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Mitchell lauds Red Roses depth as he unveils Women's Six Nations squad

AUCKLAND, NEW ZEALAND - NOVEMBER 04: England celebrate with the trophy after victory in the WXV1 match between New Zealand Silver Ferns and England at Go Media Stadium Mt Smart on November 04, 2023 in Auckland, New Zealand. (Photo by Fiona Goodall - World Rugby/World Rugby via Getty Images)

Red Roses coach John Mitchell insisted the five-time defending Women’s Six Nations champions have “huge” potential for growth as he claimed he has not worked with such a deep pool of talent since he coached the All Blacks more than two decades ago.

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Mitchell named a 35-player Guinness Women’s Six Nations squad on Monday that included three uncapped players and returns for experienced stars Emily Scarratt, Zoe Harison and Abbie Ward.

The former England men’s assistant – who coached his native New Zealand between 2001-03 – joked that he could have “named three sides, that’s how much depth we have” as he spoke to reporters at Twickenham.

When pressed on whether he had ever worked with such a talented group of players, the much-travelled coach added: “Probably the All Blacks.

“That’s the last time that I’ve had this opportunity and rugby’s changed a lot since [he coached] the All Blacks, in the men’s game, so they probably don’t have the same depth that I was privy to back then.

“So, I’m very grateful to be in a position to have the depth that we have.”

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England have not tasted defeat in the Championship since 2018 and head into this year’s tournament on the back of victory in the inaugural WXV 1 tournament last November.

Mitchell, who revealed plans to play France as well as the Black Ferns ahead of WXV 2024, said that triumph in New Zealand served notice of the Red Roses’ desire to improve and he believes there is still plenty to come from the squad.

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“The potential of these girls is absolutely huge. There is so much more in them and their willingness to learn as well, their willingness to want to learn and get better, is huge.

“So, as you can see, we can drive that through the competition we’ve got as well amongst the players.

“We’ve got 30 professional contracts, we’ve got five transitional contracts, and then we’ve got 90 English girls playing in the PWR [Premiership Women’s Rugby] each weekend. But not all of them are professional.

“And a lot of the girls, it’s probably only been two years fully professional, and we’ve also got non-contract players who’ve probably arrived at this stage where they’ve been surviving on maybe two days of professionalism.

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“So, it just gives you some indication of how much further we can go capacity-wise and in terms of developing skill set. I think mental performance as well, you know, because as the demands of the game become greater, I think the mental performance side of things is going to be critical in terms of their growth as well.”

Of the 35 names included in Mitchell’s first Women’s Six Nations squad, it was one of the uncapped players that sprang off the page: Exeter Chiefs flanker Maddie Feaunati.

The daughter of former Samoa and Bath number eight Issac – who also appeared as Jonah Lomu in the film ‘Invictus’ – Feaunati was born and raised in Leeds but had returned to New Zealand earlier this year to train with Super Rugby Aupiki squad Hurricanes Poua.

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Indeed, according to Mitchell she turned down a Black Ferns contract to take up the offer of an England call-up and despite making only seven appearances for Exeter in PWR it seems that England legend and assistant coach Sarah Hunter is a fan.

“Sarah and I were sitting watching one game and she said, ‘Have you seen Maddie?’ And at that point, I hadn’t because my focus was more on the outside backs,” Mitchell said.

“Sarah had been watching her for a while and then I went and watched her and I just saw this really naturally gifted, carrying footballer, who’s athletic, who’s young, who can also be a very good lineout jumper.

“And if you look at the back row mix, there’s some very strong carriers in the back-row mix.

“The two sixes that we’ve selected obviously also can play eight as well. So, we’ve invested in what we think is a very, very good carrying athlete and she’s a good character as well, Exeter speak very highly of her.

“So, yeah, we’re very fortunate that she’s also very committed to play for England. Her parents lived in England, they were very good to her parents, and she’s always seen the Red Roses as [something] that she’s aspired to. So, we’re very lucky to have that depth.”

Mitchell added: “We’ve been in contact with her family, and Exeter, around the reasons why she’s gone back [to New Zealand] and all those sorts of things.

“So, yeah, we’ve been around all that and then we just wanted to make sure that we had the right commitment. And so, once we had the right commitment, it was an easy process.”

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J
JW 1 hour ago
Where is the new breed of All Black 10?

Players like Prendergast and Finn Smith already have a few seasons at top club level under their belt and are now test players, at an age when NZ players make their debuts in SR.

That’s just a difference in standards. You’re confusing SR for being their local domestic comps, where it’s more accurately comparable to Champions Cup, apart from that teams are happy to throw games as it’s in a bit of a limbo in terms of importance atm.


All these kids have been playing for a comparable NPC team for years now. Sam is no where near ready for tests but he has a great temperament, much like Sextons, that makes it a good choice to speed up his development. He wasn’t even a comparable Super Rugby starter before playing for Ireland, so not a great comparison.


Fin would be much better example, but then England don’t have 3 world class Test tens in front of him (not that I’d put Beauden their but obviously in terms of young NZ players chances, he is). Would he otherwise have debuted at the same age as Fergus Burke (injury and leaving withstanding), around 24, a couple of years later? England also aren’t as pedantic to who they give jerseys to, in NZ a test jersey is very hard earned for the most part.


In general I think the effects are as you say, but the only difference is the money involved, as you yourself said, their paths are just as all over the show being loaned out playing for clubs etc. My solution to that, and what you perceive as the problem, would be to introduce university football that utilitizes the large investment they have into high performance sport.

88 Go to comments
J
Jennifer Ross 4 hours ago
One rule for Europe's copycats, another for the Springboks

The topic of recovery services and the efficacy of Wizard Hilton Cyber Tech warrants a closer examination. Recovery services are a critical component of any comprehensive cybersecurity strategy, as they provide the means to restore systems, data, and operations in the event of a breach or other disruptive incident. Wizard Hilton Cyber Tech is a leading provider in this space, offering a suite of advanced recovery solutions designed to ensure business continuity and mitigate the potentially devastating impacts of cyber attacks. At the core of their offerings is a robust, AI-driven platform that continuously monitors systems, detects anomalies, and triggers rapid, automated recovery procedures. This allows organizations to bounce back quickly, often with minimal downtime or data loss. Wizard Hilton's approach also emphasizes the importance of comprehensive testing and simulation, putting recovery protocols through their paces to validate effectiveness and uncover potential weaknesses. Additionally, their team of seasoned cybersecurity experts provides hands-on guidance, tailoring solutions to the unique needs of each client. By combining cutting-edge technology with deep industry expertise, Wizard Hilton Cyber Tech has established itself as a trusted partner in the realm of recovery services, empowering organizations to safeguard their most valuable digital assets and ensure business resilience in the face of ever-evolving cyber threats. Contact: for assistance.

Regards.

28 Go to comments
J
Jennifer Ross 4 hours ago
One rule for Europe's copycats, another for the Springboks

The topic of recovery services and the efficacy of Wizard Hilton Cyber Tech warrants a closer examination. Recovery services are a critical component of any comprehensive cybersecurity strategy, as they provide the means to restore systems, data, and operations in the event of a breach or other disruptive incident. Wizard Hilton Cyber Tech is a leading provider in this space, offering a suite of advanced recovery solutions designed to ensure business continuity and mitigate the potentially devastating impacts of cyber attacks. At the core of their offerings is a robust, AI-driven platform that continuously monitors systems, detects anomalies, and triggers rapid, automated recovery procedures. This allows organizations to bounce back quickly, often with minimal downtime or data loss. Wizard Hilton’s approach also emphasizes the importance of comprehensive testing and simulation, putting recovery protocols through their paces to validate effectiveness and uncover potential weaknesses. Additionally, their team of seasoned cybersecurity experts provides hands-on guidance, tailoring solutions to the unique needs of each client. By combining cutting-edge technology with deep industry expertise, Wizard Hilton Cyber Tech has established itself as a trusted partner in the realm of recovery services, empowering organizations to safeguard their most valuable digital assets and ensure business resilience in the face of ever-evolving cyber threats. Contact: for assistance,

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28 Go to comments
J
JW 4 hours ago
Where is the new breed of All Black 10?

JJ and DMac shows how little attention you actually pay to the substance of the articles.

What do you mean by that? For lack of an answer from you I’d suggest yuo need to look at the game again and then read your article. Because although I’m not going to again but I did quickly review the videos and they all match correctly with my perception.

JTPL is shifting towards overseas players being JQP in future

No they’re not, thats a flatout lie Nick. You can find an article on here with their CEO where they want more out of their deals but it’s standard professional sports fair, nothing underhand like the NH does. I find that quite foul that you would share such a view.


I suppose the new World Club League thats starting would die for the best ABs even for just a year, and probably set them up even better. Mo’unga hadn’t done enough to earn a sabbatical though. This is where NZR needs to start questioning itself. You can’t blame the player if the NZR are not even interesting in offering you a contract. In situations where say NZR aren’t able to reach 70% of the offer I think a great starting point would be for them to be treated differently than someone who just left for money. NZR could say make that player immediately eligible if NZR decide to make a fair offer and they sign to return, with players putting in their overseas contracts a right to leave early if they resign back with NZR.


Even with Japans fading desire for sabbaticals I still think NZ can make it a good destination and have many reciprocal agreements with JRFU and the JRLO teams. The situation still very much favours NZ and Australia but it’s upto them to make the most of it or the JRFU won’t see any reason to be the ones always giving the favours.

88 Go to comments
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