Fiona Tomas

England Women’s Rugby World Cup squad: Katy Daley-Mclean’s player-by-player verdict After all the speculation over who head coach John Mitchell might select, we now know the 32 players hoping to lift the trophy on home soil

The Red Roses World Cup squad is out! Here's your full guide on each player with our Telegraph Rugby columnist Katy Daley-Mclean:
- Mo Hunt back on the biggest stage
- Jade Shekells & Abi Burton among 8 RWC debutants
- A remarkable 5th RWC for Emily Scarratt www.telegraph.co.uk/rugby-union/...

The rise of egg freezing in women’s sport Nat Sciver-Brunt and Sloane Stephens are among the international sports stars who have focused on fertility as well as their careers

More & more sportswomen are freezing their eggs mid career. A welcome trend in the NWSL & WNBA, it's yet to ripple across UK team sports. Progressive & empowering? Or are fertility perks being used as bargaining chips in player transfers? I delved into it www.telegraph.co.uk/womens-sport...

John Mitchell calls for 33-player Women’s World Cup squads like men’s tournaments England head coach describes fact women’s squads are smaller as ‘strange’. Plus, the big selection calls the New Zealander faces

John Mitchell unhappy with having one less player than the allowance for men's squad sizes (33) at this year's WC. Also confirms he has no plans to pit RRs against Eng age-grade men’s teams as part of WC training prep: "We're more advanced now." www.telegraph.co.uk/rugby-union/...

Emma Sing faces biggest game of career in Grand Slam decider John Mitchell selects ‘world-class full-back’ for France showdown in absence of injured Ellie Kildunne

John Mitchell has backed Emma Sing to showcase her “world-class” qualities against France after star full-back Ellie Kildunne was ruled out of England’s Women’s Six Nations Grand-Slam decider. www.telegraph.co.uk/rugby-union/...

Record World Cup try scorer comes out of retirement to take on ‘scary’ England Portia Woodman-Wickliffe retired from international rugby after last year’s Olympics but has u-turned with the World Cup now in view

The great Portia Woodman-Wickliffe, one of the most decorated players in rugby, has come out of retirement to try and feature at RWC 2025. New Zealand winger called the Red Roses a 'scary' team. Hypeee levels 📈 www.telegraph.co.uk/rugby-union/...

Back-three depth has become Red Roses’ super strength Ellie Kildunne, Abby Dow and Jess Breach have shone for the Red Roses but their supporting cast pose a selection headache for John Mitchell

Geeky piece on England's back-three evolution. From tries, turnovers to kick metres, since the 2020 W6N the Kildunne-Dow-Breach trio have performed better in every metric when they start, compared with other combos. So is anyone close to usurping them? www.telegraph.co.uk/rugby-union/...

Wales at risk of wooden spoon after Ireland thrashing Wales 14 Ireland 40

Sean Lynn, whose Wales side go to Italy next week hoping to avoid the wooden spoon, looked crestfallen after that. Admits he needs a "whole pre-season" to turn things around. His side didn't just come up against a green machine, but an Aoife Wafer machine. www.telegraph.co.uk/rugby-union/...

Aoife Wafer

24 carries

That's absolutely phenomenal

Claudia MacDonald pushes case to break up England’s ‘holy trinity’ for Grand Slam decider England 59-7 Scotland

Claudia MacDonald was a fireball of energy down her wing today. Her balanced running was seriously impressive - definitely pressed her case to break up the Red Roses so-called back-three “holy trinity” that also features Dow and Ellie Kildunne. www.telegraph.co.uk/rugby-union/...

Sarah Bern, Abbie Ward, Marlie Packer and Emily Scarratt each have more caps individually than Scotland’s entire bench combined.

Red Roses turn to crochet to create close-knit bonds Popular hobby amongst England players during downtime in camp is playing a crucial role in fabricating off-field connections

Piece on how the Red Roses are developing team culture off pitch. Zoe Aldcroft revealed this was an area the squad let themselves down at the 2022 RWC. From strategies to make everyone feel included and clued up on their roles to...crocheting 🧶 www.telegraph.co.uk/rugby-union/...

Katie McCabe interview: If you show too much emotion, you are made an example of Arsenal left-back on complicated relationship with referees and how officials need more support in women’s game

Great to chat with Katie McCabe. Refreshingly honest, insightful and open about her heart-on-sleeve personality, finding herself in referees' bad books and why WSL officials need more support. www.telegraph.co.uk/football/202...

Marlie Packer given chance to force way back into England front line Flanker one of nine changes for Scotland clash as Red Roses look to set up Grand Slam decider against France next week

Another week, another mix-and-match Red Roses side, this time with Marlie Packer given the chance to prove herself. Still an esteemed member of England's leadership group but short on game minutes in a white shirt. www.telegraph.co.uk/rugby-union/...

Just in: Arjan Veurink, Sarina Wiegman's assistant coach, will leave the #Lionesses after Euro 2025 to become the new head coach of the Netherlands women's national side.

Tomorrow I chat to Nuala McGovern on BBC Radio 4 "Women's Hour" all about women's rugby.

Incredibly honoured to be invited on to such an amazing show, hosted by an incredible Irish woman.

Tune in live or catch it on your favourite podcast platform!

The one flaw Red Roses must address to stay ahead of the pack For all England’s convincing wins, Mitchell’s side need to address their habit of conceding first score against fired-up opponents

Curiously, the Red Roses haven't scored first in four of their past five matches. Probably more a reflection of fired-up opposition but given their perpetual desire to get better, I've delved into these slow(ish) starts. Nitpicking at this point, I know www.telegraph.co.uk/rugby-union/...

John Mitchell on his side's ability to flip the switch from struggling to score in the first half to plundering six after HT: "I think it's the way we train. It's the training level that we create. We were a little bit off this week in training. We want to keep getting better."

England women survive Ireland scare as aura of invincibility remains intact Ireland 5 England 49

A tale of two halves in Cork. Ireland's improvement has been vast, but this was still an eye-watering reminder of how England remain streets – motorways even – ahead. Sarah Bern - machine. www.telegraph.co.uk/rugby-union/...

John Mitchell backing Zoe Harrison as England fly-half Saracen appears to have usurped last year’s first-choice No 10 Holly Aitchison and has golden chance to nail down position against Ireland

A no-nonsense selection from John Mitchell for this weekend's trip to Ireland, who have been on a promising upwards curve. With the threat of Dannah O'Brien, the precision and pragmatism of Zoe Harrison seemingly preferred. www.telegraph.co.uk/rugby-union/...

Sarah Bern interview: The TikTok furore? We’re not trying to be men’s rugby Interview: England prop defends Wales rival for joining post-match dance, insisting their responsibility is to bring colour to game

Yes Sarah Bern would dance on TV again with whoever she wants because when she grew up she never saw any bigger women who looked like her, so she stopped eating. She lost her periods. She opens up about that time of her life here. A real boss role model ❤️ www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/2025/0...