The Meg Jones era is here and it will be bold

The Red Roses found the perfect way to announce that Meg Jones had taken the reins as England captain ahead of the 2026 Guinness Women’s Six Nations.

In a video posted on social media she walked up a staircase at Allianz Stadium and took a seat. Even in an empty 82,000 capacity venue the 29-year-old managed to fill the entire space donning board-short cargos, Birkenstocks, an England Rugby hoodie and a red cowboy hat with a feather brim. She tips her hat to the camera and grins. Those 15 seconds can only leave you with the overriding thought of ‘alright, here we go’.

For those not yet acquainted with the aura of Meg Jones, she is the 5’4”, 29-year-old outside centre whose efforts in 2025 got her a World Rugby Women’s 15s Player of the Year nomination. Her speed, step and playmaking ability drives the backline. She is also a captivating and clinical finisher whose talents were honed on the HSBC SVNS Series with England and Great Britain. She offers an opportunistic attacking zip at 13 alongside Tatyana Heard’s less audacious but equally destructive physical gain-line breaking abilities at 12. Albeit we shall not see the two combine at this year’s Championships.

The choice of Jones as captain coupled with the style of the announcement. There was distinct lack of the classically stiff RFU formality. The presentation of Jones herself is a clear and distinct choice. A welcome and exciting one.

The Red Roses know exactly how to cultivate a strong following, and the announcement speaks perfectly to this. It declared the LAST Women’s Rugby World Cup cycle, underpinned by quiet responsibility has passed and a new era of flair, fun and revelry is upon us. Personality does not phase the women’s game, it embraces it.

Jones’ time at the helm for 2026 was confirmed a day after Zoe Stratford announced her pregnancy. Stratford is one of three in John Mitchell’s Women’s Rugby World Cup-winning England squad to be “out” of this tournament for this reason alongside Lark Atkin-Davies and Abbie Ward. Jones’ appointment is timed out of necessity.

Direct comparison of Zoe Stratford and Meg Jones evokes two different styles. Zoe Stratford, a 6’0” lock, has been a relentless engine in the England pack for close to 10 years since debuting in 2016, the second most capped lock from the Women’s Rugby World Cup squad [69] behind Ward [76].

Lock forwards often represent the less glamorous side of rugby. The hard jobs. Stratford has averaged 70 minutes a game and a 93 per cent tackle success rate – which increased to 95 per cent in the Women’s Rugby World Cup campaign [68/71]. She is clinical and understated but unwaveringly confident.

Perfect to lead a team who, going into the 2025 Women’s Rugby World Cup, held the expectation to get the job done on home turf. A team that has not lost a game since 2022 and held the heartbreaking memory of their 33-31 2021 Rugby World Cup final loss to the Black Ferns.

In contrast Jones is an impact player that strikes in decisive moments. Fans and players alike sit on the edge of their seats as she gets on the ball.

‘What will she conjure up from this?’ we all wonder.

Across her international career to date the 29-year-old has 33 caps, 13 tries and 11 try assists for England. She was also vice-captain to Stratford during the Women’s Rugby World Cup campaign. Her partnership with John Mitchell runs deep. Not the most entrenched member of the England backline, nor the biggest superstar. Her promotion from understudy to captain offers an alternative attitude to leadership in the group.

She is also openly queer and presents as such – a detail significance that should not be overlooked – and has released her own personal clothing line, ‘Magic Meg’ with the ‘Mischief Collection’. She literally is the brand. She has spoken candidly about the struggles and tragedy around her family after both her parents died in 2024. Her style is bold and vulnerable, yet cheeky and fun. Less reserved than the determined Stratford.

What is so exciting is seeing how her captaincy will permeate into the Red Roses side. With only seven potential debutants included and 25 Women’s Rugby World Cup returnees. It is not a huge changing of the guard. It cements her in the starting outside centre jersey for the foreseeable.

So, how will John Mitchell continue to shape structure around her style of play? What might her leadership draw out in players across the squad? We might certainly expect she will conduct the Red Roses with the same passion she exudes whenever she plays. We all eagerly await the in-game conversations heard over the referee’s mic.

 

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It is also clear that there is a strategy to galvanise the Red Roses’ audience through social media. By captivating fans through showcasing its players as role models and peers, it builds a parasocial relationship. Jones has actively cultivated this off the pitch already, and her captaincy intertwines the merging of female athletes into cultural figures further.

She has been at the forefront of this in women’s rugby and that is now combined with her on-field duties. Especially now with the raised profile of team and the tournament, opportunities to display a show-stopping identity will be everywhere.

As the Red Roses have catapulted into the English sporting psyche, the captaincy of Jones represents an era of players that are now household names, that express themselves on and off the pitch, leading with authenticity.

This is the holistic attitude at the core of the Red Roses success, and the appointment of Jones to lead them is only another step in that direction. She has every right to lead the Red Roses out with pride in front of a tournament crowd at Allianz Stadium against Ireland on Saturday 11 April.