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John Mitchell warned England’s Women’s Six Nations rivals his ‘scary’ Red Roses can get even better after he named a 35-player squad for his first campaign as head coach.
Mitchell has succeeded Simon Middleton as the man in charge of one of the most dominant teams not only in rugby, but sport worldwide.
England have won the last five women’s Six Nations titles. But New Zealander Mitchell, who was an assistant to the England men’s side under Eddie Jones, wants to evolve the women’s team’s style of play so it is not just reliant on a dominant set-piece.
‘We want to improve our performance which is probably quite scary,’ said Mitchell yesterday after he recalled experienced pair Emily Scarratt to Abbie Ward to international duty.
‘Our avenues to score have come through traditional strengths but we want to play quicker. The potential in these girls is absolutely huge. There is so much more in them.’
John Mitchell (pictured) believes there is ‘so much more’ to come from his team ahead of the Women’s Six Nations
England captain Marlie Packer (pictured) will win her 100th cap later this month
Emily Scarratt (pictured) is also back in the squad after returning from injury
With the return of backs Scarratt and Zoe Harrison from neck and knee injuries respectively and lock Ward’s comeback following the birth of her first child, Mitchell has huge experience at his disposal.
Scarratt, Harrison and Ward are all back in the England squad for the first time since the team’s 30-match winning run was ended with a World Cup final defeat by New Zealand in 2022.
England’s squad contains 1,109 caps of experience. Captain Marlie Packer will make her 100th Test appearance in England’s tournament opener with Italy on March 24.
‘I could have named three sides – that’s how much depth we have,’ Mitchell said.
One of the players who will experience the Six Nations for the first time is the uncapped Exeter flanker
Maddie Feaunati whose father Zach is a former Bath and Samoa forward.
Zach Feaunati played the role of New Zealand rugby legend Jonah Lomu in the film Invictus which starred Matt Damon and told the story of South Africa’s momentous World Cup win in 1995.
