How A Nine-year-old Led Lion Flutey Into The Black Ferns Camp

Riki Flutey is still waiting for John Mitchell's connection back.

"I've sent him a mates of photos of maine and him pinch our arms astir each other, you know," Flutey says pinch a smile.

"Hey, I'm judge he'll nonstop maine 1 astatine immoderate point. He's sewage a large occupation starring nan ship!"

At nan past Rugby World Cup - France 2023 - nan brace were portion of Japan's coaching staff.

Now they are successful other camps. Flutey, nan erstwhile England world and British and Irish Lion, is backs and skills coach for nan Black Ferns.

Mitchell, picked successful various All Black squads during his playing days, leads nan Red Roses.

Flutey was appointed successful April arsenic nan last portion of New Zealand's coaching set-up for this Women's Rugby World Cup.

One of nan first things that struck him was nan group mentality of nan six-time champions.

"Allan Bunting, caput coach, has done a awesome occupation by creating an situation based connected relationship and service," he says.

"You know, coming from nan outside, from a Super Rugby men's situation [Flutey's past station was pinch nan Highlanders] and conscionable seeing really that looks and really that feels is beautiful amazing.

"The connections wrong this team, guidance to management, guidance to player, and subordinate to player, are beautiful special.

"It's really genuine."

There are nary general bonding exercises aliases team-building sessions, conscionable a batch of clip successful each others' company, talking, singing and supporting each different connected different well-timed tilt towards nan world title.

"I retrieve arsenic a player, arsenic soon arsenic we had our gathering astatine nan edifice earlier getting connected nan autobus you could perceive a pin drop," says Flutey.

"No-one would speak.

"Everyone was headphones on, nary talking, eyes consecutive ahead. That was what 'on' looked like.

"But pinch this squad they person euphony playing, they link pinch each other, talk pinch each different passim that full process - into nan changing rooms arsenic well.

"I emotion it. I emotion being beautiful relaxed connected crippled day, clearing nan mind a spot astir nan unit that's astir to travel and enjoying nan infinitesimal - truthful that's beautiful cool."

Flutey is caller to nan Black Ferns, but not to women's rugby.

He was carried into nan crippled by his girl Madison. Aged nine, she watched Portia Woodman-Wickliffe carving up nan Rio 2016 Sevens and decided that, for illustration her dad, rugby was nan athletics for her.

Flutey has been helping retired pinch her teams ever since, pursuing her from club, to schoolhouse first squad to Otago Spirit, 1 of New Zealand's elite home teams.

"She's ever loved having dada there, assisting and coaching," he says.

"I've tried getting retired of it a mates of times because my 3 sons were complaining that I was ever helping her teams.

"But Maddie was like, 'no, you can't. We don't person immoderate coaches. You person to coach us'.

"And having that acquisition really has really, really helped coming into this."

Part of Flutey's remit has been guiding a caller procreation of young Black Ferns stars, specified arsenic 18-year-old full-back Braxton Sorensen-McGee and Sevens person Jorja Miller, successful really to onslaught successful surgery section and find abstraction arsenic nan crippled breaks down.

With 18 tries scored successful 2 thumping wins complete Spain and Japan, truthful acold he seems to beryllium gathering nan occupation spec.

However, Flutey is not allowing himself to ideate a face-to-face gathering pinch Mitchell immoderate clip soon.

"We're sitting 3rd successful nan world rankings and we're really alert of that," he said.

"The Ireland crippled is going to beryllium a massive, monolithic Test lucifer for america and 1 that you cognize we mislaid past year.

"We've been focusing connected each crippled arsenic it comes, putting each our eggs successful nan handbasket and preparing arsenic champion we tin for nan squad coming up.

"We haven't moreover talked astir aliases looked astatine England.

"We cognize what they are, that they person sewage immoderate astonishing talent correct passim their squad and they haven't been beaten for a agelong time.

"They're playing immoderate awesome footy and they're still increasing their crippled and getting amended and amended arsenic this tourney keeps going."

Whether their teams meet later this period aliases not, Mitchell and Flutey whitethorn person rugby business to talk soon.

Madison, Flutey's daughter, is flying complete from New Zealand to train pinch Premiership Women's Rugby (PWR) broadside Exeter Chiefs this winter.

The statement sprung from an induce that Mitchell extended to Riki and Madison to watch England training erstwhile WXV was held successful New Zealand successful 2023.

A 16-year-old Madison sewage chatting to immoderate of England's staff, who put her successful interaction pinch past Exeter coach Susie Appleby.

Madison, who captained a South Island XV arsenic portion of New Zealand's under-18s precocious capacity programme this summer, has been sending complete clips of her games to nan Chiefs ever since.

Born successful London, she would suffice for nan Red Roses without having to service nan residency play her begetter did.

"Off nan backmost of going into nan England's women's environment, she said 'Dad I want to play for England, for illustration you did, and nan British and Irish Lions," said Flutey.

"But since I person sewage this role, she hasn't been truthful sure! I conscionable said 'you do you, sweetie'."

For now, and nan adjacent fewer weeks astatine least, it is still astir Flutey elder and his team.