Former All Blacks coach John Mitchell has been recognised in\u00a0the British New Years Honours.<\/p>\n
Mitchell has been appointed an OBE for services to rugby after\u00a0guiding England to the women’s Rugby World Cup title\u00a0this year.<\/p>\n
He coached the All Blacks between 2001 and 2003 and has been England women’s coach since 2023.<\/p>\n
Mitchell said: “I am incredibly honoured to receive this recognition, but I want to be clear that it reflects the work of the Red Roses World Cup-winning squad and the outstanding staff around them.<\/p>\n
“That campaign was built on collective effort – starting from the leaders making it real with players who set the standards every day, coaches and performance staff who worked tirelessly behind the scenes, and a wider RFU support team whose contribution often goes unseen but is absolutely vital. It was a privilege to be part of such a committed, driven and united group.<\/p>\n
“I am grateful to the players for their trust and professionalism, and to the staff for their expertise, honesty and relentless work ethic throughout the path to victory.<\/p>\n
“I would also like to thank my family, especially my wife, Jules, as well as my friends for their support during an intense period that demanded a great deal from everyone involved. I accept this honour on behalf of the entire Red Roses World Cup squad and staff, and with sincere thanks to all who played a part.”<\/p>\n
Captain Zoe Stratford (formerly Aldcroft), was also appointed an OBE, while vice-captains Marlie Packer and Megan Jones are appointed an OBE and MBE respectively, with Sadia Kabeya and Ellie Kildunne both becoming MBEs.<\/p>\n
Ice skating duo Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean, who won gold at the 1984 Winter Olympics, have received a damehood and knighthood respectively.<\/p>\n
England women’s football manager Sarina Wiegman has been made an honorary dame as she is Dutch.<\/p>\n
She led England to successive European Championship titles in 2022 and 2025.<\/p>\n
Several members of the Lionesses squad are also recognised, including captain Leah Williamson who is appointed a CBE.<\/p>\n
Welsh rugby great Jonathon Davies was awarded a CBE for his charity work.<\/p>\n
Former marathon world record holder Paula Radcliffe becomes an OBE for services to sport.<\/p>\n
Other honourees\u00a0included actor Idris Elba and others.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Former All Blacks coach John Mitchell has been recognised in\u00a0the British New Years Honours. Mitchell has been appointed…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":379502,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[567],"tags":[64,63,760,85],"class_list":{"0":"post-379501","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-rugby","8":"tag-au","9":"tag-australia","10":"tag-rugby","11":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/379501","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=379501"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/379501\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/379502"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=379501"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=379501"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=379501"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}