Physical Address
304 North Cardinal St.
Dorchester Center, MA 02124
Despite the timely return of Maddie Feunati, Sadia Kabeya and Lily-Eves Campion, England are still a tidy work in progress.
Delaney Burns’ pregnancy with Zoe Stratford, Abby Ward and Rosie Galligan and injury to Morwenna Talling has put her back on top to win her first title since 2023.
Helena Rowland’s playmaking ability in the middle will give England a lot, but it is not a direct line to the injured Tatiana Heard.
Prop Liz Crack – who was on a central contract but is well off the selection radar in 2025 – is making a cameo on the bench, filling in for Kelsey Clifford, who has a foot complaint.
Beside her is Demelza Madam Short, a Bristol Bears teenager who impressed during her Test campaign as a child, but her height is ahead of schedule as she played in the Under-18s Six Nations last year and watched the autumn World Cup as a supporter.
Natasha Hunt, Emily Scarratt, Alex Matthews, Abby Dow, Hannah Botterman, Lark Atkin-Davies and May Campbell were all part of that title-lifting Red Rose team and are all elsewhere.
The ever-changing pitching played havoc with the defense.
England piled up points for runs around the edge of the crease and looking vulnerable. Italy and Wales, who managed to lead only 5 and 12 points against England in the last season, lost this time and scored a goal.
Coach John Mitchell has traded the scorelines for a fresh, swashbuckling game and is willing to go toe-to-toe with the world.
“We’re going to keep scoring,” he said on Thursday.
“It’s our new identity, it’s a way to improve our game.”
Defense, he promises, is “one of the easiest things to fix.”
France, however, has an itchy crew itching to dig holes before rebuilding.
