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England and Zoe Harrison keen to prove defensive mettle v Australia
By Martyn Thomas reporting from Brighton & Hove
England head into their final Women’s Rugby World Cup 2025 Pool A assignment against Australia assured of their place in the quarter-finals and one win from equalling their own world record run of 30 consecutive victories.
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The Red Roses have scored 161 points and conceded only 10 in two matches so far. But that does not mean they expect to just turn up at Brighton & Hove Albion Stadium and walk away with another triumph.
Australia arrived on the south coast still one point from booking the final place in the last eight after drawing with the USA last weekend, and England know their opponents will have to throw everything at them in search of either a try bonus or a losing bonus point.
Regardless of their imperious form, that presents its own challenge for the Red Roses.
“Our biggest thing in this game is our defence,” England fly-half Zoe Harrison said. “To show like we know what you have to do (Australia), but we’re not going to allow you through to do that because then it puts a stamp on the games going further [forward] as well.”
Harrison is no stranger to the demands of knockout rugby, having worn the number ten jersey as the Red Roses fell at the final hurdle in New Zealand three years ago.
The Saracens playmaker’s journey since then has included an ACL injury and a long lay-off but she has timed her return to form and fitness to become the woman in possession of playmaking duties once again.
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It is a path that has more than a few parallels with England’s Euros-winning football captain Leah Williamson.
“It’s weird because – she (Williamson) said it as well – it gives you a bit of a rest, but it changed my body for the better,” Harrison added.
“So, I came out of the younger years of being 23, 24, had a reset after that World Cup, which is probably quite nice to be a step away from rugby, because I’ve played it since I was five years old.”
Harrison started the opening night 69-7 victory against the USA, kicking six conversions in the process, before getting 16 minutes as a replacement against Samoa.
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Helena Rowland scored 27 points from fly-half on her return from injury against the Samoans, and with Holly Aitchison now fit too there is intense competition at fly-half.
“You’re only going to get better if someone else is trying to grab your shirt,” Harrison said. “Because you put your hand up, you train better, you play better, you try harder essentially instead of thinking, ‘Oh well there’s no one really coming to get my shirt’.
“So, it’s like a good healthy competition and so it’s only going to help the team.”
That will surely have been music to the ears of England’s attack coach Lou Meadows, who was sat next to Harrison as the pair addressed the media.
Meadows is determined to keep the players pushing each other – while guarding against complacency – even as the wins continue to rack up.
“These girls are brilliant in terms of the way they want to go after the game. I think they’re really keen on redefining it and showing what the women’s game is actually capable of,” she said.
“I need someone like Zoe to read and take space faster, so that we can actually play on the front foot, we can adapt to what’s in front of us.
“Because there’s a level of structure to the game, but a lot of it is unstructured now and that’s the bit that we capitalise on. And you have to keep pushing towards that.
“So, every opposition we play, regardless of whatever result we’ve just come from, it’s always a new opportunity for us to do that. It’s always a new way to test a tactical element of what we could do and how we apply that.
“It’s a great way to see where we are physically. It’s huge for us in terms of our connections, especially when we rotate combinations and we put different players into those shirts and positions.
“And we’re constantly exploring and pushing as to where we could go with that. So, I’m always challenging the players in different positions around what they can do.”
Meadows added: “We have to keep pushing that way because everyone else is growing as well and they’re gonna catch up to us quickly.
“So, we need to stay ahead and that’s what we’re really focused on doing.”
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