Eddie Jones’s secret weapon eyes her share of a third Rugby
World Cup crown thanks to reflex-honing exercises that sharpen England’s timing and decision-makingPotentially the most successful coach in the history of rugby union is hiding in plain sight. Maybe it is because she is a woman and gives relatively few interviews. More likely it is because people do not see her on the touchline or in the coaching box each week. Whichever it is, her visionary work will be staring everyone in the face in Saturday’s World Cup final.
Should
England win she will also be entitled to a unique place in rugby history. Only a handful of oval-ball legends – Richie McCaw, Steve Hansen, Kieran Read – have shared in two World Cup triumphs. No one, male or female, has ever achieved three. Step forward England’s unobtrusive secret weapon, Dr Sherylle Calder, now just 80 minutes away from an unprecedented global hat-trick.