John Mitchell has said he and his England team know they will be “hunted” at this Women’s Rugby World Cup as the world’s No 1 side and the favourites to lift the trophy on 27 September.
The Red Roses start their campaign against the USA on Friday night at the Stadium of Light in Sunderland and have named an unchanged XV from the 40-6 win over France in their final warm-up game.
Holly Aitchison, Helena Rowland and Claudia Moloney-MacDonald are out injured, with hopes they will be available next week, but the Red Roses will look familiar as they begin their trophy pursuit in front of a record crowd for an opening game, with 40,000 tickets sold.
England’s most recent meeting with the USA was at WXV 1 in Vancouver last September, when the Red Roses won 61-21, but Mitchell is not underestimating them: their preparation included May’s Pacific Four tournament against Canada, New Zealand and Australia.
“We focus on ourselves,” Mitchell said. “They’re well into their programme. We’re starting out. It’s really important to basically focus on ourselves. We understand their threats. It’s not that we don’t look at their threats, but ultimately at the end of the day it’s really important to focus on what we do and how we improve our margins, make sure that we perform above our standards. I’m sure if we take care of that, then that will take care of the threats.
“Every team will rise 10% or 15% in this tournament because they’re playing against England. That’s just what we expect. From that point of view, we realise we’re hunted, but we also look forward to that as well.”
Although England, pooled also with Australia and Samoa, are the tournament favourites, with the defending champions, New Zealand, and Canada close behind, Mitchell said that status was unimportant. “It doesn’t really matter. We’ve reached the tournament equal like everyone else. Being favourites is irrelevant to us. We’ve just got to be where our feet are and earn the right each week.”
Emily Scarratt is in line to win her 119th cap from the bench for the Pool A game, becoming the first England player to play in five Rugby World Cups. Mitchell said of the 2014 World Cup winner: “She has a presence where she is a mentor to a lot of the younger players because of the experience of a lot of World Cups. If I could describe her presence even better she is very calm. Around the group last weekend in France she was in the huddles helping the girls get through the heat. She adds to the group in so many different ways.”
Kelsey Clifford and Emma Sing are also on the bench and will make their first World Cup appearances if introduced.
Ellie Kildunne, the world player of the year, starts at full-back, with Abby Dow, the 2025 Women’s Six Nations top try scorer, and Jess Breach on the wings. Saracens’ Zoe Harrison starts at fly-half, with Natasha Hunt alongside her at scrum-half. The game will be the Gloucester-Hartpury star’s first Rugby World Cup appearance since 2017 after her non-selection for the previous tournament.
The captain, Zoe Aldcroft, starts at blindside flanker, with Sadia Kabeya at openside and Alex Matthews at No 8. Maddie Feaunati will make her first World Cup appearance from the bench, while there is no room in the 23 for the former captain Marlie Packer.
Aldcroft, who is originally from Scarborough, spoke of her excitement to be in the north of England and added that this week had been going at “snail’s pace” after a long buildup. “I think the 40,000 people coming to watch is an incredible amount,” the 28-year-old said. “To have it up in the north, we don’t get many games up in the north, so it’s great to be able to connect to that new audience and pull them in for the rest of the tournament.”
Stadium of Light, 7.30pm, Friday 22 August
Ellie Kildunne; Abby Dow, Megan Jones, Tatyana Heard, Jess Breach; Zoe Harrison, Natasha Hunt; Hannah Botterman, Amy Cokayne, Maud Muir, Morwenna Talling, Abbie Ward, Zoe Aldcroft, Sadia Kabeya, Alex Matthews. Replacements Lark Atkin-Davies, Kelsey Clifford, Sarah Bern, Rosie Galligan, Maddie Feaunati, Lucy Packer, Emily Scarratt, Emma Sing
The captain, who plays for Gloucester-Hartpury, was also asked what success looks like for England besides lifting the trophy. She replied: “I think from a Red Roses point of view, it’s enjoying this whole experience, enjoying each other’s company and making memories along the way.
“For women’s rugby, it could be the starting point to absolutely booming, not just in England but all over the world as well. It’s set to be an incredible tournament and hopefully we can get the momentum behind women’s rugby and women’s sport after the Lionesses as well.”
The footballers hunted down their trophy this summer, now it’s time for the Red Roses to bloom and start their route to silverware.
