN if he would see second place as a failure.
For a side that has won 32 straight matches going in to Saturday’s final against Canada, falling at the final hurdle again would see the painful re-opening old wounds. England have been here before — they reached the last Women’s Rugby World Cup final, only to see a red card after 18 minutes and lose by three points.
Mitchell wasn’t in charge on that day, but the effect of that game still lingers. Maybe it adds more pressure this weekend.
But, just because this final might not define him, it doesn’t mean Mitchell doesn’t care. The 61-year-old’s philosophy has been essential to England’s success. Succinctly, you can sum that up as: Enjoy the process and forget the outcome.
It has helped guide England back to the biggest game in the sport. It has also been a cornerstone of his development as a coach.
See, it was his obsession with winning that he believes was his downfall earlier in his career. As coach of the All Blacks, Mitchell discovered how brutal it can be at the top.
New Zealand were bundled out of the 2003 World Cup by Australia in the semifinals, and Mitchell was let go following the tournament. There were mistakes along the way, of course. Things he might change if given a second chance.
People still talk about his axing of legend Christian Cullen from the squad. It was a tough period for both the coach and New Zealand Rugby. As a young coach, just 37 when he took on the biggest job in rugby, he says it was the desire to prove others wrong and show he could win that was his undoing.
Too focused on the outcome.
After 2003, Mitchell travelled around the globe, from South Africa to the United States, taking on various jobs with varying success.
He was thrust back into the English spotlight in 2018 — having previously been in the set up in 2000 under Clive Woodward — when he joined Eddie Jones’ coaching staff.
A brief stint in Japan followed, before he was appointed as Red Roses coach, officially taking over in 2023. External questions were raised about his suiting to the job given his lack of experience in women’s rugby. But with 30 years in the coaching arena, it wasn’t the first time Mitchell had to adapt and learn on the go.
“I went in not wanting to premeditate, so I wanted to experience what I could see and feel,” Mitchell told ESPN on the eve of the tournament.
“When I first started, there was so many questions around ‘what do you understand about woman’s sport? What do you understand about a woman? What do you understand about a woman biologically?
“It’s funny. Over time, I’m getting more performance related questions. But I guess that’s only natural when you haven’t had experience in the women’s game. Some things, crucial things, are the same across both the men’s and women’s environments.
He has a point. How you connect with players, building trust, communication and putting the scarce time you have with players to best use are all vital, regardless of gender.
As Mitchell says: “Trust is never a given, is it? And you can lose it can lose it so quickly.”
‘We’re very, very hard on ourselves’
Coaching a side as successful as the Red Roses brings a unique challenge. You’re one moment away from a huge upset in every match.
For all the talk about process and the journey, don’t get it twisted that this England side are okay with being second best to anyone. Externally, and to some internally, anything but victory on Saturday against Canada will be deemed a failure. England are better resourced than any other nation at the tournament and have been red-hot favourites since the moment they lost the 2022 final.
“We actually like winning and we’re not prepared to give that up. So we are very careful about staying away from any language that sort of tempts you towards the risk of failure,” Mitchell said.
“We try and shift out of that focus really quickly and make sure that we focus on the opportunity to succeed. So we’re very big on chasing solutions. We’re very, very hard on ourselves.”
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How John Mitchell helped England reach their 7th-straight WRWC final
England head coach John Mitchell explains how he gained the trust of his squad ahead of their Rugby World Cup final vs. Canada.
But, since taking over, Mitchell has got his players to buy into his ethos of enjoying the moment, and not chasing the result on Sept. 27, even if it has been in some calendars for three years. For those who were there three years ago, it would have been hard not to wake up some days already thinking of Twickenham 2025.
“We’ve got a new way of playing, we have got a different vision and it’s not driven by outcome,” Mitchell explains.
“It’s about having a really enjoyable and phenomenal experience. And as a result of that, that we driver supports the me drivers. We’re big on that. So, winning doesn’t really define us. It’s more about how we carry ourselves, how we show courage in what we do.”
No stone left unturned
Pushed on what finally winning a World Cup would mean to him personally, Mitchell still refuses to indulge himself.
“For me, I’ll get more excitement about the girls realising their potential,” he says.
“I’ll get more excited around the collective achieving. And the thing is that I know that I’ve put a lot of time into the program, so for me, I’m just going to leave no stone unturned, but I’m also going to make sure that I enjoy the process.”
Soon, though, the talking will be done.
The Red Roses will win or lose. Despite magnificent success, including back-to-back Six Nations grand slams, and a 100% winning record, Mitchell’s tenure will be remembered by what happens on Saturday.
All the process, the journey and enjoying the moment, does come down to a result, potentially even the bounce of a ball, whether it defines him and his players or not.
