'France & Black Ferns Inbound' - 5 Talking Points: John Mitchell's Red Roses Pre Season Press Conference

All the while England have the ultimate goal in their sights, as we are little over one year removed from the 2025 Women's Rugby World Cup. Hosted in England, the Red Roses aim to reach top gear in time for tournament glory, with Mitchell overseeing the playing group ahead of the incoming pre-season fixture with France. Les Bleus head over to Kingsholm for the fixture on September 7th, with the likes of Zoe Aldcroft and Natasha 'Mo' Hunt eager to return to the Cherry and White cathedral.

Mitchell spoke with the media, and covered a whole manor of topics as his side prepares for the incoming September schedule.

Mitchell promptly turned his attention towards his incoming opponents, with battles lined-up against France and New Zealand coming in over the horizon. England have recorded victories against both sides within the past 12 months, beginning with the Red Roses handing the Black Ferns a historic home defeat in 2023 WXV.

England then ousted Les Bleus in the 2024 Women's Six Nations finale, and Mitchell expressed what he expects from both sides, as France and New Zealand eye up a return to top form ahead of the WXV trip to Canada.

JOHN MITCHELL: "I thought they were really good, France in Bordeaux, they created us a lot of problems. We played well, but we also put pressure on ourselves through some of our decision-making and execution. So, I guess what you're hearing is that sometimes, I think possibly in our past, we've just washed over our outcomes and got on to the next season, but we've actually already been quite thorough in the area of letting the girls know about how we could better perform against France.

"Mainly, we've dealt with our drivers of the game in that area. So, yeah, they'll be a huge challenge and then obviously New Zealand always get better. Since the PAC 4 (Pacific Nations Four) series, they've actually put Australia away by 60 points. But we'll deal with France first. They'll always be unpredictable, but they've got a lot of strength, a lot of power.

"And then New Zealand, they really haven't had any pressure put on them since PAC 4. So, 60-point wins are pretty good for you, but you've also got to be able to learn how to handle pressure as well. But they'll be a different challenge because they're a very athletic team. So, there's ways to play New Zealand differently than other teams."

With the 2025 Women's Rugby World Cup set to commence in 12 months time, Mitchell needs to use the next calendar year wisely. The head coach confirmed that he is going to whittle down his squad prior to their WXV campaign, with the goal of locking in a solid match day squad, that can then gain reps as his first choice playing group. However, the New Zealander has been presented with some tough choices, on who he will select on the run up to next Summer.

"I reckon the lock area is probably the toughest. We've got to decide whether we want to contest people's, win our own ball or contest opposition's ball, which we have the ability to do both. That's probably the toughest, because there's some world-class locks in that group. In the nines, we've got a very experienced Mo (Hunt), who can control a game. We've got Lucy (Packer), who's becoming a better runner and is a beautiful passer, trying to develop her running game.

"She has the ability over time to game manage well. And you've got Ella (Wywras), who's more the free spirit running scrum half. Her biggest area is managing the game, which she doesn't get a lot of time to do, so she's on a quick-living curve. Three of those halfbacks can play in different ways.

"And then in the 10s, you've got Holly (Aitchison), Helena (Rowland), and then you've got Zoe (Harrison). And they're all different as well. Holly and Helena are both attacking fly halves, so as you can see, I very much like an attacking fly half.

"Zoe's got an extremely long kicking game, which served the team in the last cycle very, very well. So she's getting challenged in terms of actually having to attack. So yeah, very fortunate, but we're going to need each other, because we need connection, and we don't know who the nines and 10s are going to be."

The Red Roses have long been the dominant force within the Women's Six Nations, having won the competition for the past six consecutive years. England added the inaugural WXV1 title to their ever-expanding trophy cabinet last season, yet the Women's Rugby World Cup continues to elude them.

England last lifted the pinnacle piece of silverware in 2014, and have since finished runners-up in 2017 and 2022 to the back-to-back world champions New Zealand. Mitchell recognises how the pressure will be on for his side to deliver next year, with the caveat of a home-soil World Cup hoping to play into his team's favour.

JOHN MITCHELL: How do we get done what we haven't got done for 11 years? So yes we've done well in Six Nations, yes we've done well in WXV, and maybe we could just sit on our laurels and continue with the way that we approach things, but how can we just squeeze a little bit more out of each other?

How can we squeeze a little bit more out in terms of the way that our environment works and how we communicate with each other with problems rather than just focusing on goodness? And then how do we continue to evolve our game?

"There's definitely a process around how do we get done what we haven't got done for 11 years? We're mindful of that, but also that's performance related, but there's also a higher purpose as well which we're playing around with at the moment because we think we have a greater responsibility than just winning. We've been wrestling with that for a year, it's becoming clearer, so we think that's really, really important to us when we're especially having a home World Cup."

One of the selected names that drummed up a solid level of intrigue, was the return of Sarah McKenna to the Red Roses playing group. The Saracen made her England debut back in 2011, and has not been consistently involved with the senior squad since the 2023 Women's Six Nations.

The fullback has since taken up an assistant coach role with the England Women U20s, and Mitchell has been impressed with her bringing through the next generation of Red Roses. McKenna's selection for the pre-season Summer camp was admittedly unexpected, with Mitchell confirming how the 34-year-old's role revolves around preparing the starters and match day squad.

JOHN MITCHELL: "Yeah, I've actually witnessed Sarah as a coach with the under-20s and she's very passionate in that area, so it was good to watch their progress. It was obviously difficult to watch their last performance against France and Italy (defeats in the 2024 U20 Women's Six Nations.)

"Putting that aside, Sarah presents a utility option, so I like her skill set at 12, so that's the ability to distribute as well as beat people one-on-one and she can also fill in for you at fullback. So, you do have to have some squad members that potentially aren't going to get a lot of time, but contribute more to the group in terms of its preparation and how it works together and bonds off the field, and she's superb in that area."

"We'll definitely have a chat, we take it week by week, it's good for her. I think I surprised her when I caught up with her about the objectives around bringing her back, and the reasons. It takes a special person to commit to something when the fruition might not actually be a lot of test minute rugby, but she's a little toughie as well."

The Red Roses welcomed back their two resident Olympians, as Meg Jones and Ellie Kildunne are back in camp following their run with the Great Britain Women's Rugby Sevens squad. The Harlequin and Leicester Tigers stars were unable to lead Team GB to the medals podium, and had to settle for a seventh place finish in the overall rankings.

Also, there has been an exciting call-up for Lilli-Ives Campion, as the Loughborough Lightning star is steadily emerging as one of the PWR's top young talents. Having impressed all onlookers throughout her time as the captain of the England U20s, the lock has been fast-tracked into the Red Roses set-up, and could well make her senior Test debut next month against France or New Zealand.

JOHN MITCHELL: "Yeah, they've (Kildunne and Jones) been good. Obviously they came in for an introduction the week before and it was more of us actually saying 'get out and decompress', so I think they've had their little breaks, but Ellie likes photography so she couldn't keep away (from the squad). They're both back in there with lots of energy and they've had a good week so far."

"I think it's really important to reward some of the under-20 girls to let them know that they have the ability to play Test rugby for the Red Roses. I think that's helpful to the other girls that may not quite believe that's in their lives right at the minute. So the more that we can connect with the pathway, the more that we can get the right skill sets, the right physical, tactical and emotional support down there.

"So I think we've still got a lot of work to do in that area, but we've definitely started just seeing the benefits of the men's under-20s. I think if we put a really good focus in there, which we are, but we're only in the infancy of it. So I think it's really important."