England women's national rugby union team

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 20 out of 29 occasions – winning the Grand Slam 18 times and the Triple Crown 24 times – making them the most successful side in the tournament's history, helped by their status as the only fully professional women's team in 2019. They won the Women's Rugby World Cup in 1994 and 2014, and have been runners-up on six other occasions. Their current permanent head coach, as of October 2023, is John Mitchell.

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 and 2014 and finishing 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 rejoined 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 15 separate occasions. This includes 7 consecutive tournament triumphs between 2006 and 2012 and the Grand Slam on 13 more occasions, including 3 times in a row between 2006 and 2008, 2010–2012 and 2022–2024, respectively.

Overall
Correct as of 13 April 2024
 * Full internationals only

Current squad
On 11 March 2024, head coach John Mitchell announced England's 35-player squad for the 2024 Women's Six Nations.

Note: The age and number of caps listed for each player is as of 23 March 2024, the first day of the tournament.

Head coach: 🇳🇿 John Mitchell

Contracted players
On 3 June 2024, the RFU confirmed it had awarded full-time central contracts to 32 England senior players for the 2024–25 season, with an additional 8 players receiving transition contracts.

World Rugby Awards
The following England players have been recognised at the World Rugby Awards since 2001:

Hall of famers
England have five former players who have been inducted into the World Rugby Hall of Fame:

Six Nations Awards
The following England players have been recognised in the Women's Six Nations Awards since 2020:

Rugby Players' Association Player of the Year
The following players have been voted as the RPA England Player of the Year since 2013:

Statistical leaders
Players active at international level as of April 2024 are listed in bold italics.

Current coaching staff
The following table outlines the current England senior coaching team, as of the 2024 Women's Six Nations.

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 (2): 1994, 2014
 * Runners-up (6): 1991, 2002, 2006, 2010, 2017, 2021


 * WXV
 * Winners (1): 2023


 * Six Nations Championship
 * Winners (20): 1996, 1997, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2017, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024
 * Grand Slam (18): 1996, 1997, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2017, 2019, 2020, 2022, 2023, 2024
 * Triple Crown (24): 1996, 1997, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2014, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2022, 2023, 2024


 * European Championship
 * Winners (5): 1997, 2007, 2008, 2011, 2012
 * Runners-up (1): 2004