'I can't really put it into words': Jodie Verghese's rise to Red Roses contention

When Jodie Verghese describes her 2025/26 season as a “whirlwind”, the 23-year-old has hit the nail on the head.

Coming into this season the lock forward was relatively inexperienced. During her time studying at Loughborough University, Verghese found herself constantly playing catch-up after an ACL injury kept her off the pitch for two years.

Instead of graduating to Loughborough Lightning‘s senior side the majority of her rugby came in BUCS Super Rugby. There she thrived and capped her time in the East Midlands with an England Students debut against the UK Armed Forces last August.

Having relocated back to her native Essex, Verghese reached out to Saracens’ Director of Women’s Rugby, Alex Austerberry. She was invited down to preseason. This is one of those situations where you ultimately say; the rest is history.

A strong PWR Cup campaign was followed by her full Premiership Women’s Rugby debut before the winter beak against Exeter Chiefs. Four more appearances have followed.

Form not only got the lock onto the England pathway with LJ Lewis’ Under-21 squad as one of several overage players, but she was even named in John Mitchell’s Red Roses squad for the 2026 Guinness Women’s Six Nations.

“It’s been crazy,” Verghese told RugbyPass. “If you had asked me a year ago whether I’d be where I am now, I definitely wouldn’t have even dreamt of it. It’s been a whirlwind.

“I left Loughborough University in August and was looking for a team local to where I live. Saracens was always up there. I’ve always had so much respect for Saracens. I’ve always wanted to play with them. So, I thought, why not give it a chance?

“There have been so many milestones. I couldn’t really choose one. Just training with the Red Roses has got to be the biggest moment for me. I did not expect it at all. Just to play alongside some world-class players. It’s just insane.”

Upon confirming that Verghese was part of his squad for this year’s Women’s Six Nations, John Mitchell said that the 23-year-old had “so much potential”. Pretty high praise from the reigning World Rugby Coach of the Year.

The England boss even praised Verghese’s athleticism. That natural athletic ability is what helped the lock gain county honours for Essex and even have involvement with Netball Superleague’s London Pulse before she settled solely on rugby.

Right now, that decision is paying off. Verghese admits that the past few months have seen her constantly change the goals of what is achievable in her rugby career.

One such example is her league debut in PWR. A mainstay of the North Londoners successful Cup campaign at the start of the season, she was told the night before Saracens’ clash with Exeter last December that she was making her league debut.

Coming off the bench she helped the club to a 24-12 win in the frosty South West and top spot at Christmas.

“I remember just before the game, Marlie Packer, Zoe Harrison and Jess Breach came up, tapped me on the shoulder and said, ‘you’ve got this, just give it your all’,” Verghese recalled.

 

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“I initially wasn’t on that team sheet. I was just an NPR [non-playing reserve]. I didn’t get to process it too much. Which for me was actually quite good. I wasn’t too nervous. I was just given an opportunity and had to make the most of it.”

Since returning from the winter break Verghese has made four more PWR appearances. She is yet to experience defeat in the English top-flight.

It was not long before that afternoon in Devon that the 23-year-old got to experience her first Women’s Pathway Positional Camp in October. The adjustment from Under-20s to Under-21s means that a select number of players up to the age of 23 can be selected for age grade rugby.

This change has been made to provide players with even more time to hone their skills before graduating to senior international rugby. In the case of Verghese, you could even see it as time borrowed back from those 24 months on the touchline nursing her knee back to full strength.

This weekend Verghese will win her second England U21 Women cap as they welcome Ireland to Coventry’s Nick Newbold Stadium. A fortnight ago, the side started their Six Nations Women’s U21 Series with a 51-12 win over Scotland at Edinburgh Rugby’s Hive Stadium.

Earlier this week the 23-year-old was released from the Red Roses’ training squad along with Trailfinders Women duo Annabel Meta and Hayley Jones, while Carmela Morrall and Haidee Head were asked to remain at Pennyhill Park during the fallow week.

 

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During her series of late Autumn and Winter camps with the U21 Women Verghese clearly impressed. All this while working as a project manager in the pharmaceutical industry.

It was her full-time work that meant news of a senior England call-up had to be imparted early. Albeit not exactly in those words.

“I got a few little hints from LJ, our 21s coach, to be ready for some potential things that might affect my schedule – that I might want to make sure work are okay with taking some time away for rugby commitments,” Verghese smiled.

“I got that all sorted and then got a call from Charlie Hayter [Head of Women’s Performance], who let me know that I was potentially in the Six Nations squad. I had to wait a couple of weeks and then found out I made the training squad. Which was incredible.

“I can’t really put it into words. I’ve always, in my head to give me confidence, said ‘one day I’ll make it into a Red Roses squad’. But to actually get that call and it be a thing is… yeah, I can’t put it into words.”

It is clear that in a short space of time Verghese’s attitude to rugby, and possibly life, has changed markedly. Where before she may have been timid, the lock is now bold. That shift has taken time.

“Around the end of my first year at university I was like, ‘people are actually seeing the potential here, maybe I need to start believing in myself a bit more’,” she said.

“From there I’ve always wanted to achieve the best. The ultimate goal was becoming a Red Rose from that point onwards.

“That’s definitely something I’ve learned through rugby. You don’t want to sound cocky, but it is good to set those goals because they make you deliver your best performance.”

There is a brilliant unpredictability to Verghese’s Spring. Much like her season so far.

This week she will be with England’s U21s. Next week a return to the Red Roses camp is on the cards ahead of their trip to Parma to take on Italy in Round 4 of the Women’s Six Nations.

With England’s current issues in the second row, you also think that Verghese is not too far from a maiden Test cap. Although, even after her meteoric rise, the second row is not getting ahead of herself.

“I want to deliver a good performance at the weekend,” Verghese said. “I’ve got to think of each week at a time. Then it really allows you to just focus on the present, focus on what we’ve got right in front of us.

“As soon as that game is done… I don’t know. Presumably I’ll be in Red Roses camp. If that is the case, then I’m back with world class players in a pillar role [squad player]. Mitch makes a big point that pillars are just as important as the starting squad – so how can I be the best pillar I can?

“Give the best opposition to the starting Roses so that they’re prepared for their next game. Each week I’ll set new goals.”