England women's national rugby union team

For the men's team, see England national rugby union team.

England

Nickname	Red Roses
Emblem	Red Rose
Union	Rugby Football Union
Head coach	John Mitchell [1]
Captain	Zoe Aldcroft [2]
Most caps	Sarah Hunter (141)
Top scorer	Emily Scarratt (749)
Top try scorer	Sue Day (61)
Home stadium	Twickenham Stadium and others [a]
First colours Second colours
World Rugby ranking
Current	1 (as of 25 November 2024)
Highest	1 (2012–2013, 2014–2015, 2017, 2020–)
Lowest	4 (2015)
First international
Wales 4–22 England   ( Pontypool, Wales; 5 April 1987)
Biggest win
England 101–0 South Africa   ( East Molesey, England; 14 May 2005)
Biggest defeat
New Zealand 67–0 England   ( Burnham, New Zealand; 13 August 1997)
World Cup
Appearances	9 (First in 1991)
Best result	Champions (1994, 2014)

The England women's national rugby union team, commonly known as the Red Roses, represents England in women's international rugby union. They compete in the annual Women's Six Nations Championship with France, Ireland, Italy, Scotland and Wales. England have won the championship on a total of 20 out of 29 occasions – winning the Grand Slam 18 times and the Triple Crown 24 times – making them the most successful side in the tournament's history, helped by their status as the only fully professional women's team in 2019. They won the Women's Rugby World Cup in 1994 and 2014, and have been runners-up on six other occasions. Their current permanent head coach, as of October 2023, is John Mitchell. ^[3]

History

England at the 2014 Women's Rugby World Cup.

Until 2009, the badge and logo of England women's national teams was significantly different from that worn by men's teams. However, in 2009 in anticipation of the merger between the Rugby Football Union and Rugby Football Union for Women England teams adopted the men's rose.^{[ citation needed ]}

England have taken part in every Women's Rugby World Cup competition, winning in 1994 and 2014 and finishing as runner-up on six other occasions.

The 1995/1996 season saw the introduction of a Home Nations Championship between England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales, which England won in its inaugural year. England won the Championship every year, except for the 1997/98 season when it was won by Scotland.

France joined the competition in the 1998/99 season, making it the Five Nations Championship, with England achieving the Grand Slam in three successive seasons.

In the 2001/02 season, Ireland re-joined the fold in preparation for the World Cup and the competition expanded to be known as the Six Nations. Since then, England have finished lower than runner-up on only 2 occasions, in 2013 and 2015 respectively, and have won the title on 15 separate occasions. This includes 7 consecutive tournament triumphs between 2006 and 2012 and the Grand Slam on 13 more occasions, including 3 times in a row between 2006 and 2008, 2010–2012 and 2022–2024, respectively.

Team records

Women's
World Rugby Rankings

• v
• t
• e

Top 20 rankings as of 24 February 2025 ^[4]

Rank	Change*	Team	Points
1		England	097.56
2		Canada	089.31
3		New Zealand	088.64
4		France	085.11
5		Australia	078.10
6		Ireland	078.03
7		Scotland	076.82
8		Italy	074.75
9		United States	074.20
10		Wales	072.58
11		Japan	066.41
12		South Africa	066.18
13		Spain	065.42
14		Samoa	060.56
15		Netherlands	060.20
16		Fiji	059.14
17		Hong Kong	056.20
18		Kazakhstan	055.23
19		Russia	055.10
20		Sweden	052.72
*Change from the previous week

Overall

Further information: List of England women's national rugby union team matches

Full internationals only

Correct as of 12 October 2024

Opponent	First game	Played	Won	Drawn	Lost	Win %
Australia	1998	7	7	0	0	100%
Canada	1993	37	33	1	3	89.19%
Fiji	2022	1	1	0	0	100%
France	1991	56	43	0	13	76.79%
Germany	1997	1	1	0	0	100%
Ireland	1996	32	30	0	2	93.75%
Italy	1991	25	25	0	0	100%
Kazakhstan	2000	3	3	0	0	100%
Netherlands	1990	4	4	0	0	100%
New Zealand	1997	33	13	1	19	39.39%
Russia	1994	2	2	0	0	100%
Samoa	2005	2	2	0	0	100%
Scotland	1994	33	31	0	2	93.94%
South Africa	2005	6	6	0	0	100%
Spain	1991	16	14	1	1	87.50%
Sweden	1988	3	3	0	0	100%
United States	1991	21	20	0	1	95.24%
Wales	1987	41	39	0	2	95.12%
Total	1987	323	277	3	43	85.76%

World Cup

Main article: England women at the Rugby World Cup

Rugby World Cup record
Year	Round	Pld	W	D	L	PF	PA	Squad	Head coach
1991	Runners-up	4	3	0	1	56	28	Squad	S. Dowling
1994	Champions	5	5	0	0	172	39	Squad	S. Dowling
1998	Third place	5	4	0	1	219	78	Squad	E. Field
2002	Runners-up	4	3	0	1	138	37	Squad	G. Richards
2006	Runners-up	5	4	0	1	146	47	Squad
2010	Runners-up	5	4	0	1	171	23	Squad	G. Street
2014	Champions	5	4	1	0	184	37	Squad	G. Street
2017	Runners-up	5	4	0	1	211	88	Squad	S. Middleton
2021	Runners-up	6	5	0	1	270	84	Squad
2025	Qualified								J. Mitchell
2029	To be determined
2033
Total	Champions†	44	36	1	7	1487	451	—
Champion  Runner-up  Third place  Fourth place * Tied placing† Best placing Home venue

Six Nations

	England	France	Ireland	Italy	Scotland	Spain	Wales
Tournaments	29	26	27	18	29	7	29
Outright Wins	18	6	2	0	1	0	0
Grand Slams	16	5	1	0	1	0	0
Triple Crowns	22	—	2	—	1	—	1
Wooden Spoons	0	0	5	3	9	2	8

Players

Current squad

On 18 September 2024, head coach John Mitchell announced England's 30-player squad for the WXV 1 competition that will be held in Canada. ^{[5] [6]}

Note: The age and number of caps listed for each player is as of 27 September 2024, the first day of the tournament.

Player	Position	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Club/province
Lark Atkin-Davies	Hooker	(1995-03-03)3 March 1995 (aged 29)	59	Bristol Bears
Amy Cokayne	Hooker	(1996-07-11)11 July 1996 (aged 28)	76	Leicester Tigers
Connie Powell	Hooker	(2000-07-13)13 July 2000 (aged 24)	19	Harlequins
Sarah Bern	Prop	(1997-07-10)10 July 1997 (aged 27)	63	Bristol Bears
Hannah Botterman	Prop	(1999-06-08)8 June 1999 (aged 25)	49	Bristol Bears
Mackenzie Carson	Prop	(1998-11-28)28 November 1998 (aged 25)	18	Gloucester-Hartpury
Kelsey Clifford	Prop	(2001-12-11)11 December 2001 (aged 22)	8	Saracens
Maud Muir	Prop	(2001-07-12)12 July 2001 (aged 23)	32	Gloucester-Hartpury
Zoe Aldcroft	Lock	(1996-11-19)19 November 1996 (aged 27)	55	Gloucester-Hartpury
Rosie Galligan	Lock	(1998-04-30)30 April 1998 (aged 26)	16	Saracens
Lilli Ives Campion	Lock	(2003-10-10)10 October 2003 (aged 20)	1	Loughborough Lightning
Abbie Ward	Lock	(1993-03-27)27 March 1993 (aged 31)	66	Bristol Bears
Georgia Brock	Back row	(2001-04-19)19 April 2001 (aged 23)	1	Gloucester-Hartpury
Maddie Feaunati	Back row	(2002-05-18)18 May 2002 (aged 22)	7	Exeter Chiefs
Alex Matthews	Back row	(1993-08-03)3 August 1993 (aged 31)	69	Gloucester-Hartpury
Marlie Packer (c)	Back row	(1989-10-02)2 October 1989 (aged 34)	106	Saracens
Morwenna Talling	Back row	(2002-09-29)29 September 2002 (aged 21)	15	Sale Sharks
Natasha Hunt	Scrum-half	(1989-03-21)21 March 1989 (aged 35)	74	Gloucester-Hartpury
Lucy Packer	Scrum-half	(2000-02-02)2 February 2000 (aged 24)	23	Harlequins
Ella Wyrwas	Scrum-half	(1999-03-07)7 March 1999 (aged 25)	6	Saracens
Holly Aitchison	Fly-half	(1997-09-13)13 September 1997 (aged 27)	32	Bristol Bears
Zoe Harrison	Fly-half	(1998-04-14)14 April 1998 (aged 26)	51	Saracens
Tatyana Heard	Centre	(1995-01-14)14 January 1995 (aged 29)	24	Gloucester-Hartpury
Phoebe Murray	Centre	(1999-03-01)1 March 1999 (aged 25)	1	Bristol Bears
Helena Rowland	Centre	(1999-09-19)19 September 1999 (aged 25)	31	Loughborough Lightning
Emily Scarratt	Centre	(1990-02-08)8 February 1990 (aged 34)	113	Loughborough Lightning
Jessica Breach	Wing	(1997-11-04)4 November 1997 (aged 26)	40	Saracens
Abby Dow	Wing	(1997-09-29)29 September 1997 (aged 26)	47	Trailfinders
Bo Westcombe-Evans	Wing	(2002-08-18)18 August 2002 (aged 22)	1	Loughborough Lightning
Ellie Kildunne	Fullback	(1999-09-08)8 September 1999 (aged 25)	45	Harlequins

Contracted players

On 3 June 2024, the RFU confirmed it had awarded full-time central contracts to 32 England senior players for the 2024–25 season, with an additional 8 players receiving transition contracts. ^[7]

Red Roses Contracted Players (2024–25)
Props Sarah Bern Hannah Botterman Mackenzie Carson Kelsey Clifford Liz Crake Maud Muir Hookers Lark Atkin-Davies Amy Cokayne Connie Powell Locks Zoe Aldcroft Rosie Galligan Cath O'Donnell Morwenna Talling Abbie Ward	Back row Sarah Beckett Maddie Feaunati Sadia Kabeya Alex Matthews Marlie Packer Scrum-halves Natasha Hunt Lucy Packer Ella Wyrwas Fly-halves Holly Aitchison Zoe Harrison	Centres Tatyana Heard Meg Jones Helena Rowland Emily Scarratt Wings Jess Breach Abby Dow Claudia MacDonald Full-backs Ellie Kildunne	Transition players Maisy Allen Katie Buchanan Grace Clifford Steph Else Lizzie Hanlon Lilli Ives Campion Nancy McGillivray Mia Venner

List of all players

Main article: List of England women's national rugby union players

Individual records

World Rugby Awards

The following England players have been recognised at the World Rugby Awards since 2001: ^{[8] [9] [10] [11] [12]}

World Rugby Women's 15s Player of the Year Year Nominees Winners 2001 Shelley Rae Shelley Rae 2006 Maggie Alphonsi Maggie Alphonsi 2008 Carol Isherwood Carol Isherwood 2010 Maggie Alphonsi (2) — Danielle Waterman 2012 Michaela Staniford Michaela Staniford 2016 Sarah Hunter Sarah Hunter 2019 Sarah Bern Emily Scarratt Katy Daley-McLean Emily Scarratt 2021 Zoe Aldcroft Zoe Aldcroft Poppy Cleall 2022 Alex Matthews — 2023 Abby Dow Marlie Packer Marlie Packer 2024 Ellie Kildunne Ellie Kildunne Alex Matthews (2)

World Rugby Women's 15s Breakthrough Player of the Year Year Nominees Winners 2022 Maud Muir — 2024 Maddie Feaunati

World Rugby Women's 15s Dream Team of the Year

Year	Forwards		Backs		Total
	No.	Players	No.	Players
2021	3.	Sarah Bern	11.	Abby Dow	5
	5.	Abbie Ward
	6.	Zoe Aldcroft
	8.	Poppy Cleall
2022	3.	Sarah Bern (2)	13.	Emily Scarratt	6
	4.	Abbie Ward (2)
	6.	Alex Matthews	15.	Abby Dow (2)
	7.	Marlie Packer
2023	2.	Lark Atkin-Davies	11.	Abby Dow (3)	7
	3.	Sarah Bern (3)
	4.	Zoe Aldcroft (2)	15.	Ellie Kildunne
	6.	Alex Matthews (2)
	7.	Marlie Packer (2)
2024	3.	Maud Muir	10.	Holly Aitchison	6
	4.	Zoe Aldcroft (3)	14.	Abby Dow (4)
	8.	Alex Matthews (3)	14.	Ellie Kildunne (2)

World Rugby 2010s Team of the Decade (Forwards) [13] No. Players Positions 1. Rocky Clark Loosehead Prop 3. Sophie Hemming Tighthead Prop 5. Tamara Taylor Lock 7. Maggie Alphonsi Openside Flanker

World Rugby 2010s Team of the Decade (Backs) [13] No. Players Positions 10. Katy Daley-McLean Fly-Half 13. Emily Scarratt Outside Centre 14. Lydia Thompson Right Wing 15. Danielle Waterman Full-Back

World Rugby Women's 15s Try of the Year

Year	Date	Nominee	Match	Tournament	Winner
2021	30 April	Abby Dow	vs. France	Exhibition Match	—
2022	5 November	Abby Dow (2)	vs. Canada	Rugby World Cup	Abby Dow
2023	29 April	Zoe Aldcroft	vs. France	Six Nations	—

Hall of famers

England have five former players who have been inducted into the World Rugby Hall of Fame:

Players	Year inducted	Refs
Carol Isherwood	2014	[14]
Gill Burns	2014	[15]
Maggie Alphonsi	2016	[16]
Sue Dorrington	2022	[17]
Mary Forsyth	2022	[18]

Six Nations Awards

The following England players have been recognised in the Women's Six Nations Awards since 2020: ^{[19] [20] [21] [22] [23]}

Six Nations Player of the Championship Year Nominee Winner 2020 Emily Scarratt Emily Scarratt 2021 Zoe Aldcroft Poppy Cleall Poppy Cleall 2022 Sarah Bern — Marlie Packer 2023 Holly Aitchison Marlie Packer (2) 2024 Ellie Kildunne Ellie Kildunne

Six Nations Try of the Championship Year Nominee Match Winner Ref 2024 Abby Dow vs. Ireland — [24] Ellie Kildunne vs. Wales

Six Nations Team of the Championship Year Forwards Backs Total No. Players No. Players 2022 3. Sarah Bern 14. Lydia Thompson 5 6. Alex Matthews 7. Marlie Packer 15. Helena Rowland 2023 1. Hannah Botterman 10. Holly Aitchison 9 4. Zoe Aldcroft 5. Sarah Beckett 11. Abby Dow 6. Sadia Kabeya 7. Marlie Packer (2) 14. Jess Breach 8. Alex Matthews (2) 2024 1. Hannah Botterman (2) 9. Natasha Hunt 9 10. Holly Aitchison (2) 3. Maud Muir 11. Abby Dow (2) 5. Zoe Aldcroft (2) 13. Meg Jones 7. Sadia Kabeya (2) 15. Ellie Kildunne

Rugby Players' Association Player of the Year

The following players have been voted as the RPA England Player of the Year since 2013: ^[25]

RPA Player of the Year (2013–16) Year Winners Ref 2013 Emily Scarratt [26] 2014 Rachael Burford [27] 2015 Rocky Clark [28] 2016 Sarah Hunter [29]

RPA Player of the Year (2017–20) Year Winners Ref 2017 Tamara Taylor [30] 2018 Danielle Waterman [31] 2019 Sarah Bern [32] 2020 Zoe Aldcroft [33]

RPA Player of the Year (2021–24) Year Winners Ref 2021 Poppy Cleall [34] 2022 Marlie Packer [35] 2023 Sadia Kabeya [36] 2024 Alex Matthews [37]

RPA Hall of Fame Year Inductees Ref 2021 Rocky Clark [34] 2022 Katy Daley-McLean [35] 2023 Sarah Hunter [36]

RPA Special Merit Award Year Winners Ref 2023 Emily Scarratt [36] 2024 Marlie Packer [37]

Statistical leaders

As of 27 April 2024 ^[38]

Players active at international level as of April 2024 are listed in bold italics.

Most Caps Rank Player Caps 1. Sarah Hunter 141 2. Rocky Clark 137 3. Katy Daley-McLean 116 4. Tamara Taylor 115 5. Emily Scarratt 111 6. Marlie Packer 104 7. Amy Garnett 100 8. Helen Clayton 87 9. Rachael Burford 84 10. Danielle Waterman 82

Most Points Rank Player Points 1. Emily Scarratt 749 2. Katy Daley-McLean 542 3. Sue Day 305 4. Nicola Crawford 285 5. Shelley Rae 275 6. Gill Burns 241 7. Danielle Waterman 235 8. Marlie Packer 230 9. Kat Merchant 225 Lydia Thompson

Most Tries Rank Player Tries 1. Sue Day 61 2. Nicola Crawford 57 3. Emily Scarratt 53 4. Danielle Waterman 47 5. Marlie Packer 46 6. Kat Merchant 45 Lydia Thompson 8. Jess Breach 40 9. Abby Dow 37 10. Christine Diver 36

Coaches

Current coaching staff

The following table outlines the current England senior coaching team, as of the 2025 Women's Six Nations. ^{[39] [40]}

Name	Role
John Mitchell	Head Coach
Louis Deacon	Forwards Coach
Lou Meadows	Attack / Backs Coach
Sarah Hunter	Defence / Transition Coach
Nathan Catt	Defence Coach (interim)
Charlie Hayter	Head of Performance

Notable former coaches

Gary Street (head coach 2007–15) 1x World Cup winner (2014) 1x World Cup runner-up (2010) 6x Six Nations winner (2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012)

Simon Middleton (assistant coach 2014, head coach 2015–23) [41] 1x World Rugby Coach of the Year (2021) 2x World Cup runner-up (2017, 2021) 6x Six Nations winner (2017, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023)

Honours

• World Cup

Winners (2): 1994, 2014 ^[42]

Runners-up (6): 1991, 2002, 2006, 2010, 2017, 2021

• WXV

Winners (2): 2023, 2024

• Six Nations Championship

Winners (20): 1996, 1997, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2017, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024

Grand Slam (18): 1996, 1997, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2017, 2019, 2020, 2022, 2023, 2024

Triple Crown (24): 1996, 1997, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2014, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2022, 2023, 2024

• European Championship

Winners (5): 1997, 2007, 2008, 2011, 2012

Runners-up (1): 2004

Notes

1. The England women's team uses a variety of venues around England, to promote women's rugby to a wider audience. Twickenham is typically used for games of major importance.

References

1. "John Mitchell profile page - England Rugby". England Rugby. Retrieved 18 September 2024.
2. Meagher, Gerard (9 January 2025). "'Phenomenal' Zoe Aldcroft named England women's rugby union captain". The Guardian. Retrieved 9 January 2025.
3. Orchard, Sara (4 May 2023). "England: John Mitchell appointed women's head coach after Simon Middleton departure". BBC Sport. Retrieved 4 May 2023.
4. "Women's World Rankings". World Rugby. Retrieved 24 February 2025.
5. "Red Roses WXV 1 squad announced". England Rugby. 18 September 2024. Archived from the original on 21 September 2024. Retrieved 21 September 2024.
6. Perkins, Bruce (23 September 2024). "All 18 squads for the 2024 WXV". 4 The Love Of Sport. Retrieved 28 September 2024.
7. "Red Roses contracts announced for 2024/25". England Rugby. 3 June 2024. Retrieved 3 June 2024.^{[ permanent dead link ‍]}
8. "Awards Roll of Honour - World Rugby". World Rugby. Retrieved 16 March 2024.
9. "England's Emily Scarratt crowned women's world player of the year". The Guardian. 3 November 2019. Retrieved 24 November 2024.
10. "Aldcroft crowned World Rugby's Women's Player of the Year". Six Nations Championship. 10 December 2021. Retrieved 24 November 2024.
11. "Marlie Packer: England captain wins World Rugby Women's Player of Year award for 2023". BBC Sport. 4 November 2023. Retrieved 24 November 2024.
12. "Ellie Kildunne named World Rugby Player of the Year". 4 The Love Of Sport. 24 November 2024. Retrieved 24 November 2024.
13. "Eight Red Roses named in World Rugby team of the decade". England Rugby. 7 December 2020. Retrieved 4 November 2023.
14. "Carol Isherwood - World Rugby - Hall of Fame". World Rugby. Retrieved 29 June 2022.
15. "Gillian Burns - World Rugby - Hall of Fame". World Rugby. Retrieved 29 June 2022.
16. "Margaret Alphonsi - World Rugby - Hall of Fame". World Rugby. Retrieved 29 June 2022.
17. "Sue Dorrington - World Rugby - Hall of Fame". World Rugby. Retrieved 30 December 2022.
18. "Mary Forsyth - World Rugby - Hall of Fame". World Rugby. Retrieved 30 December 2022.
19. "Women's Six Nations Player of the Championship". Six Nation Championship. Retrieved 18 February 2024.
20. "Poppy Cleall crowned 2021 Women's Six Nations Player of the Championship". Six Nation Championship. 29 April 2021. Retrieved 18 February 2024.
21. "Kildunne wins Guinness Player of the Championship". Six Nation Championship. 17 May 2024. Retrieved 18 May 2024.
22. "2022 TikTok Women's Six Nations Team of the Championship revealed". Six Nation Championship. 14 May 2022. Retrieved 18 April 2024.
23. "Revealed: The Fans' 2024 Team of the Championship". Six Nation Championship. 16 May 2024. Retrieved 18 May 2024.
24. "Try of the Championship - Vote Now". Six Nation Championship. 2 May 2024. Retrieved 2 May 2024.
25. "The RPA Awards – Previous Awards". The Rugby Players' Association. Retrieved 30 December 2022.
26. "2013 – The RPA". The Rugby Players' Association. Retrieved 30 December 2023.
27. "2014 – The RPA". The Rugby Players' Association. Retrieved 30 December 2023.
28. "2015 – The RPA". The Rugby Players' Association. Retrieved 30 December 2023.
29. "2016 – The RPA". The Rugby Players' Association. Retrieved 30 December 2023.
30. "2017 – The RPA". The Rugby Players' Association. Retrieved 30 December 2023.
31. "2018 – The RPA". The Rugby Players' Association. Retrieved 30 December 2023.
32. "2019 – The RPA". The Rugby Players' Association. Retrieved 30 December 2023.
33. "2020 – The RPA". The Rugby Players' Association. Retrieved 30 December 2023.
34. "2021 – The RPA". The Rugby Players' Association. Retrieved 30 December 2023.
35. "2022 – The RPA". The Rugby Players' Association. Retrieved 30 December 2023.
36. "2023 – The RPA". The Rugby Players' Association. Retrieved 30 December 2023.
37. "The RPA Awards: 2024 Winners". The Rugby Players' Association. 29 May 2024. Retrieved 29 May 2024.
38. "Player Records". England Rugby. Archived from the original on 27 May 2024. Retrieved 29 April 2024.
39. "John Mitchell appointed Red Roses Head Coach". England Rugby. 4 May 2023. Retrieved 18 January 2024.
40. "Second Red Roses training squad of 2025 announced". England Rugby. 3 March 2025. Retrieved 3 March 2025.
41. "Simon Middleton: Reflecting on the England coach's legacy". www.bbc.co.uk/sport. BBC Sport. 7 February 2023. Retrieved 18 September 2024.
42. James Riach (17 August 2014). "England 21-9 Canada – Women's rugby World Cup match report". The Guardian. Retrieved 2 December 2014.

External links

• Official website
• England Women’s rugby page at The Independent