Simon Middleton Position England Women Head Coach Born 02.02.66 Kellington, Yorkshire Playing history RU: Knottingley RUFC, Leeds Carnegie (1997-99) RL: Castleford Tigers (1991-97) Coaching history Leeds Carnegie Assistant Coach (1999-2011), Yorkshire Backs Coach (2012), Pontefract RUFC Coach (2010-12), Director of Rugby at Bishop Burton College (2011-2014), England Women Defence Advisor RWC (2010), England Women Assistant Coach for European Cup (2012), Nations Cup (2013), England Women Sevens Head Coach (2014), England Womens Assistant Coach (2014), Womens Rugby World Cup England Women Head Coach (2015 - to date) Simon s broad background enables him to draw on experience in both rugby codes, having played for Knottingley in the 15-a-side game for ten seasons before being scouted by Castleford Tigers RLFC, spending seven years as a professional and scoring 83 tries from the wing in 170 games. He also had a brief spell as a player with Otley RUFC and Yorkshire Carnegie. Turning the clock forward, he was appointed as England Women Sevens Head Coach four years ago, Assistant Coach for the 2014 World Cup and became England Women Head Coach in June 2015. He also took charge of the programme for the GB Women s squad at the 2016 Rio Olympics. He guided England to a Six Nations Grand Slam last year and to victory in all three matches in the International Women s Rugby Series in New Zealand that June. They included a 29-21 win over their hosts, the Black Ferns in a curtain-raiser to the British & Irish Lions game at the Rotorua International Stadium. Looking further back, Simon was Assistant Coach at Yorkshire Carnegie for 12 years, helping the club to win promotion to the Premiership in 2001 and 2007. Influences on his career have been Rugby League coach Darryl Van der Velde and Jeanette Dawson OBE, who taught him management at Bishop Burton College.
Scott Bemand Position England Women Lead Coach Born 21.09.78 Hereford Playing history Luctonians, Midlands Colts, Moseley (1998-2001), Harlequins (2001-04), England Students (2002-03) Leicester Tigers (2004-07), Bath Rugby (2008-10) Coaching history North Midlands Head Coach (2010-13), England Men U18, Loughborough Students (2012-14), England Women Lead Coach (2015 to date) Scott, a former scrum half, became the Lead Coach in May 2015 after taking up his first full-time coaching role as Skills and Attack specialist for Loughborough Students two years earlier. He brought a vast amount of knowledge to the university, having played in 97 Premiership games for Harlequins, Leicester and Bath Rugby spanning eight seasons. Scott s initial coaching role with the RFU was in scrum half skills in 2011. He captained England Students, was part of the 2004 European Shield winning Harlequins team and toured Australia with the England squad in 2006. Scott also was in the Leicester squad that lifted the Premiership and Anglo-Welsh titles in 2007 and made 21 appearances that season. Ten years earlier, he had helped North Midlands to win the County Colts Championship at Twickenham. He began playing when six at Luctonians RFC, was educated at Bishop of Hereford Bluecoat School and obtained a HND in Agriculture at Harper Adams University College, Shropshire. Born into a farming family, he is interested in the land and qualified as an agronomist (crop consultant). Scott also played age-grade cricket for Herefordshire.
Matt Ferguson Position England Women Forwards Coach Born 12.06.78 Shrewsbury Playing history Ludlow RFC, Stourbridge (1998-2002), North Midlands, Luctonians (2002-03), Dudley Kingswinford (2003-06), Luctonians (2006) Coaching history England Women A Team Forwards Coach (2010-11), Lichfield Women (2011), Cardiff Blues Scrum & Skills Coach (2012), Bristol Rugby Forwards Coach (2012-14), London Welsh Assistant Coach (2014-15), England Women Assistant Coach (2015 - to date) London Irish scrum coach (2017 date) Matt, a former Stourbridge and North Midlands prop, first became involved in the female game as the England A Forwards Coach eight years ago, an appointment that culminated in the 2011 European Trophy triumph. The same year he led Lichfield Women to a third-place finish in the Premiership. In 2012 he joined Cardiff Blues, who reached the Heineken Cup quarter-finals. He then switched to RFU Championship club Bristol in the Greene King IPA Championship as Forwards Coach and helped the side to reach the British & Irish Cup quarter-finals in 2013 and the Championship play-off final in 2014-15. The following season he tasted Aviva Premiership rugby with London Welsh before being appointed as England Women s Assistant Coach in May 2015. His first experience of the game was at Ludlow C of E School before he gained a NVQ in Sport, Leisure & Coaching at Ludlow College. One of Matts proudest rugby moments was England Women reaching the final of the Womens Rugby World Cup in August 2017. Matt worked as a Community Rugby Coach for Shropshire from 2004 and held various positions in the next eight years, including North Midlands Rugby Development Officer, the National Schools Department, RFU Scrum Factory and as a Divisional Development Talent Officer. Another achievement in Matts coaching career was when Cardiff qualified for the last eight of the Heineken Cup but his biggest buzz is seeing players benefiting from his coaching input. Matt s proudest off-field moment was watching his brother Captain Daniel Ferguson receive a MBE in July 2015 for services in Afghanistan from Her Majesty The Queen.
James Bailey Position England Sevens Head Coach (Women) Born 05.08.83 I London Playing history Saracens (2000), Bristol Rugby (2002-04), England Sevens (2004-06), Gloucester (2004-08), London Irish (2008-09), Lyon Olympique Universitaire (2009-12), Wasps (2012-14) Coaching history England Sevens Assistant Coach (Women) (2016-2017), England Sevens Head Coach (Women) 2017-to date) James was appointed as England Sevens Head Coach (Women) last year having become their Assistant Coach in October 2016. He is now applying his playing experience as a former Premiership wing to engaging with the next generation of talent through elite coaching with the RFU. Known for his raw speed, he played 49 times and scored 11 tries for Gloucester and his highlights include winning the Middlesex Sevens in 2005 and the European Challenge Cup in 2006. He joined the Kingsholm-based club from Bristol in 2004 before moving on to London Irish four years later and to Wasps in 2012. That year, at the age of 29, he sustained a compound fracture to his tibia and fibula in a match against Northampton Saints and was ruled out for the season. Despite two years of rehabilitation, he was unable to return to the game. When forced to retire early, he began his Level 3 RFU coaching qualification and worked with the England Men s Sevens Academy, Jamaica Sevens and the London Irish Academy. In between his English club involvement, he had a spell in France playing for Lyon Olympique Universitaire. His early passion was athletics but he took up the game at the age of nine when some friends asked him to attend rugby training. He represented England through the age groups from U16 to U21 and made his debut for Saracens at the age of 17 before embarking on a professional career that spanned 12 years.
Jo Yapp Position England U20 Head Coach (Women) Born 06.09.79 Shrewsbury Playing history Ludlow Ladies, Worcester Ladies, England Students, England (1998-2006), England Sevens (2008-09) Coaching history Bewdley Sixth Form College (2004-06), RFUW Super 2s (2009-10), South- West U15 Girls Head Coach (2011), Exeter University Assistant Coach (2010-11), Exeter University Director of Women s Rugby/Head Coach (2011-to date), RFUW Sevens Talent Transfer Coach (2012), England U20 Head Coach (Women) (2014-to date) Jo Yapp played in three Rugby World Cup tournaments, captained England in the 2006 event and won 70 Test caps from 1998 onwards before launching a successful coaching career. Jo joined Giselle Mather as the highest qualified female coaches when achieving the RFU Level 4 status. She was England s Player of the Year in 2003 and retired from the international scene in 2009 soon after becoming the England Sevens Player of the Year. Her Test debut had been against Ireland at the age of 18. Jo first laced up her boots five years earlier at Ludlow and went on to play all her senior rugby for Worcester Ladies. A scrum half, she was educated at Lacon Childe School in Cleobury Mortimer, Ludlow College and the University of Worcester where she took a BSc (Hons) Sports Studies and PGCE in Physical Education. Jo was appointed as a National Athlete Sports mentor in 2011 and her skills have extended to playing county hockey and representing central England in the Tetrathlon.