Morwenna Talling: How resilience has shaped rising Red Roses star

When examining a rugby player’s career, it can be easy to do so in purely binary terms.

Morwenna Talling only recently turned 23, is already playing in her second Women’s Rugby World Cup and with 25 caps to her name is an important cog in the Red Roses machine attempting to win a third crown on home soil.

You might expect her story to be one of milk and honey. But those numbers do not take into account the myriad challenges and obstacles she has overcome to become one of John Mitchell’s trusted lieutenants.

There are figures that do illuminate that journey, though. For example, the 100-mile round trip to play for West Park Leeds when numbers at Malton and Norton began to dwindle or the decision to leave home at 16 to further her rugby career in Loughborough.

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Within two years of that move Talling had made her full England debut – having famously impressed then-England coach Simon Middleton as a 17-year-old – but then came the 574-day lay-off that followed an anterior cruciate ligament injury.

Talling battled back to earn a place in Middleton’s squad for the World Cup in New Zealand in 2022 but was restricted to a watching brief. Her only involvement coming in the 75-0 pool-stage victory against South Africa as England ultimately fell at the final hurdle.

“Obviously last World Cup, I only had a few caps to my name and didn’t get as much rugby as I wanted to,” Talling tells RugbyPass. “But I think that whole experience has made me more resilient.

“Three years on, I’m now, I’d like to think, one of the main bits in the squad. So, I have that confidence coming into this tournament that I am a big part of the squad and I’m valuable in that aspect.

“Personally, I think this tournament has just felt different and being at home has kind of elevated that. And I’m just excited for what’s to come.”

Those three years between World Cups have not been incident free. Talling has had ankle surgery and battled shoulder injuries while relocating again, to Sale Sharks in the summer of 2023.

“I’ve had a few big injuries that have kept me out for a while and that resilience to keep going and come back and also to come back better each time, I think has definitely helped me get back to where I am in squad,” she adds.

The move to Greater Manchester has helped Talling become one of the faces of the tournament.

Both through the leadership opportunities afforded her at Sale, but also in a literal sense. Ahead of the World Cup, a mural depicting Talling alongside 12-year-old local player Orla O’Hare was unveiled at Salford Watersports Centre as part of the Impact ’25 legacy programme.

“It’s very cool,” Talling says. “There’s been murals around the country before, but to have my face on it is something new.

“It’s cool because it’s with Orla, the young girl who’s come through the six to 12 programme as well, so that’s exciting to see that partnership with the pathways as well.”

Talling’s stoic determination has been on display on the pitch during the World Cup as the forward – who is fit and ready for England’s quarter-final against Scotland – has impressed in starts against USA and Australia.

Talling lined up in the second row against the Women’s Eagles in Sunderland and although she wore her favoured number six jersey in Brighton, she will be back in the engine room at Ashton Gate to accommodate captain Zoe Aldcroft’s return to fitness.

Lock, it seems, is a position she has a budding affection for. “I am growing to love being in the second row,” she admits.

“It’s something I probably didn’t think I’d say, but I’ve definitely grown into the role. I feel like I can be more involved in the second row, being in in the middle.

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“I still enjoy obviously that six [role], I played there last weekend, and I still enjoy having more open space and being able to give the passes and stuff like that. So, I wouldn’t say I’m mad being a second row!”

And in the likes of Aldcroft and Abbie Ward, Talling couldn’t ask for better role models in that transition.

“Obviously Zoe’s moved into that six role, but she still carries all the attributes that I want to put into my game. So, she’s a massive one,” Talling says.

“And then to play alongside Abbie in the lineouts, definitely has driven me to get better in that aspect. So, there are a couple of players in there that I really strive to learn from.”

Talling admits she is “not quite” a lineout nause just yet. But the competition provided by the likes of Aldcroft, Ward, Rosie Galligan, Sadia Kabeya, Maddie Feaunati and Marlie Packer for a place in the England back five is only helping her and the team improve.

“It drives us in training a lot harder when you’re training against also the best players in the world,” she says. “That competition just makes you excited for training.

“It makes you just want to go out there and put your best foot forward and just keep trying to get better, which is obviously what we’re all trying to do.

“I think then that pushes us more in a game because we want to be like that person next to us and when we all do that, we all just push each other to the next level.”

The intensity of Red Roses training has only increased this week as they head into “crunch time” and a quarter-final against Scotland in Bristol.

England equalled their own world-record run of 30 consecutive victories last weekend by beating Australia. But Talling knows they cannot afford to take anything for granted at Ashton Gate.

“They’ve got nothing to lose. They’re coming out here to unsettle us but I think we’re going in with the mindset that we want to go get them and we want to put points on them,” she says of Scotland.

“Even though they’ve been playing well – their wingers have been insane this World Cup – I think what we’ve got, we’ll be fine to win [the match].”

Victory on Sunday would set a new world mark, but there has been no talk of records this week. The quarter-final is just one more hurdle between England and their ultimate ambition, to lift the World Cup.

“It’s not been a topic. We always just look ahead to the game and the focus is on winning but not the fact that it’s a world record,” Talling confirms.

“We’ve obviously learned from the last World Cup. We’ve had the past three years to fully come together, and I think we have. We’re just excited to put it all out there on the pitch and hopefully go all the way.”