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 22 out of 31 occasions – winning the Grand Slam 20 times and the Triple Crown 26 times – making them the most successful side in the tournament's history. They have won the Women's Rugby World Cup on three occasions (1994, 2014, and 2025), and have been runners-up on six other occasions. Their current permanent head coach since October 2023 is John Mitchell. They currently hold the longest ever winning streak in rugby, with 39 consecutive wins as of September 2026.
History
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.
England have taken part in every Women's Rugby World Cup competition, winning in 1994, 2014 and 2025, they have finished 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 re-joined 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 16 separate occasions. This includes 7 consecutive tournament triumphs between 2006 and 2012, and between 2019–2025 and the Grand Slam on 14 more occasions, including 3 times in a row between 2006–2008 and 2010–2012, and 5 in a row from 2022 to 2026.
Team records
Overall
Full internationals only Correct as of 9 August 2025 Opponent First game Played Won Drawn Lost Win % 1998 7 7 0 0 100% 1993 37 33 1 3 89.19% 2022 1 1 0 0 100% 1991 58 45 0 13 % 1997 1 1 0 0 100% 1996 33 31 0 2 % 1991 26 26 0 0 100% 2000 3 3 0 0 100% 1990 4 4 0 0 100% 1997 33 13 1 19 39.39% 1994 2 2 0 0 100% 2005 2 2 0 0 100% 1994 34 32 0 2 % 2005 6 6 0 0 100% 1991 17 15 1 1 % 1988 3 3 0 0 100% 1991 21 20 0 1 95.24% 1987 42 40 0 2 % Total 1987 330 284 3 43 %
World Cup
Six Nations
Players Current squad On 19 March 2026, head coach John Mitchell announced England's 38-player squad for the 2026 Six Nations Championship. The squad included 25 previous Rugby World Cup winners, as well as seven uncapped players.
Note: The age and number of caps listed for each player is as of 11 April 2026, the first day of the tournament.
Contracted players On 31 July 2026, the RFU confirmed it had awarded full-time central contracts to 32 England senior players for the 2026–27 season, with an additional 6 players receiving transition contracts. Red Roses Contracted Players (2026–27)Props Sarah Bern Hannah Botterman Mackenzie Carson Kelsey Clifford Maud Muir
Hookers Lark Atkin-Davies May Campbell Amy Cokayne
Locks Lilli Ives Campion Rosie Galligan Zoe Stratford Morwenna Talling Abbie WardBack row Abi Burton Maddie Feaunati Sadia Kabeya Alex Matthews Marlie Packer
Scrum-halves Flo Robinson Natasha Hunt Lucy Packer
Fly-halves Holly Aitchison Zoe HarrisonCentres Tatyana Heard Meg Jones Helena Rowland Jade Shekells
Wings Jess Breach Claudia Moloney-MacDonald Mia Venner
Full-backs Ellie Kildunne Emma SingTransition players Millie David Hayley Jones Haineala Lutui Annabel Meta Sarah Parry Demelza Short
World Cup squads
List of all players
Individual records World Rugby Awards The following England players have been recognised at the World Rugby Awards since 2001:
+ World Rugby Women's 15s Player of the Year Year Nominees Winners 2001 Shelley Rae Shelley Rae 2006 Maggie Alphonsi Maggie Alphonsi 2008 Carol Isherwood Carol Isherwood 2010 Maggie Alphonsi (2) — Danielle Waterman 2012 Michaela Staniford Michaela Staniford 2016 Sarah Hunter Sarah Hunter 2019 Sarah Bern Emily Scarratt Katy Daley-McLean Emily Scarratt 2021 Zoe Aldcroft Zoe Aldcroft Poppy Cleall 2022 Alex Matthews — 2023 Abby Dow Marlie Packer Marlie Packer 2024 Ellie Kildunne Ellie Kildunne Alex Matthews (2) 2025 Megan Jones —
+ World Rugby Women's 15s Breakthrough Player of the Year Year Nominees Winners 2022 Maud Muir — 2024 Maddie Feaunati
+ World Rugby Women's 15s Dream Team of the Year Year Forwards Backs Total Players Players 2021 3. Sarah Bern 11. Abby Dow 5 5. Abbie Ward 6. Zoe Aldcroft 8. Poppy Cleall 2022 3. Sarah Bern (2) 13. Emily Scarratt 6 4. Abbie Ward (2) 6. Alex Matthews 15. Abby Dow (2) 7. Marlie Packer 2023 2. Lark Atkin-Davies 11. Abby Dow (3) 7 3. Sarah Bern (3) 4. Zoe Aldcroft (2) 15. Ellie Kildunne 6. Alex Matthews (2) 7. Marlie Packer (2) 2024 3. Maud Muir 10. Holly Aitchison 6 4. Zoe Aldcroft (3) 14. Abby Dow (4) 8. Alex Matthews (3) 15. Ellie Kildunne (2) 2025 1. Hannah Botterman 10. Zoe Harrison 7 3. Maud Muir (2) 5. Abbie Ward (3) 13. Megan Jones 6. Alex Matthews (4) 15. Ellie Kildunne (3)
+ World Rugby 2010s Team of the Decade (Forwards) Players Positions 1. Rocky Clark Loosehead Prop 3. Sophie Hemming Tighthead Prop 5. Tamara Taylor Lock 7. Maggie Alphonsi Openside Flanker
+ World Rugby 2010s Team of the Decade (Backs) Players Positions 10. Katy Daley-McLean Fly-Half 13. Emily Scarratt Outside Centre 14. Lydia Thompson Right Wing 15. Danielle Waterman Full-Back
+ World Rugby Women's 15s Try of the Year Year Date Nominee Match Tournament Winner 2021 30 April Abby Dow vs. France Exhibition Match — 2022 5 November Abby Dow (2) vs. Canada Rugby World Cup Abby Dow 2023 29 April Zoe Aldcroft vs. France Six Nations — 2025 22 August Jess Breach vs. United States Rugby World Cup
Hall of famers England have six former players who have been inducted into the World Rugby Hall of Fame: Players Year inducted Carol Isherwood 2014 Gill Burns 2014 Maggie Alphonsi 2016 Sue Dorrington 2022 Mary Forsyth 2022 Rocky Clark 2025
Six Nations Awards The following England players have been recognised in the Women's Six Nations Awards since 2020:
+ Six Nations Player of the Championship Year Nominee Winner 2020 Emily Scarratt Emily Scarratt 2021 Zoe Aldcroft Poppy Cleall Poppy Cleall 2022 Sarah Bern — Marlie Packer 2023 Holly Aitchison Marlie Packer (2) 2024 Ellie Kildunne Ellie Kildunne 2025 Abby Dow — 2026 Megan Jones
+ Six Nations Try of the Championship Year Nominee Match Winner 2024 Abby Dow vs. Ireland — Ellie Kildunne vs. Wales 2025 Abby Dow (2) vs. Scotland 2026 Megan Jones vs. Wales Megan Jones
+ Six Nations Team of the Championship Year Forwards Backs Total Players Players 2022 3. Sarah Bern 14. Lydia Thompson 5 6. Alex Matthews 7. Marlie Packer 15. Helena Rowland 2023 1. Hannah Botterman 10. Holly Aitchison 9 4. Zoe Aldcroft 5. Sarah Beckett 11. Abby Dow 6. Sadia Kabeya 7. Marlie Packer (2) 14. Jess Breach 8. Alex Matthews (2) 2024 1. Hannah Botterman (2) 9. Natasha Hunt 9 10. Holly Aitchison (2) 3. Maud Muir 11. Abby Dow (2) 5. Zoe Aldcroft (2) 13. Megan Jones 7. Sadia Kabeya (2) 15. Ellie Kildunne 2025 3. Sarah Bern (2) 13. Megan Jones (2) 4 4. Abbie Ward 14. Abby Dow (3) 2026 2. Amy Cokayne 10. Zoe Harrison 7 11. Jess Breach (2) 3. Sarah Bern (3) 13. Megan Jones (3) 5. Abi Burton 15. Ellie Kildunne (2)
+ Six Nations Rising Player Award Year Nominee Winner 2025 Abi Burton — Jade Shekells
Rugby Players' Association Player of the Year The following players have been voted as the RPA England Player of the Year since 2013:
+ RPA Player of the Year (2013–17) Year Winners 2013 Emily Scarratt 2014 Rachael Burford 2015 Rocky Clark 2016 Sarah Hunter 2017 Tamara Taylor
+ RPA Player of the Year (2018–22) Year Winners 2018 Danielle Waterman 2019 Sarah Bern 2020 Zoe Aldcroft 2021 Poppy Cleall 2022 Marlie Packer
+ RPA Player of the Year (2023–26) Year Winners 2023 Sadia Kabeya 2024 Alex Matthews 2025 Zoe Aldcroft (2) 2026 Zoe Harrison
+ RPA Hall of Fame Year Inductees 2021 Rocky Clark 2022 Katy Daley-McLean 2023 Sarah Hunter
+ RPA Special Merit Award Year Winners 2023 Emily Scarratt 2024 Marlie Packer
Statistical leaders Players active at international level as of May 2026 are listed in bold italics.
+ Most Caps Rank Player Caps 1. Sarah Hunter 141 2. Rocky Clark 137 3. Emily Scarratt 119 4. Katy Daley-McLean 116Marlie Packer 5. Tamara Taylor 115 7. Amy Garnett 100 8. Amy Cokayne 94 9. Mo Hunt 89 10. Helen Clayton 87
+ Most Points Rank Player Points 1. Emily Scarratt 754 2. Katy Daley-McLean 542 3. Sue Day 305 4. Zoe Harrison 299 5. Marlie Packer 295 6. Nicola Crawford 285 Jess Breach 8. Shelley Rae 275 9. Ellie Kildunne 260 10. Abby Dow 250
+ Most Tries Rank Player Tries 1. Sue Day 61 2. Marlie Packer 59 3. Nicola Crawford 57Jess Breach 5. Emily Scarratt 54 6. Ellie Kildunne 52 7. Abby Dow 50 8. Danielle Waterman 47Amy Cokayne 10. Kat Merchant 45 Lydia Thompson
Coaches Current coaching staff The following table outlines the current England senior coaching team, as of the 2026 WXV Global Series. Nationality Name Role John Mitchell Head Coach England Louis Deacon Forwards Coach England Emily Scarratt Attack Coach England Sarah Hunter Defence Coach England Matt Ferguson Scrum / Contact Coach England Andy Holloway Skills / Kicking Coach England Shaun Edwards Coaching Consultant England Joanne Yapp Head of Pathways England Charlie Hayter Head of Performance England Ethan Kinney S&C Coach
Notable former coaches
Gary Street (head coach 2007–15) 1x World Cup winner (2014) 1x World Cup runner-up (2010) 6x Six Nations winner (2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012)
Simon Middleton (assistant coach 2014, head coach 2015–23) 1x World Rugby Coach of the Year (2021) 2x World Cup runner-up (2017, 2021) 6x Six Nations winner (2017, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023)
Honours World Cup Winners (3): 1994, 2014, 2025 Runners-up (6): 1991, 2002, 2006, 2010, 2017, 2021
WXV Winners (2): 2023, 2024
Six Nations Championship Winners (22): 1996, 1997, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2017, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025, 2026 Grand Slam (20): 1996, 1997, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2017, 2019, 2020, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025, 2026 Triple Crown (26): 1996, 1997, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2014, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025, 2026
European Championship Winners (5): 1997, 2007, 2008, 2011, 2012 Runners-up (1): 2004
See also England women's national under-21 rugby union team
Notes
References
External links
England Women's rugby page at The Independent