England’s women’s players need to turn professional if they are to close the gap on New Zealand and Australia, says departing head coach Craig Richards.
The host nation’s hopes of reaching a first World Cup final ended with a 20-6 defeat by the Kiwi Ferns in York.
“I don’t see what more they could have done other than sack off work and train unemployed,” said Richards, who said he would not continue in the role.
“I’ve got girls going to gyms at five in the morning before work.”
Unlike finalists Australia and the majority of players in the New Zealand side who play in the fully professional NRL women’s competition, England’s side consists of part-time players, with many having to book time off work to compete in the tournament.
“I have spent five years trying to close the gap. It is not good enough,” added a clearly emotional Richards.
“What more do you want from these girls? Those girls [the New Zealand players] are professional so the question is do you want to compete with them or not?
“I hope that’s the way it goes. On the back of payment it is then about behaviours. So the players that get that need to recognise what being professional is and embrace it.
“The money needs to be a bonus but there needs to be an attitude change. During the pandemic the girls were meeting up and sprinting in parks in pairs; they were doing press-ups in back gardens wearing weighted ruck sacks.
“When I got the job and someone sent me the videos of the last World Cup [in 2017 where England were beaten 52-4 by New Zealand], I thought: ‘Wow, what have I done?’ One of the tasks was just to get close.
“It’ll be someone else who takes the team forward. That decision was made a while ago. It won’t be me so I’ll support from afar.”