Simon Middleton has taken on a new role as high performance adviser to the Japan national women's 15s team.
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.
“Japan jumped off the page because it is such a different culture. I had met (Japan head coach) Lesley McKenzie previously and I was really impressed with her as a coach and as a person.”
Middleton is driven to help one of women's rugby's fastest-emerging nations fulfil their “massive potential”.
The 57-year-old, from Yorkshire, first linked up with Japan when he assisted McKenzie in their 72-0 win against Kazakhstan in the Asia Rugby Women's Championship final at the end of May which secured them qualification for WXV 2.
He is now in Spain with the team for their two-Test tour and will stay involved until the conclusion of WXV 2, the second level of World Rugby's new global women's competition, on October 28.
As well as the host nation South Africa, Scotland's place in the six-team line-up was confirmed through their fourth-place finish in the Women's Six Nations with Samoa joining them as Oceania Rugby Women's Championship winners in June. The remaining two spots will be filled later this month.
Middleton feels WXV will be integral to the improvement of the Sakura 15s.
“I think it is a brilliant concept, not just for tier two and tier three teams, I think tier one needed it desperately, too, because I think the more games you get against southern hemisphere sides the better,” he said.
“When you look at tier one, I think it is a great opportunity for Canada to kick on from the World Cup and for Wales to test themselves on the next level on a more consistent basis.
“As for tier two/tier three, there is some perception that to improve as a team you need to be playing against the likes of England, New Zealand and France to move forward. But at this moment in time, we (Japan) don't need that.
“A Test every now and again is good but what you have to do is crack the middle ground first and WXV gives you an opportunity to do that.”
