Named World Rugby coach of the year in 2021, Middleton won five Grand Slams and six women’s Six Nations titles in his seven-year reign as the Red Roses head coach.
The most recent title came three months ago in front of a record-breaking crowd of 58,498 as fans packed into Twickenham to witness history in the making and a thrilling 38-33 win over France.
Now Middleton is relishing his next challenge and is excited by the “massive potential” of Sakura 15s.
“There were a couple of full-time positions that were appealing but not what I was looking for, I didn’t want to get back into full-time coaching – certainly not as a head coach. The other option was consultancy work, dropping into high-performance programmes and trying to help them along,” Middleton said.
This story is from the July 09, 2023 edition of The Rugby Paper.
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This story is from the July 09, 2023 edition of The Rugby Paper.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
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