It says a lot about the depth and strength that England possess in their ranks that news of a knee injury for captain Zoe Aldcroft was not met with undue panic this week. The Red Roses skipper will miss their remaining two pool stage games against Samoa and Australia but is expected to be back for the quarter-finals. To lose one’s leader at any time can bring uncertainty; in the midst of a home World Cup, it could threaten disaster.
Not, though, for this England side in the context of a tournament in which they will probably only be truly tested from the semi-final stage. They are heavy favourites, naturally, for the two games that Aldcroft will be absent for, and while the clash with Samoa is the first Red Roses match she will miss since the 2022 Six Nations, John Mitchell has both the playing options and leadership density to cover even for a world-leading individual.
Enter Marlie Packer to deputise, the former captain demoted at the start of the year, with England no longer believing her a certain starter or 80-minute individual. The flanker may have to be content with a bit-part role at this tournament with places in the first-choice 23, but her installation as stand-in skipper is a testament to her professionalism and ability to continue to drive England as a leader in camp. Together with Meg Jones – an increasingly important figure – they will pick up from Aldcroft, with a complementary leadership core operating well since being formed ahead of the Women’s Six Nations.
“Me and Meg Jones have massively stepped up this week,” Packer, who featured off the bench in England’s last meeting with Samoa at the 2014 tournament, explained. “We’ve just been there to support Zoe in whatever she needs, but she’s also been doing the same for us in training today. Me, her and Meg caught up after the session today, just talking about a couple of little bits we want to work on as a group in how we want to be perceived, so we’re still just doing our roles as normal.”
Rotation was always on the way for the second game, with Mitchell keen to give World Cup minutes to each and every member of his 32-player squad. He has not quite succeeded – fly-half Holly Aitchison is hoped to be back for the Australia clash – but 13 changes to the starting side do not at all imperil England’s chances of victory in a game in which three figures might be a realistic expectation. It would have been 14 changes if not for Emily Scarratt’s shoulder injury, which is a blow for a player perhaps in line for a last start at a World Cup.
The deployment of Helena Rowland, unique in her ability to cover every position from 10-15, at her favoured fly-half spot will bring a new edge to England’s attack. “She’s hardly ever satisfied around her performance, which is, I guess, the quality of who she is and why she’s so consistent and so versatile,” Mitchell said. “She got an awesome skill set and she’s got the speed to hunt weakness in defences.”
Perhaps no fixture better illustrates the two sides of the World Cup than this one. Heavy scorelines have been, and will continue to be, a theme of the pool stages but it is worth considering the circumstances in which the teams meet. Where a fully-professional England are dreaming of triumph on 27 September, for a Samoan side formed largely of amateurs, it is merely a success to be here at all. Not a single member of the Pacific Islanders’ squad had experienced a Women’s World Cup before, while most are here on leave from work without pay. They do not have a monopoly on beating the odds to make it to this tournament but plenty in the Manusina ranks have overcome significant adversity and sacrificed so much to be here.
“We don’t hide away from the fact that we are a small nation which is still developing in rugby and we rely heavily upon sponsorships,” Fa’asua Makisi, who starts at inside centre, explained this week. “If anything, it shows it means that much more to us to get here, having to put in that little bit of extra work to get funding to come, and we’re grateful to the union as well for doing as much as they can to get sponsorship.
“I had doubts about being able to get here financially, because I have a mortgage to pay. We aren’t contracted players and I didn’t know how it would work. I have seven siblings, and I’m the older sister so I have to run them around to their sports and their school activities, and I didn’t know if leaving would be manageable for my family.
“But as always and as I anticipated, my Mum said, ‘There’s no way you’re not going. We will sort everything over here.’ She just took that off my shoulders so that I had the courage to come with no worries and no stress.”
A familial feel within a close-knit Samoan squad thousands of miles from home is key. There are six mothers within their 32, including captain Sui Pauaraisa, who has left two teenage girls at home and still calls, once she has figured out the time difference, to wake up the elder of them for school. Flanker Utumalama Atonio is a police officer by trade; scrum half Ana Afuie works as a traffic controller. Saturday will be a proud day for the Onesemo-Tuilaepa family – twin sisters Christabelle and Denielle start together in the second row for the first time having begun their rugby union journeys mere months ago at a Manusina trial, and been raised in rugby league.
Samoa did not necessarily show their best in a 73-0 defeat against Australia, encouraging underlying numbers for 22 entries in attack not translating into points. They will hope for better, though are aware of the scale of the challenge they are facing and the likelihood of a heavy defeat. Yet while Saturday’s result may not be in question, their participation at this tournament is a triumph of its own.
