England women's national rugby union team

England
Shirt badge/Association crest
Nickname(s)Red Roses
EmblemRed Rose
UnionRugby Football Union
Head coachJohn Mitchell
CaptainMarlie Packer
Most capsSarah Hunter (141)
Top scorerEmily Scarratt (749)
Top try scorerSue Day (61)
Home stadiumTwickenham
First colours
Second colours
World Rugby ranking
Current1 (as of 9 January 2023)
Highest1 (2012–2013, 2014–2015, 2017, 2020–)
Lowest4 (2015)
First international
 Wales 4–22 England 
(Pontypool, Wales; 5 April 1987)
Biggest win
 England 101–0 South Africa 
(East Molesey, England; 14 May 2005)
Biggest defeat
 New Zealand 67–0 England 
(Burnham, New Zealand; 13 August 1997))
World Cup
Appearances9 (First in 1991)
Best resultChampions, 1994, 2014

The England women's national rugby union team, commonly known as the Red Roses, represents England in women's international rugby union. They compete in the annual Women's Six Nations Championship with France, Ireland, Italy, Scotland and Wales. England have won the championship on a total of 19 out of 28 occasions – winning the Grand Slam 17 times and the Triple Crown 23 times – making them the most successful side in the tournament's history. They won the Women's Rugby World Cup in 1994 and 2014, and have been runners-up on six other occasions. Their interim coach from May to October 2023 is Louis Deacon, after which John Mitchell will take over as permanent head coach.

History

England at the 2014 Women's Rugby World Cup.

Until 2009 the badge and logo of England women's national teams was significantly different from that worn by men's teams. However, in 2009 in anticipation of the merger between the Rugby Football Union and Rugby Football Union for Women England teams adopted the men's rose.[citation needed]

Sue Day

England have taken part in every Women's Rugby World Cup competition, winning in 1994 and 2014 and finishing as runner-up on six other occasions.

The 1995/1996 season saw the introduction of a Home Nations Championship between England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales, which England won in its inaugural year. England won the Championship every year, except for the 1997/98 season when it was won by Scotland.

France joined the competition in the 1998/99 season making it the Five Nations Championship, with England achieving the Grand Slam in three successive seasons.

In the 2001/02 season, Ireland rejoined the fold in preparation for the World Cup and the competition expanded to be known as the Six Nations. Since then England have finished lower than runner-up on only 2 occasions, in 2013 and 2015 respectively, and have won the title on 14 separate occasions. This includes 7 consecutive tournament triumphs between 2006 and 2012 and the Grand Slam on 12 more occasions, including 3 times in a row between 2006–2008 and 2010–2012, respectively.

Records

Top 20 rankings as of 11 December 2023
Rank Change* Team Points
1 Steady  England 096.18
2 Steady  New Zealand 090.56
3 Steady  France 087.89
4 Steady  Canada 086.27
5 Steady  Australia 081.61
6 Steady  Wales 076.67
7 Steady  Italy 075.61
8 Steady  Scotland 074.37
9 Steady  United States 072.02
10 Steady  Ireland 071.52
11 Steady  Japan 069.38
12 Steady  Spain 064.89
13 Steady  South Africa 064.37
14 Steady  Russia 061.10
15 Steady  Netherlands 060.02
16 Steady  Samoa 059.57
17 Steady  Fiji 058.65
18 Steady  Hong Kong 058.31
19 Steady  Sweden 056.01
20 Steady  Kazakhstan 055.97
*Change from the previous week

Overall

Full internationals only

Correct as of 29 April 2023

Opponent First game Played Won Drawn Lost Win %
 Australia 1998 6 6 0 0 100.00%
 Canada 1993 33 29 1 3 87.87%
 Fiji 2022 1 1 0 0 100.00%
 France 1991 54 41 0 13 75.92%
 Germany 1997 1 1 0 0 100.00%
 Ireland 1996 31 29 0 2 93.54%
 Italy 1991 24 24 0 0 100.00%
 Kazakhstan 2000 3 3 0 0 100.00%
 Netherlands 1990 4 4 0 0 100.00%
 New Zealand 1997 30 10 1 19 33.33%
 Russia 1994 2 2 0 0 100.00%
 Samoa 2005 2 2 0 0 100.00%
 Scotland 1994 32 30 0 2 93.75%
 South Africa 2005 6 6 0 0 100.00%
 Spain 1991 16 14 1 1 87.50%
 Sweden 1988 3 3 0 0 100.00%
 United States 1991 20 19 0 1 95.00%
 Wales 1987 40 38 0 2 95.00%
Total 1987 308 262 3 43 85.06%

World Cup

Rugby World Cup
Year Round Pld W D L PF PA Squad
Wales 1991 Runners-up 4 3 0 1 56 28 Squad
Scotland 1994 Champions 5 5 0 0 172 39 Squad
Netherlands 1998 Third Place 5 4 0 1 219 78 Squad
Spain 2002 Runners-up 4 3 0 1 138 37 Squad
Canada 2006 Runners-up 5 4 0 1 146 47 Squad
England 2010 Runners-up 5 4 0 1 171 23 Squad
France 2014 Champions 5 4 1 0 184 37 Squad
Ireland 2017 Runners-up 5 4 0 1 211 88 Squad
New Zealand 2021 Runners-up 6 5 0 1 270 84 Squad
England 2025 Qualified
Australia 2029 TBD
United States 2033
Total Champions 44 36 1 7 1487 451
Champion Runner-up Third place Fourth place
* Tied placing Best placing Home venue

Six Nations

 England  France  Ireland  Italy  Scotland  Spain  Wales
Tournaments 27 24 25 16 27 7 27
Outright Wins 18 6 2 0 1 0 0
Grand Slams 16 5 1 0 1 0 0
Triple Crowns 22 2 1 1
Wooden Spoons 0 0 5 3 9 2 6

Players

Current squad

On 1 October 2023 interim head coach Louis Deacon announced the final squad for the 2023 WXV Tournament.
Note: The age and number of caps listed for each player is as of 13 October 2023, the first day of the tournament.

Head coach: England Louis Deacon

Player Position Date of birth (age) Caps Club/province
Lark Atkin-Davies Hooker (1995-03-03)3 March 1995 (aged 28) 51 England Bristol Bears
Amy Cokayne Hooker (1996-07-11)11 July 1996 (aged 27) 72 England Leicester Tigers
Connie Powell Hooker (2000-07-13)13 July 2000 (aged 23) 11 England Harlequins
Sarah Bern Prop (1997-07-10)10 July 1997 (aged 26) 57 England Bristol Bears
Hannah Botterman Prop (1999-06-08)8 June 1999 (aged 24) 39 England Bristol Bears
Mackenzie Carson Prop (1998-11-28)28 November 1998 (aged 24) 7 England Gloucester-Hartpury
Kelsey Clifford Prop (2001-12-11)11 December 2001 (aged 21) 2 England Saracens
Maud Muir Prop (2001-07-12)12 July 2001 (aged 22) 22 England Gloucester-Hartpury
Zoe Aldcroft Lock (1996-11-19)19 November 1996 (aged 26) 45 England Gloucester-Hartpury
Rosie Galligan Lock (1998-04-30)30 April 1998 (aged 25) 11 England Saracens
Catherine O'Donnell Lock (1996-06-13)13 June 1996 (aged 27) 29 England Loughborough Lightning
Morwenna Talling Lock (2002-09-29)29 September 2002 (aged 21) 9 England Sale Sharks
Maisy Allen Back row (2001-09-21)21 September 2001 (aged 22) 2 England Exeter Chiefs
Sarah Beckett Back row (1999-02-14)14 February 1999 (aged 24) 31 England Gloucester-Hartpury
Sadia Kabeya Back row (2002-02-22)22 February 2002 (aged 21) 12 England Loughborough Lightning
Alex Matthews Back row (1993-08-03)3 August 1993 (aged 30) 59 England Gloucester-Hartpury
Marlie Packer (c) Back row (1989-10-02)2 October 1989 (aged 34) 96 England Saracens
Natasha Hunt Scrum-half (1989-03-21)21 March 1989 (aged 34) 64 England Gloucester-Hartpury
Lucy Packer Scrum-half (2000-02-02)2 February 2000 (aged 23) 16 England Harlequins
Ella Wyrwas Scrum-half (1999-03-07)7 March 1999 (aged 24) 3 England Saracens
Holly Aitchison Fly-half (1997-09-13)13 September 1997 (aged 26) 22 England Bristol Bears
Helena Rowland Fly-half (1999-09-19)19 September 1999 (aged 24) 25 England Loughborough Lightning
Sophie Bridger Centre (2000-06-26)26 June 2000 (aged 23) 1 England Saracens
Tatyana Heard Centre (1995-01-14)14 January 1995 (aged 28) 15 England Gloucester-Hartpury
Megan Jones Centre (1996-10-28)28 October 1996 (aged 26) 41 England Leicester Tigers
Amber Reed Centre (1991-04-03)3 April 1991 (aged 32) 66 England Bristol Bears
Jessica Breach Wing (1997-11-04)4 November 1997 (aged 25) 30 England Saracens
Abigail Dow Wing (1997-09-29)29 September 1997 (aged 26) 37 England Ealing Trailfinders
Claudia MacDonald Wing (1996-01-04)4 January 1996 (aged 27) 30 England Exeter Chiefs
Ellie Kildunne Fullback (1999-09-08)8 September 1999 (aged 24) 36 England Harlequins

Notable players

England have three former players who have been inducted into the World Rugby Hall of Fame:

Players Year inducted Refs
Carol Isherwood 2014
Gillian Burns 2014
Margaret Alphonsi 2016

Honours

Winners (2): 1994, 2014
Runners-up (6): 1991, 2002, 2006, 2010, 2017, 2021
Winners (1): 2023
Winners (19): 1996, 1997, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2017, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023
Grand Slam (17): 1996, 1997, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2017, 2019, 2020, 2022, 2023
Triple Crown (23): 1996, 1997, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2014, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2022, 2023
Winners (5): 1997, 2007, 2008, 2011, 2012
Runners-up (1): 2004

This page was last updated at 2023-12-17 01:40 UTC. Update now. View original page.

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