Meet the motivator, enforcer and observer who form the Red Roses leadership group

Sitting around a table outside England’s hotel, the trio of captain Meg Jones and vice-captains Amy Cokayne and Alex Matthews are describing their individual leadership styles.

Jones, to surely no one’s surprise, is the motivator, eager to encourage her team-mates on and off the field when she can, leading with “a lot of passion and pride”.

Cokayne has a slightly different approach. “I’ll probably say the discipliner or the enforcer,” explaining that if a message needs to be sent, it will most likely come from her. “I’m quite a direct human,” she adds, which checks out given Cokayne’s background in the RAF.

And then you have Matthews, noticeably quieter, who has captained England herself on a couple of occasions. “I’m more of the observer,” she adds. “I’ll just then pick up those small conversations, as and when. I’ll speak when I have the feeling that I need to speak. Sometimes it’s way too many voices.”

There is a clear balance between them, with Jones appreciating that Cokayne keeps standards high while Matthews is essential given that “if you miss something, you know she’s probably going to follow up on it at some point”.

The leaders they first played under when coming into the Red Roses setup left a lasting impression. For Cokayne and Matthews that was Tamara Taylor, noting her calm demeanour and eye for detail.

“You could always go to her and she would know the answer before you had asked the question,” adds Cokayne.

Most successful sides require a group of leaders beyond the captain, and Matthews cites the influence of Rachel Burford, Nolli Waterman and Alice Richardson. Jones also mentions Emily Scarratt, also calm and articulate, and the trust everyone held for Scarratt on the field.

But there are influential leaders outside of the Red Roses setup as well who have helped to shape their outlook. Jones notes how she loved watching Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova at Wimbledon, along with athletics – individual sports where athletes have to motivate themselves and “set their own standards”, choosing their own coaches and support staff.

Cokayne cites an influence from the RAF, which she joined as a pilot officer back in 2017. Mark Jackson – or to use his full title, Air Vice-Marshal M G Jackson OBE – held discussions with the RAF women’s side about the direction of the team.

“He came into the women’s rugby side and went ‘what do you want to do?’, and set a five-year plan. Instead of going ‘we don’t have that’, it was ‘why don’t you have that?’ He challenged what everyone’s expectations were,” explains Cokayne.

Now they had physios, S&Cs, supplements. Setting a five-year target to win the Women’s Inter-Services Championship, it only took three years, defeating the Army in 2019 having been hammered 99-0 not so long beforehand.

“That would never have happened if it wasn’t for him and the leadership he showed to move the programme [forward] as a whole.”

This Red Roses side face almost the opposite predicament to Cokayne’s old RAF team – how do you keep standards so high when you cannot stop winning? The streak is now up to 38 matches after clinching another Guinness Women’s Six Nations title in Bordeaux earlier this year.

John Mitchell’s role as head coach is key in that regard – “He’s very observant and sees things that maybe can be preempted,” adds Jones – but so is maintaining a standard across the whole squad, especially for new players coming in. “Simple things like timekeeping, or how to leave an environment, those small reminders.”

Not all of those new players can keep up.

“We’re competitive as well. I think that’s the biggest thing. We always want to be better, and we’ve got this natural aura as well,” adds Jones.

“I think when you come into the group you go ‘Okay, f—, I actually need to step up here, otherwise I’ll be left behind’. And yeah, that happens. Some people come in, they can’t keep up with it, and they’re asked to leave. You come in, you keep up with it, you’re asked to stay. There’s definitely that side of things as well from a performance capacity.”

Matthews describes it as being “cruel to be kind, but supportive”, giving new players a space to “explore, make mistakes” while also giving them “a friendly nudge” about what needs to be improved. “Everyone knows it’s coming from a good place. That’s where we’ve got the tightness.”

That bond includes quality time off the field, with wing Jess Breach in charge of social activities along with Harriet Martin, the team manager.

“We’ve done a few pamper nights, activities – I think pottery making at some point – go out for food quite often, which brings us together. There’s variety,” says Jones.

There have recently been some testing hurdles. Going down to their sixth lineout caller during the Women’s Six Nations, as Cokayne points out, with Delaney Burns stepping up.

“A lot of the time you want to raise the ceiling, and sometimes you need to raise the floor. You need to rely on your depth. And I think that was the big challenge.”

England’s defence was also an issue during the Women’s Six Nations, which posed a challenge to Jones, Cokayne and Matthews, all defensive leaders within the side. England conceded more points than France and Ireland and had never conceded more points [104] in the history of the competition, which led to moments of introspection.

“It felt like we were saying all the right things, but for some reason, the actions weren’t happening,” adds Cokayne.

“It challenged us to be like, what do we need to do differently? Is saying it nicely not working. Do we need to show more clips? I took it really personally.”

England’s attack in the end was so good that they were able to hold off France and clinch the Grand Slam. A shift in their defensive mindset helped, but as Jones notes, sometimes the key is simply remaining open with one another.

“I think the biggest thing is sense-checking with the rest of us. ‘Are you feeling the same as me?’ ‘Are we still struggling?’ Just seeing where everyone’s at and having an open and honest conversation with people, coaches as well. You know, there’s always a door open that we can kind of go in and explore why is that not working particularly well, or where can we do better. I guess there’s no hidden ingredient. Maybe just awareness.”

When Jones was named captain back in April, with Zoe Stratford about to welcome her first child, she vowed that she wanted to remain the “same old Meg”. Matthews and Cokayne affirm that has been the case, with Jones admitting she has had to restrain herself from cracking as many jokes.

What they have seen is the growth in Jones and Mitchell’s partnership, with both captain and coach sending a clear message about when to switch on and switch off.

You learn a lot about a side from how well they handle the big moments. Recalling the build-up on the day of the Women’s Rugby World Cup final last year, before defeating Canada, Jones remembers music being on in the breakfast room, with Mo Hunt on the microphone.

The captain’s run lasted 40 minutes and the squad were relaxed. “That was the best we had trained,” Matthews recalls. “I do remember everything seemed to click and that really helped. Previously some of those sessions had been really sticky. I remember looking at Zoe [Stratford] and having a little smile and we were like ‘this could be good’.”

Their subsequent success was a credit to players but also the leadership. Jones is quick to point out that she is not doing this alone. As well as vice-captains Cokayne, Matthews and against Australia this weekend Sadia Kabeya, there are several players who are either senior players or captains at their clubs, including Claudia Moloney-MacDonald, Sarah Bern and Marlie Packer. Abi Burton is another leader, in charge of the lineout.

Which suggests all the foundations are in place for England to continue on this remarkable run. Bonded together in an open environment that demands the very best, whether you are winning your first cap or your 50th.