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England announce squad for home Rugby World Cup

LONDON, ENGLAND - SEPTEMBER 14: Sarah Bern and Emily Scarratt of England acknowledge the fans following the team's victory during the Women's International Test between England Red Roses and New Zealand Black Ferns at Allianz Stadium on September 14, 2024 in London, England. (Photo by Morgan Harlow - RFU/The RFU Collection via Getty Images)

England has announced the 32 Red Roses who will represent their country in the home 2025 Women’s Rugby World Cup this August and September.

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Head coach John Mitchell’s squad includes 18 forwards and 14 backs. With a combined total of 1,374 international caps, the squad is an experienced one which includes Marlie Packer and Alex Matthews heading to their fourth tournaments and Emily Scarratt who will attend her fifth.

Scrum-half Natasha Hunt has been named three years after her surprise omission from the team that finished runners-up in 2022.

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‘This Energy Never Stops’ – Women’s Rugby World Cup 2025

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‘This Energy Never Stops’ – Women’s Rugby World Cup 2025

24 players in the group have previously competed at a World Cup including captain Zoe Aldcroft who will lead her country in her third World Cup with Marlie Packer and Megan Jones as vice captains.

Abi Burton, May Campbell, Mackenzie Carson, Kelsey Clifford, Maddie Feaunati, Lilli Ives Campion, Jade Shekells and Emma Sing are all World Cup debutants.

“It is a rare and awesome opportunity for this group to represent the Red Roses at a home World Cup,” Mitchell said.

“The selection process is never easy. It’s been a thorough two-year process to select the right blend of positional cover, skill, mindset and connection – we believe this is a squad that can win the World Cup.

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“Every experience and challenge has brought the 32 to this point in their life and career, and they have all earned their place. They should be proud of the opportunity to create history together whilst knowing we have to earn the right to progress throughout the World Cup.

“We’re excited by what’s to come and we’ll continue to work hard into the tournament with our focus on preparing for our opening match against USA in less than a month’s time.”

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The Red Roses play the USA at Sunderland’s Stadium of Light on the opening night of the tournament on Friday 22nd August, and then go on to play Samoa and Australia in Pool A.

England’s 2025 Women’s Rugby World Cup squad

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Forwards:
Zoe Aldcroft (Gloucester-Hartpury, 63 caps)**
Lark Atkin-Davies (Bristol Bears, 66 caps)*
Sarah Bern (Bristol Bears, 71 caps)**
Hannah Botterman (Bristol Bears, 56 caps)*
Abi Burton (Trailfinders Women, 2 caps)
May Campbell (Saracens, 3 caps)
Mackenzie Carson (Gloucester-Hartpury, 21 caps)
Kelsey Clifford (Saracens, 13 caps)
Amy Cokayne (Sale Sharks, 83 caps)**
Maddie Feaunati (Exeter Chiefs, 15 caps)
Rosie Galligan (Saracens, 24 caps)*
Lilli Ives Campion (Loughborough Lightning, 2 caps)
Sadia Kabeya (Loughborough Lightning, 21 caps)*
Alex Matthews (Gloucester-Hartpury, 75 caps)***
Maud Muir (Gloucester-Hartpury, 40 caps)*
Marlie Packer (Saracens, 110 caps)***
Morwenna Talling (Sale Sharks, 22 caps)*
Abbie Ward (Bristol Bears, 74 caps)**

Backs:
Holly Aitchison (Sale Sharks, 40 caps)*
Jess Breach (Saracens, 45 caps)*
Abby Dow (Unattached, 52 caps)*
Zoe Harrison (Saracens, 57 caps)**
Tatyana Heard (Gloucester-Hartpury, 29 caps)*
Natasha Hunt (Gloucester-Hartpury, 80 caps)**
Megan Jones (Trailfinders Women, 25 caps)*
Ellie Kildunne (Harlequins, 52 caps)*
Claudia Moloney-MacDonald (Exeter Chiefs, 35 caps)*
Lucy Packer (Harlequins, 31 caps)*
Helena Rowland (Loughborough Lightning, 39 caps)*
Emily Scarratt (Loughborough Lightning, 118 caps)****
Jade Shekells (Gloucester-Hartpury, 2 caps)
Emma Sing (Gloucester-Hartpury, 8 caps)

*denotes number of Women’s Rugby World Cup tournaments played

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H
Hellhound 52 minutes ago
Pat Lam blasts 'archaic' process that lost the All Blacks Tony Brown

Now you are just being a woke, jealous fool. With the way things are run in NZ, no wonder he couldn't make a success there. Now that he is out shining any other New Zealanders, including their star players, now he is bitter and resentful and all sorts of hate speeches against him. That is what the fans like you do. Those in NZ who does have enough sense not to let pride cloud their vision, is all saying the same thing. NZ needs TB. Razor was made out to be a rugby coaching God by the fans, so much so that Foz was treated like the worst piece of shitte. Especially after the Twickenham disaster right before the WC. Ad then he nearly won the WC too with 14 players. As a Saffa the way he handled the media and the pressure leading up to the WC, was just extraordinary and I have gained a lot of respect for that man. Now your so called rugby coaching God managed to lose by an even bigger margin, IN NZ. All Razor does is overplay his players and he will never get the best out of those players, and let's face it, the current crop is good enough to be the best. However, they need an coach they can believe in completely. I don't think the players have bought into his coaching gig. TB was lucky to shake the dust of his boots when he left NZ, because only when he did that, did his career go from strength to strength. He got a WC medal to his name. Might get another if the Boks can keep up the good work. New exciting young talent is set to join soon after the WC as dangerous as SFM and Kolbe. Trust me, he doesn't want the AB's job. He is very happy in SA with the Boks. We score, you lose a great coach. We know quality when we see it, we don't chuck it in the bin like NZRU likes to do. Your coaching God is hanging on by a thread to keep his job🤣🤣🤣🤣

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