Opinion: ‘Real deal’ Red Roses will not get a better shot at World Cup glory, they have to take it
The Red Roses signing the national anthem with an inset of Ellie Kildunne
The Red Roses already came into the 2025 Rugby World Cup as heavy favourites, sitting pretty at the top of the world rankings and on a run of 57 wins from 58 games, and they’ve looked the real deal in the early stages of the tournament.
An opening day 11-try demolition of the USA got them off to a flying start, and they carried on from there with a 92-3 thrashing of minnows Samoa. They were a tad off their usual pace against Australia, but still came away with a 47-7 win.
The knock-outs will be no easy task, with Scotland up next before a semi-final against either France or Ireland, while there is still a strong chance of playing the Black Ferns in the final too; but this Red Roses side sit on the verge of not just history, but a genuine turning point for the women’s game in this country.
They won’t get many better chances to win a World Cup than this. They simply have to take it.
Talent
While the Red Roses have been a dominant force for some time now, this is by far the best squad they’ve had, potentially ever.
Even without reigning World Player of the Year, Ellie Kildunne – who will miss this weekend’s quarter-final through a head knock – there is a team of players at the very top of their game.
Jess Breach is once again at her deadly best out wide with six tries across the pool stage, while fellow wing Abby Dow is also in good touch with one try in her two outings thus far. Star centre Megan Jones has also impressed, giving this backline some serious direct power to go alongside the flair.
Hannah Botterman, Amy Cokayne and Maud Muir continue to excel in the front-row, particularly in the scrum. The back-row is also a point of strength, with skipper Zoe Aldcroft, Sadia Kabeya and Alex Matthews among others all having strong showings this tournament.
Talent is certainly rife within this Red Roses squad, but they all seem to be coming into their prime at exactly the same time too.
From the starting XV that took on the Wallaroos, Cokayne, Mo Hunt, Abbie Ward, skipper Matthews and Zoe Harrison already have more than 60 caps to their name, while Botterman won her 60th in Brighton.
Elsewhere, Dow and Kildunne sit on 56 and 55 caps apiece, Breach won her 50th cap in the win and Muir is slowly closing in on a half century with 45 caps to her name.
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And that’s not even looking at the likes of Emily Scarratt, Marlie Packer, Sarah Bern, Lark Atkin-Davies and Aldcroft, who boast a combined 443 Test caps.
Having a large cohort of your core group hitting figures like this at the same time is such an understated yet important part of any team’s success. Look at the 2019-2024 Springboks as the perfect example of that, too. Siya Kolisi, Pieter-Steph du Toit, Eben Etzebeth, Malcolm Marx and Handre Pollard, among others, were all hitting those same sort of figures at the same time, and just look at what happened to that group.
The Red Roses have the perfect blend of collective talent and experience, and that could drive them to World Cup glory.
Taking the path of most resistance
You would have excused head coach John Mitchell for just going for the safe option of trusting his usual faces and playing simple one-up rugby, but if anything, he’s done the complete opposite.
This Red Roses side are playing with a freedom rarely seen by teams in their position. They are being actively encouraged to chuck the ball around like they’re playing touch in the park with their mates.
Take Kildunne’s now-viral score against the USA, where she dances around a few defenders before kneeing the ball back to herself and beating a couple more players for good measure before dotting down. Tries like that are a rarity in the modern game at the best of times, but it’s just one of many genuinely exceptional scores by Mitchell’s side this tournament.
They are also scoring at will. Across the pool stage, the Red Roses nabbed a remarkable 208 in their three games, far more than main rivals, New Zealand’s tally of 156. Mitchell’s team have been ruthless since the start of the tournament, and while the argument can be made about the quality of their opposition, you can only beat what’s in front of you.
Selection-wise, Mitchell has not been afraid to chop and change. The boss made 13 changes to his starting XV between the USA and Samoa games, and rolled out a further 13 changes to face Australia too. Within these, he has deployed three different captains, in the form of Aldcroft, Packer and Alex Matthews, further signs that he is willing to make changes to find his best team for the quarter-finals.
This rotation of players not only shows the strength in depth at Mitchell’s disposal, but it also makes the players that little bit hungrier to perform, something we’ve already seen.
The Red Roses have had a little bit of extra spice behind everything they’ve done this tournament, be it by gaining a couple of extra post-contact metres or a little bit of extra leg drive in a tackle; everything has been ramped up to earn a spot in Mitchell’s side.
To quote the 2018 Philadelphia Eagles, ‘hungry dogs run faster’. That’s exactly what we’re seeing with the Red Roses.
Green green grass of home
The value of this tournament being on home soil cannot be overstated either, but the Red Roses are relishing in the weight of expectation.
Aside from just delivering success on home turf, this could genuinely be a turning point for the women’s game in this country, which again is just bringing out the best in the squad. In 2022, the Lionesses won the Euros on home soil at a packed-out Wembley Stadium, turning the likes of Jill Scott, Mary Earps, Lucy Bronze, Millie Bright, Ella Toone and Chole Kelly into household names overnight.
That exact phenomenon is happening to the Red Roses right now, with the country buying into it. O2, the lead shirt sponsor of England Rugby, have plastered the Red Roses players onto their main TV adverts. Apple have put women’s rugby front and centre in their new iPhone ad, with a cameo from former Red Roses star Shaunagh Brown to boot, while Kildunne has become the poster girl for popular beer Asahi.
These have all helped build a real connection brewing between the fans and the team, too, with even the most casual rugby fan now flocking to Sunderland, Northampton and Brighton. Elsewhere, a sell-out crowd of 82,000 is expected for the final at the Allianz Stadium, largely made up of expectant England supporters.
Imagine what the scenes will be like in Twickenham and the main fan zones should Aldcroft lift the trophy at the end of the month. It could be worth giving the Cabbage Patch a call to book a table now…