Middleton: Women’s Lions tour not far off
SIMON Middleton believes that the formation of a women’s Lions team is only a matter of time and does not see the squad being made up almost entirely of his England players whose solitary defeat in the last five Six Nations came against France in 2018.
The Six Nations is expecting a feasibility study on the Lions issue to reach its conclusion by the end of the year and it is more complicated than going on the same tour as the men because South Africa and Australia are not among leading women’s teams.
The Lions’ managing director Ben Calveley said it was a matter of when not if the Lions set up a women’s team but with England the only one of the four home unions to have a fully professional set-up, there are concerns players from the other three would struggle to make the squad and, if they did, they would need to get time off work.
“A women’s Lions is definitely feasible and it was tabled a couple of years ago, along with a women’s Barbarians which has since been established,” said Middleton, the England head coach.
“It would be a different dynamic to the men’s because Australia and South Africa are not particularly strong, but France and Canada are and would be options for series.
“There are some fantastic players across the home nations and the Olympics have shown how well a combined programme can work. A well-integrated Lions side would be really exciting and it does not have to be a long way off. It is about having the endeavour to do it and the finance.
“It would be superb for players in the Celtic nations. We talk about growing the game across different countries and putting players on the biggest stage is how you inspire others. What the last few years have shown is that the appetite for the women’s game is massive and it will only continue to grow.”
England won their third successive Six Nations this year and, ahead of the World Cup in 2022 which was put back a year because of the pandemic, they have arranged two matches against New Zealand, the tournament hosts, in the autumn, along with Canada and the United States.
It will be the first time England, who lead the world rankings, have had a series against the Black Ferns, who are second, since 2013 and with Canada third in the world, it will be ideal preparation for the World Cup after a long layoff because of Covid: it will be more than two years since they played opponents outside the Six Nations.
“A fixture against New Zealand is always welcome because they are few and far between,” said Middleton, “and to have two is even rarer. I had just got involved with the team when we had three matches against them in 2013, and this gives us something to look forward to having come through an uncertain period.”
No venues have been announced for the matches which will conclude with a clash against the United States, but it is unlikely any will precede or follow games in the men’s Autumn series at Twickenham.
Middleton admitted that the cricket’s successful format in The Hundred, which has raised the profile of the women’s game considerably, will need to be taken on board.
“I would imagine that the plan is to promote the game across the country after the lockdowns and there are a number of very good stadiums to consider,” he said. “The venues are still being looked at. I am an admirer of The Hundred and have been watching the tournament which has worked very well.
“When we have played at Twickenham, it has tended to be after the men’s team rather than before, and there are issues to consider such as ticket pricing. The format they have used for The Hundred is definitely worth looking at because it has worked so well and it is something that may be an option at club level with pitches these days so good and durable.
“The last time we played at Twickenham, there was a record crowd who had stayed back to watch. The girls went out to warm up while the men’s match was going on and for them to experience an atmosphere like that was superb. It would be nice to think the two teams could be aligned at some point in the future, but it is more challenging at international level.” England will play New Zealand at the end of October and a week later with the dates, like the venues, still to be confirmed. It will be the first meeting between the sides since the 2019 Super Series, which was played in the United States, and also involved France, Canada and the US. England’s last victory over the Black Ferns came in Rotorua in 2017. “The postponement of the World Cup this year allowed us to look at players the tournament would have come a bit early for,” said Middleton. “We have changed our coaching structure with Louis Deacon, left, coming on board and there has been a bit of a transition, but we will have a limited run-in to the Test series with a short preparation period before we face the world champions.
“We will need to keep our game simple and there are core things we have been working on. We have great strength in depth with a number of players coming through and last season’s Premier 15s final between Harlequins and Saracens showed how strong and competitive the league has become.”
The league will again be competed for by ten teams over 18 rounds of the regular season with the top four going into the play-offs, but it will be supplemented by the Allianz Cup which has been set up to give an opportunity to fringe squad players during the international windows.
“The standard is improving year-on-year and more Premiership clubs are talking about becoming involved,” added Middleton. “It is about finding a way to generate crowds: people do not know how good women’s sport is until they watch it. The battle is to get them there because when they have seen it once, they want more.”
England may have a short build-up to the autumn series, but it will be two years since New Zealand’s players last appeared in a Test match with the country operating a zero-Covid policy. The Black Ferns will be able to fly out for the tour but will need to quarantine for two weeks when they return.
“They have had some internal games and there may be a chance to catch them on the back foot, but they will be buoyed by their success in the Olympics,” said Middleton. “The first game will be some occasion but the second will be even better. Canada are third in the world and the United States have some very good players.
“I am not sure that there is a psychological blow to be struck against New Zealand ahead of the World Cup. Whoever wins the series will top the world rankings and we are desperate to stay there, but when we beat them in 2017, they learned more from that game than we did and beat us in the World Cup final a few months later.
“It is not about the result but what you learn from the matches that matters. It will also provide the chance to give players their first experience of playing against New Zealand. Facing them is a step-up and you know that you are not going to dominate them physically.”