Giselle Mather: Coaching with courage and changing the game

Why are we still telling female rugby coaches they are ‘not ready’ to coach at the highest levels of the women’s game, when we then say to male players ‘you can go straight into professional coaching when you come off the field’? This is just one of the thought-provoking questions Giselle Mather tackles on today’s episode of The Game Changers podcast. Giselle is one of the most influential and pioneering figures in rugby. A former England international and World Cup winner, Giselle's extraordinary coaching career has seen her consistently break new ground in the sport. Giselle was the first woman to earn the RFU’s Level 4 coaching qualification and has gone on to lead at the very highest levels of both the men’s and women’s professional game. In this candid conversation, Giselle relives the raw early years of the women’s game, from the first Women’s World Cup in 1991 to lifting the trophy in 1994, and explains how those experiences forged a coaching philosophy that puts the human before the athlete. Combining elite coaching with a busy family life as a mother of three, Giselle has coached at Wasps, London Irish, Teddington, Ealing Trailfinders and internationally as a coach for England Women and Head Coach for Team GB Women’s Rugby 7s, along with the inaugural Women’s Barbarians. Giselle shares how she’s earned respect in men’s environments, the principles that underpin her sessions and the leadership needed to build diverse staff teams where every player can connect and thrive. We talk about how visibility is the fastest route to equality for women’s rugby, why elite athletes deserve the very best qualified coaches and how blunt gender quotas in coaching can backfire. Renowned for her vision, passion and commitment to developing people, Giselle has inspired players and coaches across generations. She’s an extraordinary leader on and off the pitch. Next week's guest is Somali professional boxer, model and campaign activist - Ramla Ali Thank you to Sport England who support The Game Changers Podcast with a National Lottery award. Find out more about The Game Changers podcast here: Hosted by Sue Anstiss Produced by Sam Walker, What Goes On Media A Fearless Women production

You can listen to Giselle Mather: Coaching with courage and changing the game online on Radio and Podcast. Open the player on this page to stream the available audio.

Giselle Mather: Coaching with courage and changing the game is an episode from The Game Changers by Sue Anstiss.

This episode is 52:35 long.

This episode was published on Nov 11, 2025.

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