Red Roses' John Mitchell and Zoe Aldcroft preview Women's Six Nations opener against Italy

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England head coach John Mitchell has named his squad for the 2025 Guinness Women’s Six Nations, as the Red Roses commence their campaign this Sunday in York. England host Italy at the LNER Community Stadium, and have their sights set on a victorious start to their upcoming tournament.

The Red Roses continue to rule the roost of the women’s rugby landscape, as the World’s Number One ranked side have established themselves as the front-runners for 2025 Women’s Six Nations. England have won 50 out of their past 51 fixtures, with the one anomaly that’s evaded them being the 2022 Women’s Rugby World Cup Final defeat to New Zealand.

On the Six Nations stage, the Red Roses have proven themselves to be untouchable for the best part of a decade. England are out to win their eighth consecutive Women’s Six Nations title this year, and claim their fourth Grand Slam in a row. England head coach John Mitchell was flanked by his captain Zoe Aldcroft today at the re-named ‘Red Roses Patch’ pub in Twickenham, to address all the team news ahead of the opening round battle with the Azzurre.

There are some injuries that need addressing before England commence their defense of their Women’s Six Nations crown. The back row pair of Gloucester-Hartpury’s Sarah Beckett and Leicester’s Sarah Fray are both out on the side-lines. Beckett is out with a back injury, whist Fray sustained a recent head injury that keeps her out of action. Trailfinders back row Abi Burton is on the mend, after breaking a bone in her hand earlier this season.

Alex Matthews misses the opening round of the competition, as the Gloucester-Hartpury number eight was cited for a dangerous tackle in the PWR Final. Matthews has picked up a three match ban, with the possible return after two matches following completion of a tackling course.

RED ROSES TEAM TO FACE ITALY: 2025 WOMEN’S SIX NATIONS

Starting XV: 15. Emma Sing 14. Mia Venner 13. Emily Scarratt 12. Holly Aitchison 11. Claudia MacDonald 10. Helena Rowland 9. Lucy Packer 1. Kelsey Clifford 2. Amy Cokayne 3. Maud Muir 4. Rosie Galligan 5. Lilli Ives Campion 6. Zoe Aldcroft 7. Marlie Packer 8. Maddie Feaunati (Exeter Chiefs, 10 caps)

16. May Campbell 17. Hannah Botterman 18. Sarah Bern (19. Abbie Ward 20. Sadia Kabeya (Loughborough Lightning 21. Flo Robinson 22. Jade Shekells 23. Ellie Kildunne (Harlequins, 48 caps)

1. Praises sung for ‘outstanding’ Emma Sing who starts at fullback

An immediate arrival to the Red Roses starting XV, is the decision to give Emma Sing then start in the 15 shirt. Fullback has long been a position held down by electric Harlequins flyer Ellie Kildunne, yet Mitchell has shuffled the deck and handed the Gloucester-Hartpury star the start, for her seventh England cap. John Mitchell explained where Emma fits in to this new look XV, with a re-shuffled back-field trio.

JOHN MITCHELL: "Emma Sing has been outstanding in PWR. She’s answered a lot of the questions that we had around her performance gap. She’s got on with that and she has delivered. So I think it’s important to create competition between her and Ellie. And then she has a really, really good connection with Mia (Venner), who’s really in top form as well.

“Italy do possess a box-kick. 60% of their kicks come from the box-kick and Claudia (MacDonald) is probably one of the best in the world at winning the ball in the air. She’s tough when it comes to the breakdown and is looking in a really good nick. Tactically it’s a good back three.

“Ellie (Kildunne) then has the opportunity to cover wing and 15. With the end of the year in mind (Women’s Rugby World Cup), eventually we’ll have to go down to a squad of 32, which is always a hard decision because every girl has a dream to play for their country, especially in a home World Cup. So we’ll probably only take five outside backs. If we remain healthy, then obviously one of the full backs is going to have to play wing.”

2. Olympic Sevens star Jade Shekels set for her Red Roses debut

There is an exciting debutante in the Red Roses squad, as Great British Olympian Jade Shekkels gets set to make her official Test match change from sevens to 15s this Sunday. Shekels signed for Gloucester-Hartpury ahead of the 2024/25 season, and was an instrumental new element to the side that completed a ‘three-peat’ of successive title wins.

Shekels won gold in rugby sevens at the 2023 European Championships, and is looking at add another piece of hardwear to her collection in the 2025 Women’s Six Nations. Red Roses head coach John Mitchell is excited to bring the line-breaking flyer into the squad as a midfield option, and also award first England stars to Loughborough Lightning lock Liili-Ives Campion and Gloucester-Hartpury wing Mia Venner.

JOHN MITCHELL: “We’ve been looking for, as a selection group, another 12 since my appointment. And obviously we want to find another 12 that can win gainline and also be a good passing option, and that possesses a tackle that stops momentum.

“Looking at her two 80-minute performances, and I think that she had a 30-minute performance earlier in the season when the internationals were out, I liked what I saw. She also has the qualities already as a professional. As you know, a lot of the girls that go to the Olympics and the sevens, they have to work hard. They’re in a smaller squad and they’re not as well resourced as we are as Red Roses. So they find a way, and she’s certainly a very good professional.

“Also, when you talk to players that have played with her and been in the environment working with her, her character is also outstanding. So once she finds her feet, she possesses a similar profile to Tayana Heard, I believe. So it’s important that we make sure that, again, we’ve got depth and we’ve got the ability to win gain-line at 12, as well as her distribution.”

3. Versatility is key as Helena Rowland and Holly Aitchision start at 10 and 12

If the 2025 Guinness Men’s Six Nations taught us anything about the England team, it’s that Steve Borthwick has an incredible versatile back-line. Positional alterations and mid-match shake-ups have become commonplace for the men’s team, with the Red Roses following suit with an altered backs set-up ahead of their own tournament opener.

The multi-tool skill-sets of Helena Rowland, Holly Aitchison and Emily Scarratt will be showcased in York, as the three talented fly half options make up the 10, 12 and 13 channels. Rowland is an adaptable playmaker who can slot in at fullback, whilst Aitchison’s predominant position is fly half for her Saracens club. 2014 Women’s Rugby World Cup winner Emily Scarratt comes in at outside centre, as the former England 10 has adapted to her new role as a midfield conductor.

JOHN MITCHELL: “I think it’s really important to give somebody like Helena (Rowland) a chance at 10. Ultimately, at the end of the day, we’ve got to prepare for the situation where sometimes we might be without a team-mate. And as you can see, we’ve lost Alex (Matthews) through a disciplinary situation.

"She’s an outstanding, versatile player. She played very well for Loughborough in the PWR. She won a match through a drop-kick play, so she’s extremely talented. She has a wonderful skill set. I think she’s looking forward to playing at 10. She knows she can play 13 and she also knows she can play 15. So we’re very lucky that she can do that.”

“Holly is also a 10. We’ve just got to ask her over the next two weeks to play 12. She’s got really nice, soft hands in her pass. She possesses that skill set. She’s very, very good at that. I think that’s why we’ve asked her to play 12.”

“We were talking about Helena earlier, about her PWR form. I think Scaz’s (Emily Scarratt) form in the later stages of PWR as well has been outstanding. So there’s a really good combination there. So it’d be stupid not to use that combination. They both see space very well, then obviously you’ve got the skill set of Holly that we’ve just talked about.

“I think it’s a really exciting combination. Then you’ve got Lucy Packer and Flo Robinson who are fast passers from the base. It’s going to be exciting. Once we basically build pressure and we settle down and we don’t force it, I think we’ll see some good rugby.”

4. Women’s Six Nations hosted in York to grow the game up in the North of England

There is a personal element of the match’s host city for England captain Zoe Aldcroft, as the Scarborough native returns to her come county of Yorkshire for the opening match of the competition. It’s no secret that the RFU are looking to grow the support of rugby union up in the North of the country, in what is a predominant stronghold of rugby league.

York’s LNER Community Stadium hosted the England men’s open training session during the 2025 Men’s Six Nations fallow week, and will also be a host venue for an assortment of 2025 Women’s Rugby World Cup matches. Sunderland’s Stadium of Light in the North East, will provide the back drop to the Red Roses’ first pool stage match, as they kick off against the United States on August 22nd. It is certainly an exciting time for rugby union fans in the North of England, with Aldcroft delighted to give the supporters the opportunity to watch the stars at the very best.

ZOE ALDCROFT: "It’s massive. I think growing up there for me, we didn’t have the visibility up there. We never had women’s games that we could go and watch locally. I don’t think we’ve actually had a Red Roses game up in Yorkshire at all.

“So the fact that we’re able to do that now up in Yorkshire and we’re able to show the young girls and boys up there that they can come and watch our game is super important. Also to grow the fan base around the country is also super important. We just want to connect with as many people as we can.”

5. Marlie Packer is still certainly a Red Roses leader despite not being captain

Back in January, the Red Roses announced that Zoe Aldcroft will lead the team into a new era as captain, with the Gloucester-Hartpury star taking the armband from Marlie Packer. Whilst the Saracen no longer has the official duties that comes with running the team, Packer is still certainly involved in the leadership group, alongside Aldcroft and the enigmatic Leicester Tigers centre Meg Jones.

JOHN MITCHELL: “Marlie is going to have a huge impact. She already continues to have a huge impact on the group and contributes. The three leaders, Zoe, Marlie and Megan, they all complement each other in different ways. And they lead in different ways as well. We’re very fortunate to have them as a three. It just happens to be that Zoe leads the team on the team sheet.

“There’ll be times when Marlie leads and there’ll be times when Megan leads. So to me, we’re going to need all three of them. And the way that they’ve set up the culture and how it operates at the moment, it’s a credit to them. It makes my job a lot easier and the bridge between players and staff a lot easier. This top-level sport challenges you in different ways, there’s always a curveball, and stuff like that.”

EDITORS PICKS:

• Four England Players Make Official 2025 Six Nations Team Of The Tournament
• 15 England Stars Make Our Lions Squad for Australia Tour
• England team named to play Italy in 2025 Guinness Women's Six Nations
• USA’s Kathryn Trener relishes Red Roses challenge ahead of 2025 Women's Rugby World Cup opener
• Premier Sports expands coverage with Japan Rugby League One and USA Major League Rugby

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