'Authentic' Jones sets Six Nations goal as stand-in England skipper

Meg Jones admits that she did not bat an eye when Red Roses head coach John Mitchell asked the 29-year-old to captain England in 2026.

After the announcement of Zoe Stratford’s pregnancy, Jones was asked to step into the breach this year and will lead the team hot on the heels of a 2025 that saw her become a Women’s Rugby World Cup winner, as well as a World Rugby Women’s 15s Player of the Year nominee.

Last year the centre was a vice-captain of the Red Roses and was one of just two England players [alongside Jess Breach] to start in all six of their Women’s Rugby World Cup matches.

Already an important player, Jones now has the captain’s armband and all the responsibility that comes with it ahead of the 2026 Guinness Women’s Six Nations.

Her style of captaincy? Well, she promises to be herself.

“Pretty crazy,” Jones grinned. “Impulsive. All the characteristics you probably wouldn’t put. I’m authentic. I’m me. I’m Meg.

“I have high standards for myself. I have high integrity. I live by the sword, die by the sword. I’d do anything for the team. I’d do anything for them to win, to feel themselves and keep pushing us in the right direction.”

As Jones makes this early foray into Test match captaincy, the 29-year-old certainly has some experienced heads to call on.

Former team captain Marlie Packer will add to her 112 caps this Spring, while Mo Hunt and Alex Matthews have been part of the setup for over a decade too.

Matthews, along with 89-cap hooker Amy Cokayne, have been confirmed as Jones’ vice-captains ahead of the Women’s Six Nations this Spring.

“I’m leaning on a lot of the girls at the moment,” Jones said. “Marlie Packer, Mo Hunt – they’re amazing. They’re always asking me if I’m alright, if there’s anything I need to de-load.

“The thing is about our group is that we have so many good leaders with different characteristics. We’ve now got Amy Cokayne into the fold and she’s as red as they get – if you want something done, you go to that girl.

“If you need empathy and high compassion you go to Alex [Matthews] and Mo. We start understanding what each other are good at and who to delegate to. That’s probably the biggest leadership quality, delegation.”

England come into the Guinness Women’s Six Nations as firm favourites. The reason for which are fairly obvious.

The Red Roses have won every edition of the tournament since 2019. They arrive at the 2026 Championship as world champions.

Jones’ elevation to captaincy with Stratford unavailable is perhaps the team’s biggest challenge to overcome. Although Mitchell’s squad still boasts 1,107 Test caps.

Winning has become more than just a habit. It is ingrained in their every waking moment as a squad. It is something the team wants to continue doing.

“We always want to win,” Jones said. “We are a competitive team. Winning is what we thrive on, and we want to keep doing that.

“We also want to keep breaking boundaries as much as we can, raising the floor, making sure we’re competing at the highest level. Doing so with everyone staying competitive within the team.”

The notion of breaking boundaries is an intriguing one. Already the Red Roses have set the world record for the longest winning streak in rugby [33] and they are about to break the record for a single attendance at the Guinness Women’s Six Nations with 70,000 tickets sold for their tournament opener against Ireland at Allianz Stadium.

While England have seemingly achieved everything they have still found an obstacle to overcome. You would probably back them to do it.

“Potentially being the first men’s or women’s team to win the Six Nations after a World Cup win,” Jones said unflinchingly. “That’s definitely a challenge we’re fully aware of. That’s probably something we’re going to go after.”