Time to bloom: Red Roses mustn’t miss this chance

“This is where we are finishing our journey, I just want to hand over to the Red Roses,” she said in the clip, posted across the social media accounts of both the Lionesses and the Red Roses, England’s women’s rugby team. “Thank you so much for your support this summer. Go do your thing, we believe in you.”

The baton had been passed from one England team to another. And the expectations are even higher.

The Red Roses are the top-ranked team in the world and favourites to win this summer’s Rugby World Cup, which kicks off in Sunderland on 22 August. Group-stage matches follow in Northampton, Exeter, Manchester, York and Brighton, with knockout rounds in Bristol and the final at Twickenham on 27 September.

Crucially, this is the first time the women’s World Cup has been played in England since 2010. Back then, a scattering of fans watched on the sidelines of Surrey Sports Park.

Now, the Allianz Stadium is expected to sell out all 82,000 seats. This is a rare opportunity to put women’s rugby at the heart of the national sporting conversation, particularly if England reach the final, as they are widely tipped to do.

Demand for tickets has been high and the RFU is ­anticipating record-breaking attendances throughout the tournament. Organisers hope the visibility of the competition will spark increased grassroots participation, particularly among girls, and act as a catalyst for long-term investment in the domestic game.

Williamson’s video would have been carefully crafted by marketing teams from both the Lionesses and the Red Roses to appear as a united front in the push for greater visibility and support. So too were the images of Red Roses players wearing England football shirts the day after the Lionesses won the Euros.

Despite that, the cross-sport camaraderie feels genuine and part of a broader strategy of the women’s teams visibly supporting one another. A rising tide lifts all ships.

So far, though, that platform still only floats one way. The Lionesses are now a commercial juggernaut but the Red Roses are not there yet. On Instagram, a key metric for any team targeting a young, digitally engaged female audience, as these two are, the Lionesses have 1.5 million followers while the Red Roses have fewer than 70,000.

But this summer could mark a turning point. The Red Roses, long dominant at the top of the world rankings, are stepping into the limelight at a moment when women’s sport in England has never been more prominent. With the World Cup on home soil, and with a squad stacked with talent, they have a rare chance to become household names.

The timing could not be better. Momentum from the Lionesses’ Euro 2025 campaign creates an open door for other teams to run through. Few deserve it more than the Red Roses. In 2019, they became the first women’s rugby team to receive full-time professional contracts, a move that set them apart from their rivals.

They have lost only one match in that time: the 2021 World Cup final, held in 2022 because of the pandemic. Although most countries have followed by giving players contracts, England have led the way. The investment allowed players to focus on rugby, to train and recover like their male counterparts, with access to world-class facilities, nutrition and support staff.

It also raised expectations. While the decision put England ahead of the curve, it also added pressure to deliver on the world stage, a dynamic that continues to shape how their success, or failure, is judged.

The team are full of world-class players. Scrum-half Natasha Hunt, named in the squad after missing the 2021 World Cup, brings tempo and vision, offering England a dynamic option at the base. Full-back Ellie Kildunne, the current World Rugby player of the year, is a line-breaking threat and one of the most recognisable faces in the squad.

Captain Zoe Aldcroft anchors the pack with consistency and discipline, while Abby Dow offers pace and ­finishing ability out wide. England would dominate a combined XV of the best players in the world.

Yet, despite that, England have fallen short on the biggest stage. They were runners-up at the last two Rugby World Cups, losing agonisingly to New Zealand in both the 2017 and 2022 finals. They were the better side for much of the match in 2022, even after going down to 14 players early on, but ultimately came up short.

For all their dominance, the Red Roses know that this time, winning is everything. The Lionesses proved that last week. They did not always play well at the Euros – every match was tense and at points scrappy – but they won.

And because they won, nobody cares how they played. The Red Roses may be the most exciting team in the tournament, but unless they lift the trophy at Twickenham, the breakthrough moment they are chasing could pass them by once again.

There is an understanding within the squad that excellence without results will not change the narrative. They know that history tends to favour winners, not favourites. For all the tactical evolution, professional contracts, and sold-out stadiums, it is silverware alone that cements legacy.

Photo by Harry Murphy/RFU/Getty