England women's national rugby union team

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 18 out of 27 occasions – winning the Grand Slam 16 times and the Triple Crown 22 times – making them the most successful side in the tournament's history. They won the Women's Rugby World Cup in 1994 and 2014, and have been runners-up on five other occasions. Their interim coach from May to October 2023 is Louis Deacon, after which John Mitchell will take over as permanent head coach.[1]

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

England
Shirt badge/Association crest
Nickname(s)Red Roses
EmblemRed Rose
UnionRugby Football Union
Head coachLouis Deacon (interim) [lower-alpha 1]
CaptainMarlie Packer
Most capsSarah Hunter (141)
Top scorerEmily Scarratt (749)
Top try scorerSue Day (61)
Home stadiumTwickenham
First colours
Second colours
World Rugby ranking
Current1 (as of 9 January 2023)
Highest1 (2012–2013, 2014–2015, 2017, 2020–)
Lowest4 (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
Appearances9 (First in 1991)
Best resultChampions, 1994, 2014

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.

Sue Day

England have taken part in every Women's Rugby World Cup competition, winning in 1994 and 2014 and finishing as runner-up on five 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 rejoined 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 13 separate occasions. This includes 7 consecutive tournament triumphs between 2006 and 2012 and the Grand Slam on 11 more occasions, including 3 times in a row between 2006–2008 and 2010–2012, respectively.

Records
Women's
World Rugby Rankings
Top 20 rankings as of 23 October 2023[2]
RankChange*TeamPoints
1 Steady England094.55
2 Steady New Zealand092.14
3 Steady France091.35
4 Steady Canada084.87
5 Steady Australia078.97
6 Steady Wales077.30
7 Increase1 Italy074.24
8 Decrease1 United States073.39
9 Steady Scotland073.29
10 Steady Ireland071.09
11 Steady Japan070.46
12 Steady Spain065.32
13 Steady South Africa063.90
14 Steady Russia061.10
15 Steady Samoa060.04
16 Steady Netherlands060.02
17 Steady Hong Kong058.31
18 Steady Kazakhstan057.54
19 Steady Fiji057.08
20 Steady Sweden056.01
*Change from the previous week

Overall
See also: List of England women's national rugby union team matches
Full internationals only

Correct as of 29 April 2023

Opponent First game Played Won Drawn Lost Win %
 Australia19986600100.00%
 Canada199333291387.87%
 Fiji20221100100.00%
 France1991544101375.92%
 Germany19971100100.00%
 Ireland199631290293.54%
 Italy1991242400100.00%
 Kazakhstan20003300100.00%
 Netherlands19904400100.00%
 New Zealand1997301011933.33%
 Russia19942200100.00%
 Samoa20052200100.00%
 Scotland199432300293.75%
 South Africa20056600100.00%
 Spain199116141187.50%
 Sweden19883300100.00%
 United States199120190195.00%
 Wales198740380295.00%
Total198730826234385.06%

World Cup
Main article: England women at the Rugby World Cup
Rugby World Cup
Year Round Pld W D L PF PA Squad
Wales 1991 Runners-up 4 3 0 1 56 28 Squad
Scotland 1994 Champions 5 5 0 0 172 39 Squad
Netherlands 1998 Third Place 5 4 0 1 219 78 Squad
Spain 2002 Runners-up 4 3 0 1 138 37 Squad
Canada 2006 Runners-up 5 4 0 1 146 47 Squad
England 2010 Runners-up 5 4 0 1 171 23 Squad
France 2014 Champions 5 4 1 0 184 37 Squad
Ireland 2017 Runners-up 5 4 0 1 211 88 Squad
New Zealand 2021 Runners-up 6 5 0 1 270 84 Squad
England 2025 Qualified
Australia 2029 TBD
United States 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 27 24 25 16 27 7 27
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 6

Players

Current squad

On 1 October 2023 interim head coach Louis Deacon announced the final squad for the 2023 WXV Tournament.[3]
Note: The age and number of caps listed for each player is as of 13 October 2023, the first day of the tournament.

Head coach: England Louis Deacon

Player Position Date of birth (age) Caps Club/province
Lark Atkin-Davies Hooker (1995-03-03)3 March 1995 (aged 28) 51 England Bristol Bears
Amy Cokayne Hooker (1996-07-11)11 July 1996 (aged 27) 72 England Leicester Tigers
Connie Powell Hooker (2000-07-13)13 July 2000 (aged 23) 11 England Harlequins
Sarah Bern Prop (1997-07-10)10 July 1997 (aged 26) 57 England Bristol Bears
Hannah Botterman Prop (1999-06-08)8 June 1999 (aged 24) 39 England Bristol Bears
Mackenzie Carson Prop (1998-11-28)28 November 1998 (aged 24) 7 England Gloucester-Hartpury
Kelsey Clifford Prop (2001-12-11)11 December 2001 (aged 21) 2 England Saracens
Maud Muir Prop (2001-07-12)12 July 2001 (aged 22) 22 England Gloucester-Hartpury
Zoe Aldcroft Lock (1996-11-19)19 November 1996 (aged 26) 45 England Gloucester-Hartpury
Rosie Galligan Lock (1998-04-30)30 April 1998 (aged 25) 11 England Saracens
Catherine O'Donnell Lock (1996-06-13)13 June 1996 (aged 27) 29 England Loughborough Lightning
Morwenna Talling Lock (2002-09-29)29 September 2002 (aged 21) 9 England Sale Sharks
Maisy Allen Back row (2001-09-21)21 September 2001 (aged 22) 2 England Exeter Chiefs
Sarah Beckett Back row (1999-02-14)14 February 1999 (aged 24) 31 England Gloucester-Hartpury
Sadia Kabeya Back row (2002-02-22)22 February 2002 (aged 21) 12 England Loughborough Lightning
Alex Matthews Back row (1993-08-03)3 August 1993 (aged 30) 59 England Gloucester-Hartpury
Marlie Packer (c) Back row (1989-10-02)2 October 1989 (aged 34) 96 England Saracens
Natasha Hunt Scrum-half (1989-03-21)21 March 1989 (aged 34) 64 England Gloucester-Hartpury
Lucy Packer Scrum-half (2000-02-02)2 February 2000 (aged 23) 16 England Harlequins
Ella Wyrwas Scrum-half (1999-03-07)7 March 1999 (aged 24) 3 England Saracens
Holly Aitchison Fly-half (1997-09-13)13 September 1997 (aged 26) 22 England Bristol Bears
Helena Rowland Fly-half (1999-09-19)19 September 1999 (aged 24) 25 England Loughborough Lightning
Sophie Bridger Centre (2000-06-26)26 June 2000 (aged 23) 1 England Saracens
Tatyana Heard Centre (1995-01-14)14 January 1995 (aged 28) 15 England Gloucester-Hartpury
Megan Jones Centre (1996-10-28)28 October 1996 (aged 26) 41 England Leicester Tigers
Amber Reed Centre (1991-04-03)3 April 1991 (aged 32) 66 England Bristol Bears
Jessica Breach Wing (1997-11-04)4 November 1997 (aged 25) 30 England Saracens
Abigail Dow Wing (1997-09-29)29 September 1997 (aged 26) 37 England Ealing Trailfinders
Claudia MacDonald Wing (1996-01-04)4 January 1996 (aged 27) 30 England Exeter Chiefs
Ellie Kildunne Fullback (1999-09-08)8 September 1999 (aged 24) 36 England Harlequins

Notable players

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

PlayersYear inducted Refs
Carol Isherwood2014 [4]
Gillian Burns2014 [5]
Margaret Alphonsi2016 [6]

Honours
Winners (2): 1994, 2014[7]
Runners-up (6): 1991, 2002, 2006, 2010, 2017, 2021
Winners (19): 1996, 1997, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2017, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023
Grand Slam (17): 1996, 1997, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2017, 2019, 2020, 2022, 2023
Triple Crown (23): 1996, 1997, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2014, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2022, 2023
Winners (5): 1997, 2007, 2008, 2011, 2012
Runners-up (1): 2004

References
  1. Orchard, Sara (4 May 2023). "England: John Mitchell appointed women's head coach after Simon Middleton departure". BBC Sport. Retrieved 4 May 2023.
  2. "Women's World Rankings". World Rugby. Retrieved 23 October 2023.
  3. "RED ROSES SQUAD FOR WXV ANNOUNCED". England Rugby. 1 October 2023. Retrieved 1 October 2023.
  4. "Carol Isherwood - World Rugby - Hall of Fame". www.world.rugby. Retrieved 29 June 2022.
  5. "Gillian Burns - World Rugby - Hall of Fame". www.world.rugby. Retrieved 29 June 2022.
  6. "Margaret Alphonsi - World Rugby - Hall of Fame". www.world.rugby. Retrieved 29 June 2022.
  7. James Riach (17 August 2014). "England 21-9 Canada – Women's rugby World Cup match report". The Guardian. Retrieved 2 December 2014.
  1. John Mitchell was appointed head coach on 4 May 2023 but will not take post until the conclusion of the 2023 Rugby World Cup in October.
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